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by davidw 1118 days ago
If they're 'non starters', then there is no need to make them illegal via zoning.

One just reopened near me, and it's been quite successful so far:

https://www.bendbulletin.com/lifestyle/bruno-s-6th-street-ma...

It's not just a store, sure, but the entire reason the commercial space exists is because it was a market before we got a zoning code making that sort of thing functionally illegal in most residential areas.

No one is saying you have to always go to the corner store, either. Who knows what the market would provide. They aren't high margin businesses. But at the very least, we should re-legalize them and see. This stuff isn't black and white: if you skip a few trips by going to a local barber, but still drive to work, that's still progress.

Where I lived in Italy, there was a smaller neighborhood grocery store we went to for most things. It was a little bit more expensive than the big box one, but not the kind of corner store prices you're talking about. They had fresh fruit, veggies and meat, so I often stopped there to pick up some things to make dinner with, nice and fresh, rather than a weekly run to Costco or something, as is more common in the US.

1 comments

They haven't been illegal anywhere I've lived. A few survive, but none thrive. Mostly they seem to get by selling drinks and to smokers.
Try and set one up in most US suburbs and then get back to me. In other words: look at your city's zoning map. They're not allowed in most places in most cities.
My previous post explained why I thought it was a terrible business plan and I mentioned my city has them and your response is to try it?
"Has them" doesn't mean "legal everywhere". Lots of places have legacy ones from before zoning.

What city is it?

There are lots of businesses that I would not want to be in. Does that mean they shouldn't be legal?