It's more than a year...

January 10,2009 was a Monday. It might seem like a non-memorable day from the calendar to most of you but it was different day for the Town of Sharon, Connecticut. It was the day the food market went dark. Now, almost thirteen months later and counting, it still remains closed. Now, for many of you, myself included, it was a day many had wished had occurred many years before. You see, the market that almost 30 years earlier had opened in place of the Grand Union, was a good store for many years. The problem was, it had grown into a not-so-good store for too many years. Coolers were often broken, so products were forever spoiled. Ice cream freezers were down more than they were up. Meats were grey instead of red, and the conditions of cleanliness, well, we just won't go there. All that bad news in the store operation of the towns only market, I feel, had a direct impact to our towns other businesses and to some degree, the success that they have. Build it and they will come does not necessarily work in all instances. Build it yes, but give value, service, cleanliness and respect and listen, really listen to what people say, for without the people (customers), it is only time before you fail. The trickle-down effect of having no anchor store for the plaza, or for the whole town for that matter, has been an open sore for a year and counting. We all are hurting. True, the nations worst economy since '29 is upon us as well, and there lays much fact as well.
But the longer that our Town of Sharon goes along, without a grocery market of some type, well, the closer we get to potentially losing a liquor store, or a pharmacy, a florist or car repair. The closer we get to becoming just another very small town business-wise, like Cornwall or Falls Village. The closer we get to losing our doctors who come to work here, for they will reside elsewhere. Or heaven-forbid, they work elsewhere, and Sharon Hospital in turn, goes like Trotta's. Open today.But will they be, tomorrow?
Sharon needs to have some REAL people, with REAL knowledge of our past, our present and a REAL vision for tomorrow get to work soon. Before its too late.

Rick Hotaling
Rick's Wine & Spirits