Blog Post 2
Garrett Thrash
4/4/2022
PS 101
Dr. Clinton Jenkins
Blog Post #2
In a small town like Fort Payne, Alabama the introduction of a new shopping center, restaurant, or other attraction is usually welcomed with open arms. Many enjoy the competitive prices and more flavorful options that new shopping centers bring to the area. However, that is not the case for the Food City franchise hoping to land a new location in the area. Why are the people of the area so split up over a new grocery store chain moving into the area? While some would probably assume the reason for the argument in such a small town is that an establishment such as Food City may run the local “mom and pop” stores out of business, but it is the conditions upon which the store is being introduced into the area. The Fort Payne City Council agreed to pay the store over 3 million dollars to move into its new location (Southern Torch).
This led to an extreme controversial city council meeting in which citizens expressed concern over the city giving the franchise a 3 million dollar head start over local competition Bruce’s Foodland, including the owner, Shan Bruce. The Bruce family does not worry about welcoming the new competition into the area, instead they share the same concerns as the rest of the citizens about the city supplementing larger corporations and franchises to move into the area. This affects the local community in a few ways, with a majority of the issues including trust in the local government. While some citizens of Fort Payne see the introduction of Food City as an opportunity of economic growth, others think that bringing in larger corporations that run out local stores does the opposite by putting those store owners out of business. On the other hand, the larger franchises in the grocery industry are usually able to supply the people with cheaper options than locally owned stores. The much larger Food City would also bring exponentially more jobs into the area than the local stores such as Food Land and other smaller locally owned restaurants in the area.
The decision made by the city council impacts not only the everyday people of the town but also the many local business owners that will have to compete with this franchise along with other franchises the city council decides to fund. The owners of the local grocery stores will eventually lose their business since they will not be able to compete with the competitive prices a franchise can provide. The owners of the local stores have even went as far as filing lawsuits against the city for providing the franchise with the 3 million dollar incentive (WAAY 31). While the introduction of Food City will bring positives such as the cheaper prices and jobs stated above, the fact that the city council has paid them to bring their corporate business into town creates a very slippery slope for the multiple small business in the area. This could lead to the expulsion of all small businesses of the area due to the fear of more corporate locations introduced to the area. Most of the towns’ population runs small businesses in the area due to the local natural tourist attractions, such as Desoto Falls and Little River Canyon. The expedition of small business owners would prove detrimental to the local tourism economy. The solution to the problem seems quite simple for most of the city as well as the rural onlookers from the rest of the county that relies on Fort Payne for their groceries and other everyday needs. The solution is as simple as either completely taking the direct monetary incentive away for building new businesses in the area or providing the stipend to all businesses whether they are family owned or franchise owned. The former may stunt or even prevent future growth of the town, so the more favorable option would be to provide all businesses an incentive to grow and prosper without favoring the larger corporations. Although an argument against providing all the surrounding businesses with growth incentives might be a lack of tax funds, if the city can afford to pay a corporation 3 million dollars just as an initiative to build then they can afford to pay other smaller businesses smaller sums of money. This could allow the financial relief needed for local businesses to compete with the prices of larger chains. On the flip side, if the City Council’s final vote passes the grant to prove Food City with the money, the loss of competition from the closing of the local stores may eventually cause grocery prices to rise.
To provide economic growth for the city as well as financial security for the citizens , the city council should create legislation that caters funds to all businesses of the community stimulating growth and allowing for the locals to keep prices competitive.
References
http://southerntorch.com/community/fort-payne-council-paves-the-way-for-food-city/
https://times-journal.com/image_fcb99bd4-8ebb-11ec-9cf4-df3d95c0caaa.html