Opinion: We have enough fast food; we want something else!
By Gabriel Bell
Chronicle is growing. It seems as though homes and communities are springing up from nothing on a daily basis. All of that progress has finally allowed us to reap the benefits of a higher local population, as new businesses open to accommodate the new residents.
For instance, the Chronicle reported in August [and in this very issue] that we’ll soon finally have a gas station off of NC-16.
The Chronicle also reported that the gas station will share its building with a restaurant, most likely one that serves fast food.
Not long beforehand, the Chronicle reported online [and in this very issue] that a now-vacant lot not far from the intersection will soon sport a Zaxby’s.
For those of you keeping count, our intersection already has a KFC/Taco Bell, Burger King, Hardee’s, Subway, and Bojangles.
When the Zaxby’s and the gas station’s built-in restaurant are both built, we’ll have eight fast food locations.
Only four real restaurants exist near the intersection and one, Tex-a-Lina BBQ, is closing soon, according to the owners.
I’ll admit that I like a fast food hamburger from time to time, but the amount of fast food we have in this area is getting to be ridiculous.
Where are the coffee shops? Where are the delicatessens? Where are the diners and doughnut shops?
I fear we are drifting in the same direction as Terrell. Once, Terrell was a place with a future. Developers promised commercial areas on par with Birkdale Village.
Terrell’s historic buildings have since been torn down, staples like Boss Hog BBQ the only remnants of the old community that once existed.
Now, Terrell is a fast food strip mall. The town is nothing more than a bathroom stop on someone’s trip between Lincolnton and Mooresville.
Very soon, the only difference between our Chronicle intersection and Terrell may be that we have a Food Lion instead of a Publix.
That can be prevented if business owners and developers decide to give us real, local restaurants instead of more unhealthy corporate slop.
But it’s not all on them. As I mentioned before, Tex-a-Lina BBQ, one of our few local restaurants, is going to close down. If we don’t support businesses like Tex-a-Lina, we may lose them, and they may never come back.
So the next time you order a pizza, get one from Untouchables. Next time you want Mexican food, go to Jimador’s.
You may be reluctant to try these restaurants. You might not even like them. No matter how you feel, we can’t afford to lose them, or we may be consigned to only fast food forever