EAR TO THE GROUND: Congrats! You're fancy now

As a consumer also interested in successful marketing, I find myself analyzing trends more than shopping when I'm in the store. My latest fascination has been with the "organic versus non-organic" situation. With the all mighty internet, the public has grown smarter -- or at least learned how to Google information to spew out at the water cooler on Tuesday morning.

To be fair, there's a reason McDonald's is losing millions after their entry into the healthy lane went sour while Trader Joe's lines extend back into the aisles. Most people want to eat healthier, have become more conscious of their carbon footprint and would rather put their money into locally sourced products and companies.

Simply put, why spend $5 on a Starbucks latte when you can spend $4 on a latte at a local cafe and you can physically see where the money is going? At the root of this theme is the fact that it's more about helping build your community as opposed to how cultured you are because of where you shop, eat or play.

With the "gentrification" bubble happening essentially everywhere, I've been wondering if the theme is even the same anymore. My friend Ellen said it best recently when she said about Atlanta, "Ponce is slowly turning into Buckhead II."

"Loft living" is being shoved down our throats even when a high percentage of the populus can't afford the lofts or the shops that come along with it.

You like going to your local burger spot because it's your local burger spot. The food is slightly mediocre but you can eat out for about $8, watch the game and have a few cheap beers. If I wanted to be at Buffalo Wild Wings, I'd be there.

What happens when you can't afford to support a local business because they have become Buffalo Wild Wings? What happens when a local business can't keep up with the demand of everything being organic?

It seems that the conversation is now more about who has the more elevated lifestyle: what beer you don't drink because it's "cheap"; where you don't eat because it's not all organic; where you don't shop to avoid the "ratchet" group.

More than not, I don't think this is about building a community anymore. It's a conversation of status among the status-less. (I can make up words if I like.)

You know what? I think it's genius.

We've created an idea on a local level and it was stolen from us and then sold back to us -- and we didn't even realize it. Someone is making bank off of people not wanting to be "yuppies" -- and that's exactly what they're turning into. Soon, the folks who started the movement won't recognize their own neighborhood, or just won't be a part of it all.

Maybe, in a way, we got exactly what we asked for. We wanted those abandoned buildings to look nice like they do in Atlanta. We wanted the shopping center like they have across town with the parking lots full of current-year vehicles. We wanted to eat at the fancy restaurants with the black and white pictures of distinguished socialites enjoying themselves. Maybe we're getting what we inadvertently asked for?

Either way, in a meeting room somewhere, there's a team of 10 people popping the fancy champagne that you bought but haven't opened because of how much it cost. (Cue the slow solo clap to roaring applause.)

Floco Torres is an artist/songwriter. Contact him at flocotorres@gmail.com.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "EAR TO THE GROUND: Congrats! You're fancy now."