I live, literally, 10 minutes walk from my LHBS (the Vermont Homebrew Supply, which is in Winooski.) While I obviously can't speak for all LHBSes from my experience, mine is great: dog friendly (the store has a dog,) kid friendly (they have a box of toys for children to play with next to the counter, so parents can shop while kids play) and a VERY competent selection of malts, hops, and yeasts.
The downside is price.... kind of. The price of grain, hops, and yeast are all dramatically higher than the (base) prices I'd get online, but once you figure in shipping it's a wash.
I wouldn't say that claims of freshness are FALSE. A LHBS is much better equipped to know how frequently their stock rotates.
I use VTHBS fairly regularly, although it is about a 75 minute drive, so not as convenient as it is for Kerin.
+1 on the quality of this shop though. Kind of small and personal in size, but just enough for what Annie and Matt are accomplishing.
The first time I went in as a noob, I was full of questions and had ZERO knowledge base and got what I felt at the time was a very crappy level of service in the form of short, brief answers from the owner.
On a subsequent visit after gaining knowledge and walking in prepared with legit questions, I got it.... The level of knowledge and courtesy was second to none in ANY retail shop of any kind that I have ever visited.
I asked Annie to help me with an Irish Red and she walked me through the entire process. She had me taste each and every grain as we chose it.
She discussed her preferences for carapils versus other head retention processes and I ended up getting a second grain bill for another beer while I was there. Good customer service = happier customers that buy more stuff.
I also wanted to mention that while we were sampling the grains that day, she tasted some of the CR10L and immediately emptied the remaining pound or so in the storage bin and went out back and got a new bag and dumped some in. She said that it was tasting stale and she would not sell it.
IMO, the increased price of grains at my (not so local) HBS is WELL worth it.
Show me a single online supplier that can provide that level of service for around $5 per visit.
I usually call an order in and have my brother in law or in-laws pick it up for me when they go to Burlington, so the difference in price is moot, cuz I am not paying shipping and getting fresh grains.
Just wanted to throw that out there.