I can understand the need/desire for a grocery store on the east/south end of town. What I don't understand is why it hasn't happened before, and why an east end grocery seems tied to Wal Mart. Couldn't there be a nice grocery store on the east end that is not a part of Wal Mart? I am really not well versed on the dynamics of grocery store markets/niches/profit margins. Are there genuine obstacles? Is big box the only way to go?
Terri Hyle
From: "Kathy Seifert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "online democracy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Winona] Walmart Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 11:00:07 -0500
[Winona Online Democracy]
Great thoughts, Vicki. I would like to offer some perspective on the need for a grocery store on the east end, though. Many of us who work and have kids in school in Winona live quite a ways east and south--remember that Dakota is in district 861!!!! I for one, live 15 minutes from downtown or the mall--20 minutes from Onalaska. Since Target came to Winona, I shop here much more often. In fact, my La Crosse trips have been extremely rare since I work and chauffer kids in Winona M-F.
I guess my point is that for 5 minutes more driving, I get a lot more choice
in Onalaska, so this creates a dilemma for someone like me who prefers to
spend my money in my own home town.
With the residential development of Pleasant and Cedar Valleys (and those are just a few--there are more houses going up in Pickwick and near Twin Bluffs all the time), there are more and more of us "Winonans" who live outside the city limits to the east--we'd love to have a grocery store that's on the way home from work or school. I don't usually speak for others like this, but I've talked about this issue with my neighbors a lot!!!!!
So, even though I don't like Wal-Mart at all (an understatement), I know
that if they have a grocery store at the proposed location, I'll likely shop
there sometimes just because it is convenient and will save me time--my most
precious commodity these days. I'd prefer if Tom and Ernie put a "Country
Market East" on the land they bought on Mankato Ave., but they don't seem to
have that in mind.
Kathy Seifert
BTW--what ever happened to the Wal-Mart "Buy American" "American Made" rhetoric? Wasn't that the cornerstone when it started?
----- Original Message ----- From: "Vicki Englich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "online democracy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 8:47 AM Subject: [Winona] Walmart
> [Winona Online Democracy]
>
> This is puzzling: some Walmart enthusiasts drive to LaCrosse just to shop
at
> Walmart, but also complain that there is no grocery store on the East
side?
> Perhaps it's just my perspective, but Winona is a small town--is driving
to
> Country Market, Midtown, HyVee, or Econo really a hardship?
>
> Again, I agree with Terri Hyle: we desperately need some long range vision
> here. Lack of it brought down our old post office, the block on Main St. (
> Morgan?), destroyed Central Park, the Opera House, the Water Tower, and
> almost razed our historic County Courthouse. Some one told me it was in
the
> name of "progress."
>
> At the Food for Thought Book Chat (during which we discussed the Sinclair
> Lewis classic, Main Street) at the Historical Society, several of us
> discussed the "vision problem." Do we really want our town to lose its
> unique identity as well as its generous local retailers in order to
> temporarily save a few bucks? Are we really that cheap as a community?
There
> was a very thought provoking letter to the editor in yesterday's Post from
a
> visitor who happened to read about the Walmart controversy. I recommend it
> to all.
>
> Winona has changed considerably since I moved here 17 years ago: the
> franchises are increasing; we have more and more big stores with huge
> parking lots. I wonder about the environmental effects. I wonder about the
> lack of well paying jobs. People who earn $6-$7 dollars an hour do not
earn
> a living wage--even in Winona. These jobs are great for students, but
adults
> need to support themselves and their families. Are we a community that
> provides those opportunities? We will provide those opportunities 10 years
> from now, or will we be a community in which the divide between the well
off
> and the poor grows even wider? What will Winona be like if that happens?
We
> we have increased crime, drug use, etc.?
>
> To claim that the Walmart way is progress and that Winona must join that
> path is such a cop-out.
>
> Vicki Englich
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