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Turkey Tail, by Vanaprastha Sciorra

What if you had to choose between Walmart and Wegmans ?

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Vote in our purely FICTION poll about a futuristic scenario for Hornell

By Andrew Harris

Sometimes coming up with a good poll question isn’t obvious or simple. Many possible questions come and go before the weekly poll goes public. Without any clearly intriguing subjects, my thoughts run to fictional, hard decisions for the Maple City. Consider this scenario, set in the not so distant future:

Hornell’s city proper has had a major renaissance. Aldi’s has moved to Main Street, a Trader Joe’s has emerged and co-exists with a Harbor Frieght store in a sleek new complex just off Main. A massive farmers market takes over the Broadway Mall twice a week and draws a regional crowd. The Salvation Army store has invested heavily and have built a massive, two story complex designed for making donations and shopping super easy. Hundreds of efficient housing units have been built in the heart of Hornell, largely inhabited by younger professionals and small families.

The mecca of shopping just north of the city Hornell, the plaza which at one point had gutted Main Street, has seen better days. Walmart stores have long become more like warehouses than big box shopping experiences. Wegmans is still the finest grocery store in the land but a renewel of “nieghborhood grocers,” Trader Joe’s, and the thriving farmers market have had a noticeable impact.

Due to the declining retail value of the entire Walmart/Wegman’s plaza in north Hornell, physical depreciation has become an issue. City leadership, focused on small business and the demands of the younger generation, wants to undo the development of the past and “deincentivize” the massive plaza.

The new economy won’t need all the parking spaces, massive buildings, and infrastructure required to support the retail shopping hoards. Hornell leadership makes a plan to reduce the foot print of the plaza, which will only support one major retail operation.

Put yourself in the future. It is 2038 and the world of retail shopping, and grocery shopping is totally different. Who must go? Walmart and “one-stop shopping” or Wegmans the “royalty” of grocery stores ?

This horrible decision is again, FICTIONAL, but begs your vote. Thank you to Hart’s Jewelry in Wellsville for sponsoring our weekly poll question!

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