A local joint looks to be closing soon and many are upset, but can this serve to teach a good lesson to people?

No one is quite sure just what exactly is to become of Whitey's here in Wilmington, but one way or another it looks to be facing some major changes sooner than later. As the link above points out, the owner Mr. Pravette acknowledges that one way or another they will be "redeveloping." This news has caused a lot of anger within the local community, and probably more than that, just plain sadness. But has everyone thought this through beyond their emotions?

A few minutes ago I was noodling around on facebook, and checked out the WECT News page, (the local NBC affiliate.) They had a summarized version of the story, and mentioned how there is a good chance that Walgreens will be taking that particular corner over. The posts on the thread were vastly negative about this. This is completely understandable. After all, the place has been around since 1956. I'm sure people have a ton of fond memories in the place, and I have no doubt that there are many people who really enjoyed the food.

Here's the deal though; I've been to Whitey's. The food was extremely mediocre. Watery eggs, cold food, a dirty floor, and week service pretty much sum up the place. I have nothing personal against the ownership, and I certainly recognize that my opinions are simply my opinions...except now the place is in financial trouble, and looks to have numbered days. So maybe my opinions AREN'T just my opinions. Apparently they are shared by lots of other people. Maybe this is the perfect example of capitalism in the works. Whitey's failed to provide a good product, and now it's in trouble. Walgreens has continued to grow, seems to be fairly clean every time I am in one, has relatively low prices, and never seems to be in shortage of customers. Should there be any surprise that Walgreens looks to be the leading contender as Whitey's replacement on the corner of Kerr and Market?

For the record, I support Mom and Pop type places. Yet I won't support one blindly if they fail to provide quality service and products. I was amazed to see the anger in many people's posts on that facebook thread. Everyone was talking bad about Walgreens, seemed to have the attitude that since Whitey's had been around since '56, and that it's not a corporation, it should be entitled to remain in business, and that it should be entitled to that street corner. No one seemed to think that Whitey's should have to face competition.

The sense of entitlement, an all too common phenomenon of late, seems to be rearing it's ugly head again. It's too bad Whitey's has seen better days, but maybe people can look to this as an example of the beauty of capitalism. Maybe Whitey's, back in 1956, served better food, had better service, and had cleaner floors. Maybe this can be a warning to people not to let complacency and senses of entitlement ruin their work ethic.

Hopefully this will keep people motivated not to serve watery eggs.