Walmart store in Chicago’s West Loop by Flickr user Ifmuth

Yes, Joe the Trader is still my friend. Why? Because he has good cookies.

My silliness notwithstanding, the decision made yesterday by Trader Joe’s to not invest in Greensboro for the second time is not surprising. Honestly, it’s not the politics that I feel drove them away. It’s the inability to take risks. Stores like that, you know, the ones that have cheapish stuff, but a somewhat upscale atmosphere, I believe are only taking advantage of what they think youth or boomers with disposable income or some other magical unicorn person will buy and will buy repeatedly. Unfortunately, magical unicorns tend to not have strong political views or bank accounts that hover around or appear to hover around zero. Stores that don’t take risks don’t like cleaning up old parking lots or making sure even the folks who carry EBT cards have the opportunity to have shiny electronics or even just basic food items.

Walmart, however, goes directly after that market. We talk about the exploitation that they do, but there’s a degree of exploitation in the pretty but cheap store market too. They exploit the emotions of those of us who make just enough to spend at least $50-100 at Target each month, 60% of the cart being non-food items that may or may not be adult toys or pure junk. They make us feel better as a town when they show up promising more Salted Caramel Chocolate cookies for cheap. They allow us to buy more clothes, even though those clothes fall apart at the end of the season.

But back to Walmart. Not only have they gone into the High Point Road area and thrived, they are now going into Quaker Village, the one place many of us privately wanted Trader Joes to go, had they been willing to spend the funds to revamp the shopping center like the Walmart. But Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, so if it fails, then it’s no big deal. These other retailers, they aren’t as big as we think. Ask Harris Teeter. Yes, the bigwigs got golden parachutes in their deal with Kroger, but everyone else and the name itself took a hit. If it weren’t for Kroger understanding the impact of the name on the market, then there’s just one more “luxury” name gone away.

I think the lesson learned here is that sometimes, it doesn’t matter what your name is or what your perception is as a store. At the end of the day, it’s all about the bottom line, customers are just props to be lured in like the Pied Piper, with colorful patterned displays and cheap wine.

Just my two cents. After the word from our sponsors, other news:

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News from North Carolina

The Greensboro City Council has approved an operating agreement for the performing arts center, allowing the project to move forward.

How the ban on electronic devices at the Guilford County Courthouse is working, one month into the new regulation.

A profile of Bounce U, one of the successful businesses at Quaker Village being replaced by the new Walmart.

A newly formed committee in Wilmington will debate which road projects are worthy for a proposed $250 million dollar bond referendum.

Charlotte police are trying a more holistic and caring approach to the homeless community in the Uptown area. Additionally, several Charlotte businesses are still accepting Bitcoins.

Winston-Salem home prices are rising.

Raleigh City Council has officially started having lunchtime meetings. They are only work sessions though and not visible or open to the public.

This conversation is really about the media climate in the RTP area, but it’s really an oral history of RTP in the last ten years by a Durham native.

Buncombe County Commissioners have approved funding for the next iteration of Asheville Moogfest.

Asheville will fix the sidewalks in front of their Trader Joes and a new Harris Teeter.

Prompted by the Seeking Safety series by the Fayetteville Observer, the City of Fayetteville is cleaning up problematic properties.

News and Lessons from Elsewhere

Could Las Vegas reinvent car ownership?

Can Philly successfully combat gentrification with tax rate changes? Governing‘s analysis of the issue takes it beyond black and white. A perspective on it from a San Francisco fair housing leader.

Where it’s the hardest for the poor to make rent. These are the most expensive cities in the world (and NYC is not one of them).

Nashville really, really doesn’t want bus rapid transit.

Why Sweeden has fewer road deaths.

A reflection as Ross Capon steps down from running the National Association for Railroad Passengers.

What Walmart does when it commits to building urban.

And finally, do you agree that these are the things you learn from growing up in the South?

Thanks to a meeting (more on that later) I swung by the Winston-Salem Trader Joe’s and stock up. Lately there has been much debate about the store, in both the local(including today’s cover story by the News and Record) and national press.  People don’t understand the appeal or what their logic is for store placement.

Well, for me what I like about the store is that it is small. Just like its corporate cousin Aldi, it only has exactly what you need. Secondly, it is affordable luxury. Third, even though prices may be a bit more, they have a better commitment to healthy foods and customer service. I’ve seen other stores start modeling stock and service after them, such that the mild sticker shock, as well as the introduction of new products doesn’t feel as weird.

The last thing I like (and what I think others should like too), is that they don’t have everything. And because they don’t have everything, that creates a balanced marketplace. This is where the gentrification critics get it wrong. Maybe in the old days, where the store was a full service operation and maybe for people who have adjusted their diet to the offerings of the store, would the store be the only place to shop and a threat to incomes and a draw of people with a higher tax base.

The retail problem that the critics cite is more of a symptom of the greater housing problems(and also the school and transit problems that those create) that have amassed for years. Worth a read, if you just skim over everything else today, is friend of the blog Daniel Hertz’s The Atlantic Cities article on gentrification and also the Ta-Nehesi Coates The Atlantic article he quotes on the ghetto as public policy. It illustrates how the creation of “desirable neighborhoods” and the classic restrictions on race have created an environment where the lack of or the presence of a retail outlet can send a neighborhood in a tailspin. If we had a market where all neighborhoods (stock wise) are equal and retailers saw the presence of housing units as a measure of success, then we would not have the retail issues we would have. Relative expense is also not a factor either, as many of the corner stores that still service what we consider food deserts, charge high prices for old fruit and other basic non-perishables.

Nevertheless, we need to start chipping away again at housing and education policy if we want retail to follow suit and be a better citizen. And now a few more links:

News from North Carolina

So you can peruse them on your own, here are the public records of all the exchanges between the City of Greensboro and the International Civil Rights Center and  Museum.

The Guilford County Commissioners questioned added expenses to school repair costs at their meeting last night.

Forsyth County Commissioners will consider new rules on cell towers in established neighborhoods at their meeting on Monday night. The public hearing on the issue starts at 6 p.m.

The City of Winston-Salem has scheduled two gun buyback events for March 15 and April 12.

The average unemployment benefit for North Carolinians has fallen by 15.8%.

The State DMV has been sued over the voter id requirement, citing problems for people with disabilities. Also ,the state computer system for public schools is having issues.

RDU Airport’s Terminal 1 reopening has been delayed due to the winter weather. The terminal will open sometime in early March.

News and Lessons from Elsewhere

Why we are at “Peak Walmart.”

Where exactly does the east side of Los Angeles begin?

When parking tickets force you to put a name and a definition on your romantic relationship.

Trees are moving as temperature zones move.

A primer on “lean urbanism.”

Why many freeways, despite efforts to get rid of them, are here to stay.

And finally, the Project for Public Spaces presents, “What Makes a Successful Place?”