Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Giant Eagle entrepreneur Bill Bricker is quite the guy.  He is closing the Giant Eagle in Lawrenceville because it isn't profitable and has purchased our corporate owned store on the North Side.  Huh? 

The North Side store had to cost a pretty penny b/c corporate has invested a ton of money to make it well, decent.  It is clean and I have almost gotten to the point of purchasing produce and/or deli meat.  Not yet, but they almost had me with the self-scan registers. 

Now here comes Mr. Bricker with a track record of closing another store in a struggling community after a 4 1/2 year commitment.  What makes our struggling community any different?  Could it be the opportunity to cut corners and take us right back to the days of yore when chaos, nastiness and general upheaval ruled the day?  If the arrival of a nearby Shop n Save made him uncompetitive, why?  What happened?  Why couldn't he keep up?  What happens to us down here when another corporation rolls into the Northside with a grocery store? 

Listen, Mr. Bricker, we want a clean store.  A lot of people depend on that store and most of them are the low-income folks you just screwed in Lawrenceville.  If, to remain profitable, you need those of us who used to shop at MacIntire Square and Camp Horne to continue patronizing our local store, you have to continue the improvements.  I still just come in for quick things, not my major shopping.  And the first corner you cut, I'm out of there. 

I don't hold out any high hopes for Mr. Bricker's plans.  We on the Northside are his “rebound” investment.  I guess he thinks spillover from the NorthShore is a better bet than from Children's Hospital.  Clearly, Mr. Bricker isn't a “community” investment kind of guy.