The Davis campaign is up to another use of a scare tactic and false information. Their inner circle of anti-development old-guard are pushing the theme that the proposed new Walden Village Grocery store will put Pruett’s out of business.
Let’s look at the facts. In less than the last two decades, Pruett’s has survived the addition north of the river, essentially at the foot of the mountain, a new Walmart supercenter, a Whole Foods more directly targeting its customer base, a Publix, and a value priced Aldi, all while flanked by a Food City on both Signal Mountain Road and Morrison Springs Road.
Retailers famously tremble at the approach of a Walmart supercenter, yet all of these retailers have been able to carve out their slice of the pie.
Pruett’s has smartly worked in recent years to upgrade their format and offerings to differentiate their store from mainstream competition. Very few shoppers on the mountain are only shopping at one grocery retailer. The addition of a mainstream, competitively priced, convenient grocery store on the mountain only reduces the citizen trips up and down the mountain and keeps the tax revenue in Walden.
Some in the Davis camp tout that while Signal Mountain and Walden are separate towns, we are one “community”.
And in addressing competition in our “community”, did Pruett’s worry about putting Walden’s wine and liquor store out of business when it added its wine department? Did Pruett’s worry about the impact on nearby pizza restaurants when it added the pizza oven? Did Pruett’s think about locally owned 517 subs, Southern Star and the Subway when they added a full sub and sandwich bar?
With the number of Lee Davis signs at Pruett’s, we have to ask ourselves, is Lee Davis running for mayor of Walden, or Signal Mountain?
Heidi Wheelock