Word on the street: Chocolate Gems in Black Mountain planning to move to downtown Asheville

10 Comments

1. 

   anonymous April 28, 2011

   Well, K, my basic point is that if you're going to complain, at least complain about a valid issue. And, believe it or not, you do have a valid issue. Asheville's business community is not terribly creative — restaurant, gallery, bar, brewery, touristy schlock shop. Lather, rinse, repeat on the next block.

   I'd personally rather see some major employers set up shop downtown. Insurance companies, perhaps. Or some of those climate science jobs our local leadership is always talking about, but never actually doing anything to nurture or attract.

   Unfortunately, those major employers would probably require downtown Asheville to grow, which would bring on a plague of NIMBY's the likes of which has not been seen since the book of Exodus was written. If companies that provided a serious number of jobs were locating downtown, it would necessitate growth and construction and that — as PARC and other local advocacy groups remind us — is to be discouraged at all costs. Also, any white-collar companies, scientific firms, or employers in that vein would not be a part of the tourist ass-kissing apparatus that our local leadership has devoted itself to — thus, Asheville's leaders certainly won't be doing anything to attract that sort of unsavory crowd, not when there are chocolate shops to get all in a dither about.

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2. 

   K April 28, 2011

   Anonymous, if that corner store operated any later than 5 pm it might be a worthwhile establishment.

   Furthermore, I live on Lexington meaning that my closest outlet for sundries is the Shell station past the 240, which is lovely considering they're open 24 hours and all but I do believe in supporting local businesses and would much rather have a local market/bodega in downtown that catered to us nocturnal 20 somethingyearolds.

   I will admit that my analogy of downtown becoming a strip mall was not the correct choice of words. Perhaps I should have called it an upscale food court.

   I patronize and appreciate many of the downtown restaurants. However, it's my belief that if Asheville is to evolve as a city that the central metro area is in desperate need of more than chocolate shops.

   Downtown has, what a 6 block radius? Don't you think that having 3 chocolate shops in such a small area is a bit redundant?

   Is there a big enough demand to sustain all 3 or will this end up harming the businesses due to excessive supply?

   Isn't there another sort of establishment you'd rather see occupy the limited amount of retail space that this business will end up taking?

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3. 

   Max April 28, 2011

   Awesome news! It's getting harder to find food downtown too. Maybe a few more restaurants?

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4. 

   craggybender April 28, 2011

   k – go to the Hot Spot and hang with the non-strip mall set. you can chew your bubble yum and knock back a couple of deer parks.

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5. 

   K April 27, 2011

   Peace is Better obviously doesn't live downtown.

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6. 

   Murphy April 27, 2011

   Chocolate City … ?

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7. 

   anonymous April 27, 2011

   K, you might want to check out the Asheville Discount Pharmacy for your convenience store needs. They usually have what I'm looking for.

   And wouldn't a comparison to a strip mall be more appropriate if downtown were filled with stores selling cheap crap? Isn't that usually what you find in strip malls? You might want to consider comparing downtown to an upscale mall if you're upset about prices being too high.

   Just sayin'.

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8. 

   Nate April 27, 2011

   Good point about the basic item purchases, K . . . I wonder why there isn't some kind of drug store or something similar in the entire downtown area. Even just a little bodega or corner store could rely on a lot of tourist business for things like cigarettes, soda, sunscreen, etc.

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9. 

   Peace is better April 27, 2011

   Swimming in chocolate and beer. Who wouldn't want to visit?

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10. 

    K April 27, 2011

    Good luck trying to find a pack of gum, or a bottle of water at anything less than highly gouged prices, but have your pick of chocolate.

    Downtown is becoming a strip mall.

    Reply