Shopping Quests & Towns

Because my high school group cycled GMs session to session, we usually had several people comfortable with costing items and with running NPCs; so multiple characters could be run simultaneously through minor pre-game activities, like shopping; and it was our custom that when a PC went into a shop, they could ask the shopkeep if they had anything interesting, and whoever was running the NPC would try to come up with something new.

I got two books from a discount bin - As Seen On TV by Lou Harry & Sam Stall (2002), and 283 Useful Ideas from Japan by Leonard Koren (1988) - and if I don't use them for random town stuff I'll never use them for anything.

Not ideal, but I think it's the seed of something good. 

Location: building filled with 200 fortune-telling booths.
Shop: real estate (requires exhausting maintenance), seller has a single-minded devotion.
also: loan unused land to banks for them to develop on your behalf (only works with heavy preparation).

Location: shrine which chants prerecorded sutras for you.
Cafe: plucking noodles from a soup flume.
Serves: ice creams with unusual flavors.

Location: venders and service establishments squatting under railways.
Services: discreet laundry service which avoids exposure to panty thieves.