Once upon a time, and a very long time ago that was, downtown Minneapolis
had a grocery store. It was called the Great Northern Market, and it was
on the west side of Hennepin Avenue. I don't remember if it was on Bock E
or the block between fifth and sixth streets.
It was a noisy, crowded place selling fresh fish and kosher-for-passover
matzoh, items that I had never seen in a suburban Red Owl.
I liked to shop there because I depended on busses, and I could get in, buy
my groceries and be out on the corner before my transfer had expired.
By the time the Great Northern Market went out of business, I wasn't
transferring busses downtown on a regular basis and didn't pay much
attention. I don't know if it was done in by market forces, redevelopment
or a combination of factors. I do remember vaguely that there was some
controversy associated with it's closing. It was still the only place in
town that sold fresh fish (how times *do* change), and some people didn't
want to lose that.
I suspect a lot of people would appreciate a centrally-located downtown
grocery store, people who work downtown or change busses there as well as
those who live downtown. Does that make it worth a big public subsidy on
top of all the other big public subsidies? I doubt it. But I wonder if a
little bit of forsight and a small public subsidy might have kept a grocery
store downtown throughout all that redevelopment.
Rosalind Nelson
Bancroft
timothy connolly wrote:
>I live downtown. I think the idea of one penny going
>to subsidize a grocery story is a horrible idea. It is
>unnecessary.
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