SmartMuffin needs to live in reality because it's clear he doesn't. Almost everything he said is factually wrong.
Corporate offices don't care about anything other than their bottom line and marketing helps them. Local places that can't afford advertising care about the quality of the experience because that's what brings people back. They know that, to survive, they have to stand out because they don't have advertising money to fall back upon to make it look better. And most "quality incidents" tend to happen at national chains who don't put the came care into quality control because they can afford those incidents.
Most local places aren't owned by old people, either. They're owned by people who actually know how to pilot such a ship, some of whom are actually quite young. Corporate goons would struggle in actually managing a restaurant. They don't live in the reality they operate in.
You need to move somewhere that has a better culinary profile. I live in Madison, WI and it's diverse and excellent.