In this part of the country, "local" is considered by many to be anyplace you can get to and back during daylight hours. There are an abundant number of local quilt shops ranging in size from Keepsake Quilting to the tiny one in my hometown of just 1,000 households. Many of them have created an online presence in order to tap into that market along with their very well treated foot traffic.
If, by some horrific circumstance, they ALL ceased to exist in brick and mortar form, I'd simply stop quilting once my stash ran out...which should be several years after I die.
Shops here have adapted very well. They are open Saturdays all day, most are open Sundays as well, and they close on Mondays. KQ, of course, is open all day, every day except three, year 'round. Several are open late one night a week, usually Thursday, and have both weekday and weekend classes, some in the late afternoon or early evening. They know what their customers want and they deliver it if at all possible.
They do everything imagineable to get and keep customers and they truly love what they do, every single one of them in every single LQS I've ever been in. I do not shop at fabric chains nor at big-box stores selling fabrics. I shop online when I can't find something locally, but it's rare given my local choices. I know exactly how lucky I am in that respect, and I reward the local shops by returning again and again. It's a win-win made in heaven.
