RECENT rumors about the possibility of a CVS Pharmacy replacing three well-known Corner spots -- Plan 9 Music, Just Curry and Satellite Ballroom -- have created a small panic around Grounds and throughout the Charlottesville community. Criticism of the pervasive chain-store culture abounds, and the Corner is being painted as one of the last bastions of anti-chain consumerism. The reporters responsible for C-VILLE's "Restaurantarama" section stated, "We are more than a little bummed that the Corner may be going all corporate just so the college kids can get their condoms and toothpaste more conveniently." But is the Corner in its present state really as anti-corporate as we make it out to be?
Before CVS becomes the sole symbol of the retail chain invasion, people should take another look at the Starbucks on the corner of Elliewood in between sips from their grande non-fat sugar-free vanilla latte. The invasion has already begun.
Currently, the Corner is a strange combination of corporate capitalism and small-town neighborhood charm. It begins with the Bank of America and ends at the Red Roof Inn. While many stores and restaurants are locally owned and operated, the presence of chain stores and restaurants is still quite noticeable. Students can stop in at places like Starbucks and Mellow Mushroom, and they can also frequent local businesses like Revolutionary Soup and Ragged Mountain. The Corner seems to have the personality of a small-town gathering place but the increasingly apparent ambitions of a shopping mall.
Chain stores bear the brunt of our ire these days for many reasons. They usually dominate their surroundings, with their huge plastic signs and their gigantic parking lots. The money they make is not reinvested in the local economy like it is at local stores whose owners live and consume within the Charlottesville community. The sense of attachment we feel to one-of-a-kind businesses that are unique to Charlottesville is absent in a place that looks the same in every other city throughout the nation. Prospective students and tourists who visit the Corner are supposed to remember it as something distinctive, not as just another shopping district where they can stop for food and then move on.
Keeping a place like CVS from moving into the Corner is important, yes, but so is recognizing that CVS is not the only culprit. Starbucks has already managed to sneak one of its stores onto the Corner, as have Mellow Mushroom, Jimmie John's and Qdoba. If you look closely at the mural painted in the lobby of Old Cabell Hall, you will even notice a painted Starbucks cup sitting among images of University students enjoying a sunny day on Grounds. So much for uniqueness.
The truth is, the Corner is already on the road to becoming a shopping district that could be found in any college town across the country, regardless of whether or not CVS makes its move. It is already in the process of becoming a pre-packaged consumer haven rather than a collection of local businesses whose owners aim to serve students and local customers.
I have a feeling -- a fear, really -- that when I return to the University years from now for a college reunion, the Corner as it currently exists, even with its small collection of chains, will be completely unrecognizable. Students will no longer grab a bite at Little John's or browse the bookshelves at Brillig Books. Instead, they will enjoy an afternoon at Barnes & Noble before picking up a green book at CVS and then meeting for dinner at Applebee's.
The point is not that Little John's and Brillig Books should stay here forever but, instead, that a tradition of local ownership and operation should be maintained at a location so important to the University community. We can't simply antagonize the local owners who are willing to sell out to chains because they struggle to keep their own businesses afloat. Students and other community members should make it a point to frequent local companies in an alliance against corporate chains, even if it means paying more money for condoms and toothpaste. Otherwise, there will soon be a Corner in every college town in America.
Amelia Meyer's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily.She can be reached at ameyer@cavalierdaily.com.
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