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A lot of people don’t like change and that’s understandable. Routines can be comfortable - and certainly easier - than adapting to new patterns.
But not all change is bad.
Take, for instance, Gardner’s Seafood Wharf in Wickford. The business is well-known in this area for its fresh, quality seafood. Their latest application to add take-out services to their business has ruffled some feathers over the past several weeks, just as the previous owner’s application stirred the pot years ago.
Neighbors, both then and now, opposed the application for several reasons, some of which included noise, traffic and smell.
An attorney for the neighbors who opposed the application actually said this week that it was a “quality of life” issue.
That argument is a little over the top, no? It’s not as if we’re talking about putting a new landfill at the end of Main Street or an all-hours biker bar next to a school.
We’re talking about allowing an already established business to start cooking and selling some of the shellfish they already offer their customers. And, mind you, all this is going to happen a few hundred yards or so from four other well-established eateries that also offer take-out and dine-in services.
We can’t understand what makes Gardner’s proposal so offensive. Would it be more acceptable if they wanted to open another yacht club and spew a little more gas and sewage into the bay?
The truth is Gardner’s, like most other businesses these days, is merely trying to adapt to the times, to find another way to bring money into their business during a time when so many businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
The argument that take-out doesn’t belong there doesn’t hold water. But, of course, because their proposal called for change, it also made some waves.
We’re glad the zoning commission saw through the opposition for what it was.
The truth is Wickford has been changing for years and as much as we can understand the yen to keep things the way they’ve always been, this is not the same economy as it was five, 10, or 20 years ago.
The two years worth of work and the millions of dollars that have gone into improving the road and the sidewalks along Main Street weren’t invested only for the residents of Main Street. Wickford is an attractive place to live, work and visit.
In this type economy encouraging small businesses to grow and flourish is more productive than watching another one bit the dust.
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