Whatever happened to the good old fashioned hobby shops?

This is somewhat along the lines of the "Is the industry dying or not" thread, but this concerns one particular part of the model industry. I was corresponding with another modeler who often posts on this site and I mentioned that I miss the old local hobby shop where you could go in, shoot the breeze, then maybe buy a kit, paint, or some other goodies. Around where I live there are only a few true model kit oriented hobby shops left and all miles from each other. The rest of the "model shops" are more oriented towards R/C cars and planes where they make the majority of their money. Obviously the internet has been a major factor in the demise of the traditional hobby shops, as well as the relative decline in interest over the years, or should we say, the lack of increased interest in plastic modeling sufficient enough to make a hobby shop profitable. We older modelers can no doubt remember going into the local hobby shop, usually run by some older couple where we stood in awe of the owners built models that we wished we could someday duplicate. Anyway, feel free to chime in, but let's be civil and thoughtful in our comments. I have noticed a lot of vitriolic comments that really detract from the conversation. Those of you who agree please post, others who wish to be combative or show off their acerbic intellectual prowess need not apply. After all, this hobby is supposed to be fun, isn't it?
Cheers