About every 10 years Grand Marais, like a lemming, considers doing something so suicidal that it jeopardizes the atmosphere that makes us unique among tourist destinations, namely, the feeling that Grand Marais is a window in time back to an earlier, safer, uncomplicated era. Tourists come to Grand Marais to get away from the madness of today’s city life and enjoy nature’s bounty.
And now the Dollar Store. It’s like inviting the devil to dine. What’s next, a megaplex?
First, the top of the hill is the introductory point to Grand Marais. Do we want to infuse it with the same questionable charm as the eastern entry to Two Harbors with its McDonald’s, used car lots, ShopKo, and Super One? My God, the concrete! Where’s the charm there? Like Joni Mitchell sang: “Pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”
Second, there have been several articles on the national news about the recent closings of various Walmarts across the country, including one in Oriental, North Carolina. Typically, Walmart came in a few years ago and literally demolished its smalltown competition. Now, with the Walmart’s demise, Oriental is left without a grocery store. These chain stores have no soul. Our local shops are owned by and staffed by our friends and neighbors. Do we really want to ruin them?
Third, I’m at a loss to determine what value the increased traffic generated by such a store would bring to Grand Marais. It seems to me we have all we can handle with our current tourist load. Getting across town last summer was a nightmare, never mind parking but oh, wait! parking won’t be an issue because we won’t have any local businesses left downtown….
I thought we had some statute on the books preventing the ingress of chain/big box stores. Perhaps I’m mistaken. If we don’t, we need to set one up pronto! We need to nip this Dollar General Store in the bud. Dollar General places a carbuncle squarely on the nose of what is really a small slice of heaven: Grand Marais.
Citizens, speak up and quash this hare-brained development.
Pam Dorris
Grand Marais
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