WHEN I walk around the Corner these days, I sense a change in the commercial landscape. What once was a local, eclectic, unique area of local merchants is slowly transforming to a commercial franchise-driven powerhouse. Historically, the Corner was a place for students, townies and professors to meet in a friendly and local environment. However, with the intimate Espresso Royale out and the impersonal Qdoba in, we are witnessing thefranchise commercialization of the Corner. We need to support our local merchants and halt the impersonal commercialization of this unique, local Charlottesville area.
Currently, the Corner district has three huge national franchises (Subway, Starbucks and Qdoba) as vendors. Colorado-based Qdoba is part of the Jack in the Box network and has over 100 Mexican food franchises nationwide.
Charlottesville is a small town and therefore, local merchants are supposed to flourish, not large franchises based in Colorado. Yet, local restaurants, bars and shops are struggling to compete with mass-produced food and coffee made available at lower prices. Sure, Subway is more affordable than or Little John's, but isn't it nice to take your visiting friends to a place unique only to Charlottesville?
The University is already commercialized enough with every athletic team sporting a brand and banks, coffeemakers and soda companies competing for student business on Grounds. The area adjacent to Grounds, however, is a relief from constant big-business commercial pressures and a place for students to mingle, read a book, eat or go to bars. The University's Web site describes the Corner as "the center of student life at the University." Does Subway or Qdoba foster this cultural and social environment? No. Look at the history and reputation of our local 24-hour sandwich shop, Little John's. These types of restaurants, bars and shops give this local community a unique character. When your parents or friends come in, you take them to Biltmore and have Tollhouse Pie or to Michael's Bistro for quality beers, not Ruby Tuesday's on Barracks.
Granted, some students prefer the food and products of a nationally recognized company. Many will hike down Route 29 to the new Best Buy to buy music, instead of the smaller Plan 9. Price and a vast stock of products play a role in many students' purchasing minds.
Yet in the long run, we do not want Charlottesville to become a town for corporate America to exploit college students and overhaul local merchants. We need to resist temptation for lower prices and appreciate the cultural and communal benefits of a local character. Elite faculty and staff travel to the middle of Virginia because they appreciate the escape from suburbia and commercial America. The Corner provides a local place for students and faculty to extend Jefferson's vision -- let's not destroy this local character. I figure a cliche Jefferson quote will work here: "The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain." With plenty of vacant spaces on the Corner and local merchants competing with large franchises, we as a student body need to work hard to preserve Charlottesville's pride of culture and distinctiveness.
Some students might be thrilled with the onslaught of commercial franchises. There are many franchises that sell quality food and products. I admit a franchise restaurant like Chili's definitely has better food than O'Neill's -- but it does not have any local appeal. When you eat at restaurants in Barracks and on Route 29, you are not experiencing the historically quaint Charlottesville vibe.
If all of Charlottesville looked like Barracks Road, we would be no better than a D.C. suburb. Charlottesville has a local, historic charm, and that's why this town is a great home to this prestigious University. A small college town should not be transformed into a strip mall with franchises galore. The Corner is not an extension of Barracks Road -- instead, it is a local gathering place to foster this University's Jeffersonian culture.
If the Corner loses control of its local prowess, franchises may soon move down Main Street and take over the Downtown Mall. No one wants McDonald's to take over Martha's Café or 7-11 to move in to The Corner Market -- these national franchises are available less than a mile away in the eyesore known as a strip mall.
(Michael Behr's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at mbehr@cavalierdaily.com.)
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