I've been watching the activity upstairs at Fowler's, wondering what they were doing. Last week I found out: they've converted what was office space into additional customer seating. Sounds like a good thing, right? I sat up there; it's comfortably cozy, and could be even nicer with a bit more work.
But I'm concerned. Fowler's was, and always will be to me, a gourmet grocery. I've seen a lot of businesses (bookstores, video game parlors, grocery stores) add cafe-type operations; the cafe starts to consume the rest of the business, and the folks who were running say, a bookstore find themselves running a restaurant. It's not the same thing, and some places don't survive the change. In the particular case of Fowler's, its new owners are also involved in the G3 Cafe in Southern Pines, so one would assume they can handle the cafe side. But for me, the issue is this: I don't want another cafe so much as I want a local gourmet grocery. If I get a nice cafe along with it, that's great, but the grocery store, to me, is key.
In any case, bon chance. I wish them well. I'm also shoveling them money as fast as I can get there and spend it. ;)
I've been meaning to add that Fowler's has put some of their space to good use: they've added a small selection of cooking tools and housewares. I'm really pleased. I was ticked when they added the space upstairs, because I thought they were getting further from what I wanted, but a little part of me said "Maybe they need space for housewares...." I should have had more faith. ;)
Posted by: Joe | 28 October 2004 at 11:23 PM
Hm. I think I was right after all. :(
Posted by: Joe | 26 January 2007 at 06:59 PM