Gold: The Tale of Two Ws

It seems to me…as long ago as 1859, Charles Dickens saw the current Walmart controversies and the love affair with Wegmans when he wrote “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness.” And to paraphrase the title of the book from which these opening lines come, this is “The Tale of Two Ws.”

When an announcement is made that a Walmart is coming to a neighborhood, anti-Wal-Mart forces are filled with loathing and start digging trenches, arming themselves with facts and figures and opinions to try to show all the horrible things that will happen to the neighborhood and its people, existing businesses and its history. But, whisper that a Wegmans is coming to the same community, and the entire neighborhood is filled with ecstasy, uncontrollable happiness and anticipation of future rapture.

Visually, every Wegmans I have seen seems much larger than even the newest Super Walmart. Both stores sell a multiplicity of products, use a huge amount of land and create enormous impervious surfaces from their roofs and parking lots. Both Ws impact traffic, potentially raise environmental issues, produce substantial garbage, employ many people and pay big bucks in taxes. But one seems to wear a black hat and the other a lovely white chapeau. What causes one to have the welcome wagon greet them and the other a lynch mob packed with tar and feathers? This may be, as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” might say, “…a question that would cross a Rabbi’s eyes.”

The interesting result is, most of the time, both stores are filled with shoppers. Perhaps, the reasons people go to Walmart are different than why others go to Wegmans. Walmart is known for bargains and sells name brands as well as basic products including their own lower priced brands and so folks save money. Wegmans on the other hand, may have bargains, but also has a more exotic array of foods and other items that appeal to the “I don’t care what it costs, it tastes wonderful and makes me feel good” crowd.

Logic seems to say, both stores will impact their competition and small businesses. So why is one the shopper’s darling moreso than the other? The answer, I think, lies in what I call the “which foot came first syndrome." Walmart, it seems, got off on the wrong foot in too many communities. Wegmans is something like Bill Clinton. No matter what they represent or do, everyone loves them. But that’s the US of A. What a country!

No matter whether you are a “Walmarty” or a “Wegy,” there’s no doubt you will be contributing to the financial welfare of Stafford or Fredericksburg. And, in these “best of times and worst of times,” every little bit helps.

Harvey Gold is a contributing writer for the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com.