Midwest has been discussed many times on here, so have at it.Methinks you may be a tad confused. The large retailer in Mishawaka offers: higher prices, miserably underknowledgeable staff, fixed inventory, no special orders, low-ball trade in offers, used gear at 95% of new prices. I most certainly see them going the way of some other large B&M retailers: Sears, KMart, KidsRUs, ToysRUs, FinishLine, Macy's, Men's Warehouse, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Children's Place, Disney Stores, Family Video, JCrew, JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Pier 1... and possibly more. All of them either out of business completely, in bankruptcy protection, or have sold their names to investment firms and gone belly up. Walk-in retail is most certainly dying. Safe bets?: grocery stores, medical entities, and personal services. You can't get a haircut online... yet.
Meanwhile, my local one-owner/one-shop gun store has a very knowledgeable staff, does custom smithing, will order whatever I want, within reason, for a small fee, handles FFL for my internet transactions, and is just a fun place to hang out. The one thing they don't have is ammo selection or price. But neither does the big guy. Which is why I buy ammo online. My guess is XXX little store will be in business long after YYY big-retailer is turned into nail salon.
Mods: I'd be happy to replace XXX & YYY with the names of the actual retailers for authenticity's sake. Not sure if that is Kosher, or allowable.