How to Get a Gourmet Grocer...

I thought this quote from David Alpert in a blog post from GreaterGreaterWashington article linked to through Planetizen was very insightful:

Neighborhoods can either stay the same size, and see local retail gradually decline as online shopping grows and DC adds big box stores. Or, they can add enough new residents to support new retail options. Most of us prefer the latter. Some people, though, want to stop new residents but also have the retail. That's completely unrealistic.

I'm a huge proponent of getting a gourmet grocer or a Trader Joe's into downtown Roswell but until there is a critical density of people living in the downtown, historic center, we won't have that type of shopping option.  The perfect spot for one would be when the parcel where Value Village and Souther Skillet are locate gets redeveloped.  

Comments

[SomeMama]

I have lived in Roswell for 5 years. I want it to look nice just like everybody else, but I cringe when I hear talk about Value Village being pushed out. It is a really important part of our family's life, because almost every item of clothing we buy comes from there. We're not poor by any means, my husband makes 6 figures. But new clothes are ridiculously expensive, and I have 4 kids! We could never afford to pay full price for all the nice things we get at VV! And I know there are many, many other families around who rely on thrift stores too. Not to mention that we enjoy being greener by buying our clothes, books and furniture secondhand. I do hope that Roswell envisions a place for thrift stores in its future redevelopment, because the people who live here really NEED them.