According to the N&R, the dumb hippies at Deep Roots Market want to move downtown.
Oh, please. We went through this charade several years ago when a local developer built them a beautiful property on W. Market only to be told they would need a million samolians to finance the move.
This time, led by the great wet fart Joel Landau, they want new digs downtown financed by low cost loans, and you can bet DGI and Action GSO will get behind the effort.
Inexpensive commercial property stands vacant all over town, but that’s not good enough for the patchouli and hacky sack crowd.
Earth Fare does good business on Battleground without our assistance, but they can only hire so many tattooed pierced vegans. We shouldn’t waste any more time on these unhappy dead enders with a bad business model.
17:30: I’ve been getting up leaves and ruminating. Deep Roots is a food co-op. If that form of management hasn’t allowed them to expand in all these years, I doubt if it’s been very effective. To be fair, I don’t blame them for passing on the new digs on W. Market. There’s no telling what the lease would have been.
I simply know from personal experience that running a successful business requires an iron fist. I just don’t think you can do it with a committee. I know it sounds nice, but get real. Sadly, had Deep Roots been able to convince a bank to extend them credit, they probably would have already moved.
I’m not prepared to oppose it vigorously. The freaks need a job program, too. The parking lot is a good idea, because the folks who will work there won’t be able to afford to live nearby. Little things like that don’t matter to the “be hip or die” crowd.
And Lord how they’ve been abused. They voted for the audacity of hope and got a bankster. The least we can do is give a few of them low cost loans to salve the wounds. After all, if they’re gonna fail, it may as well be downtown where we can make proper fun of it.
we need a market downtown in the worst way, jeff. i don’t care if it’s deep roots or a bestway at this point, but the residential population is large enough to support a market with fresh food and essentials.
of course, greensboro only does economic studies that focus on a supermarket in play. why they believe every new business needs to be super-sized and accessible by car is beyond me.
I get you. I’m just saying this particular bunch of losers is not deserving of taxpayer funded low cost loans. There are lots of legit little grocers who could make a go of it as opposed to these bleeding hearts.
Of course, Landau sold his soul by not opposing the Modified Lake Jordan Rules and the establishment of offsets for new development. This is his quid pro quo. Fine, but don’t ask me to help pay for it.
There you go picking on us poor old hippies again…
Apparently Deep Roots’ customers have deeper pockets than I thought possible as sooner or later the rent on a downtown location is bound to drive their prices sky high.
I remember when we bought our groceries at the A&P on Commerce Place downtown. It was 5 miles from home. Then the A&P moved to the Summit Shopping Center, half way between home and downtown.
Sean makes a good point, it would be good if we could walk to the market– perhaps Melvin’s Minions and the Perkinites will spend some of those tax dollars so that every Greensboro citizen can walk to the market.
By the way, the Food Lion on East Market is less than 2 miles from downtown Greensboro and 1 mile from where I live– perhaps Sean and the others downtown would like to use tax dollars to move the Food Lion 1/2 mile closer to downtown so it would be equally inconvenient for all of us. You know, just to keep things fair.
Seriously, I like Deep Roots but rarely shop there because of the distance and don’t care where they move it to. But moving Deep Roots downtown won’t get me in the store anymore than I get there now as I simply don’t like going downtown because it’s too hard to park my truck and too dangerous to ride my bicycle.
Besides, it’s almost time for downtown Greensboro to die another death so that we can spend even more money on downtown revitalization.
Why is it that every time they revitalize downtown they do it the same way that didn’t work the time before?
Sean, someday you’ll be old enough to remember these things.
Yeah, these folks aren’t really hippies, but I don’t know what to call them. I started to point out all the grocery stores close by, but that’s missing the point. They really want a Whole Foods, but will never get it.
been doing alot of Obama bashing lately. Can’t wait for Miss Sarah to right all the country’s wrongs.
You betcha!!!
I’m just saying Obama has disappointed a lot of people. With Sarah, there aren’t even any expectations.
I know Matt is your boy, but in my IMHO he has an agenda and is feeling himself a little too much right now. He is trying too hard to be the badass. And this is coming from one of your most left wingy visitors.
Tim Fernholz has a great critique in American Prospect on Matt’s Sellout article. In response, Matt wrote a rebuttal to the rebuttal.
Damn socialists!
Jeff, are you calling me a loser? Come on. Because I care about the source and production of what I eat? Because I choose to drive a old heap and spend my money instead on the food that feeds me and sends my money to the people who produce the food the way I want it? By the way, the co-op has been making money since Joel has been manager. He was not involved in any way in the move debacle of years ago. He has pulled the co-op out of that debt. Its continued growth will warrant a bigger space.
This is not a partisan issue, Jeff. I know quite a few Republicans and Libertarians who support Deep Roots and the Slow Food Movement in general. There certainly are a few hippies and aspiring hippies like me, but most are just plain people who are grateful for an alternative.
By the way, I don’t want a Whole Foods. Way too expensive and the Organic Consumer Association is actually at war with them because they are misleading and cater to rich people who are too busy to find out about their real agenda, which is to fool them into paying extra for food they think is “organic” or “natural.” A Trader Joe’s would have been nice.
I’ve been supporting you, Jeff, but I’m really disappointed in you mouthing off on a subject that you clearly don’t have the facts on.
Oh, I mistook what you wrote… You were talking about the dumb hippies, not all hippies.
And I forgot to close my html tag.
“There you go picking on us poor old hippies again…”
“Us?” Are you saying that YOU are a hippy?
Interesting. None of the “hippies” I know, and I know quite a few, carry guns.
REI is a co-op that, at least in appearance, seems successfull – and employs a few vegans, I’m sure.
These guys seem do have done well, too, but I doubt there are many vegans working or shopping there. http://www.ourcoop.com/OurCoop05/main/about.aspx
I agree with your “great wet fart” description.
For the record, there is Charlie’s Grocery downtown. Where you can buy TP, milk, Sudafed, and candy bars…unfortunately there is no humanely raised catfish or endive grown in the shit from baby endangered species for sale.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&ie=UTF8&q=downtown+greensboro+stores&fb=1&gl=us&hq=stores&hnear=downtown+greensboro&view=map&ei=wFgmS5fDLobRlAfly-j0CQ&ved=0CB4QtwMwAA
Thanks, folks. I took Sunday off. Sorry you got stuck in moderation.
One of the effects of leveling charges is that the truth comes out. It ain’t pretty, but it works.
We live in old houses and drive old cars, too. However, beyond growing my own, I seek out the least expensive chemical-laden meat and produce wherever I can find it. Indeed, I’ve stopped buying bulk chicken parts because they made us sick.
I have a friend who raises free range chickens and gets $25 for each one. I might eat one a month. We choose to shop at CostCo because they have their own inspection process superior to the FDA. Otherwise, we rely on the local Food Lion to protect us.
Like I said, I’m not gonna oppose this. I’m simply pointing out that these folks have a troubled history and a suspect biz model. Landau has been quite visible promoting his cause. However, it looks to me like another lousy pol with his hand out.
BTW, the slow food movement has excellent retail opps at the local farmers markets. It is my understanding that large local growers already purvey produce at area grocery stores.
ngee, thanks for the info. Matt’s article is now online.
Went in there one time…. Everyone was pale and skinny…. They looked at me like I was the fattest person they had ever seen in their life.
I feel you. I’m invisible there.
JW wrote: “Interesting. None of the “hippies” I know, and I know quite a few, carry guns.”
I bet they don’t live in East Greensboro or get attacked while at work either. That’s my life JW. How many people get robbed by crack addicts and gangstas’ where you live and work? I can tell you it would make the front page of the local newspaper if it happened where you live and work but just last week one of my customers– a man almost 70 years old– was beat to death in East Greensboro and there wasn’t a single mention of it in any of our local media outlets. The man who physically assaulted me on the job on November 17th is still free to go anywhere he wants to go.
One’s attitude towards carrying a gun changes after enough physical assaults– I’ve got the scars to prove it.
It’s easy to preach non violence and anti-guns when you spend your days on a Quaker college campus but where I live they call you an easy target.
And yes, I do consider myself somewhat a hippy.
And don’t tell me again about the crime rate in East St. Louis where you used to live– I checked the FBI stats and crime is worse in East Greensboro.