Dear Editor,
Re: “Protect the mom and pop shops,” Letters, Aug. 14.
Since you printed my letter “Protect the mom and pop shops,” I have had three, long-time merchants in Steveston thank me for my comments.
They also made it clear that it would not take much of an increase in their rents or leases to force them to think seriously about moving their businesses elsewhere.
They also pointed-out how many shops in the centre of the village (four) have been vacated in the last two months and that those were likely a result of the aforementioned rent increases.
The mom and pop stores in Steveston offer merchandise and shopping experiences that cannot be had anywhere else in Richmond, and adding more generic spas, yoga parlours, hair dressing salons, and boringly familiar chain stores will only detract from the village’s heritage character and undermine its reputation as a unique tourist destination.
Perhaps one letter writer, who has challenged my claims, should take the time to get to know established merchants in Steveston, as I have done over the past 30 years, and ask them what their opinion might be about the issue — or visit delightful towns like La Conner, Coupeville, Snohomish, or Port Townsend in Washington State to see how they have preserved and protected their heritages.
Chain stores and franchise outlets draw customers to malls, outlet centres, and inner big-city shopping corridors, not to places like Steveston.
Ray Arnold
Richmond
