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Construction has really started at the former Rouse Company headquarters on LIttle Patuxent Parkway across from the Columbia Mall. Fence up. Parts of the first floor seem to have been torn down.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
The Whole Sign Is Up At Whole Foods
Construction has really started at the former Rouse Company headquarters on LIttle Patuxent Parkway across from the Columbia Mall. Fence up. Parts of the first floor seem to have been torn down.
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3 comments:
Thanks to everyone who encourages chain stores like Whole Foods at the lakefront to help destroy local small businesses such as David's Natural Market, and Today's Catch (and possibly Absolutely Wine/Spirits--will Whole Foods get a liquor license?), in the nearby Wilde Lake Village Center.
The homogenization of commerce is, of course, in most people's minds, a good thing--eliminate personal choice, destroy the small business-person, and enforce the universal will. Every strip mall needs an Old Navy and a Staples and a Wal-Mart, and...whatever other dam--d chain you people shop at.
And then there is the argument by Wegmans to illegally obtain a liquor license, based on a blatantly false claim of local ownership. At least Howard County had the guts to stand up to that one.
Wake up, folks--you are killing your own local economy for the sake of what you think is some sort of benevolent external corporation. Most of you probably rail against oil companies and defense contractors and big banks--how do you think that corporate grocery chains are any different, except in terms of absolute dollar amount?
If you have any interest in the local economy, which I'm sure most of you do not, you would oppose the opening of a Whole Foods on the lakefront. However, since Whole Foods is a feel-good chain with no local ties to the community, you are all for it. And Howard Hughes, Inc., has made it a moot point. It is too late.
Think about your real motivations. You are probably a good liberal who wants to support green, or other liberal causes. Could you possibly think that Whole Foods is one of those evil corporate entities that (GASP!) makes a profit, at the expense of a local business like David's? No, that would never happen--you just want to be able to boast that you shopped at Whole Foods, so you can feel good about yourself.
And before you complain, yes, David's strives to make a profit as well. For all of you out there who think businesses like David's shouldn't make a profit, well, you obviously have never been in business. That probably includes most of you.
KIMCO managed to drive (my beloved) Produce Galore out of business with unbelievable rent increases. It is a wonder that any other business in the Wilde Lake village center has survived.
Think about what you are doing here, folks--small local businesses are regularly celebrated on this blog, but actively promoting and celebrating the ascendancy of chain stores is counter-productive to supporting small local businesses. Make your choice--but think about it first.
And, before any of you dare to accuse me of being a small business owner, or a tenant of the Wilde Lake Village Center, or a corporate entity of any kind, NO, I am NOT. I am a concerned citizen that wants to foster local business. I patronize as many small, local businesses as I can, and would urge you to do the same. Comments welcome--I am sure that many will flame me, but that is OK.
You make a good point, anonymous, although I wish you didn't feel the need to be so cynical and defensive. The fact is that we live in a capitalist economy which, by it's very nature, tends to reward the already successful and tamp down efforts to inject values for consideration. I commend you for raising the issue. Please feel free to sign your name the next time.
Anonymous, it is a shame your message is secondary to your condescending tone. You don't know me as well as you think you do.
You want me to think of my real motivations...sure, I want to be a good liberal, and green, and I do want to feel good about myself. And I think I do my part. The ride-sharing, composting, farm-supporting, recycling, community volunteering, local business-supporting part of me does not disappear just because I (GASP) shop at Whole Foods. It is a shame that you think my self-value comes from where I buy my groceries - but it is obvious that your own self-worth is driven by the fact that you shop at David's. I would rather be known for the long list of things I contribute to the community, plants, animals, and people who reside in it.
What I find amusing is that the entirety of Columbia is filled with bland, uninspired strip malls, chain restaurants, bottleneck entrances, berms that make it impossible to see an establishment, non-connecting roads, and neatly structured communities with strict guidelines of what you can park or plant. It was built to be this way. It is a PLANNED community. Unfortunately, not your plan.
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