Do we want more vacant storefronts?

The opening of the Fresh & Easy store is something I am eagerly awaiting. I am looking forward to shopping at a store that offers convenient, healthy, prepared foods in a newly revamped shopping center.

Fresh & Easy will be a wonderful addition to our family oriented town with busy kids and parents on the go. I was outraged to hear that the DPLU along with Sheriff’s Dept denial of a PCN letter have forced the Fresh & Easy store to halt construction. The sale of liquor in the area is a zero sum game. What will change is the much needed upgrading of a run down part of town.

The Sheriff’s Dept. opinion is erroneous in this case. We need innovative businesses that fill up storefronts. Currently the vacancies appear to be proliferating in Fallbrook. Don’t empty storefronts attract vandalism? Bustling shopping centers with full parking lots, and satisfied shoppers promotes a thriving community.

Fresh & Easy customers are not “feared patrons” that will loiter and cause a rise in crime.

If the liquor license that Fresh & Easy is applying for, one covering less than 10 percent of their stock, is seen as a crime magnet and an exacerbation of criminal activity, then we as a community need to examine the current environment of the pre-existing stores dispensing alcohol in the area.

Don’t deter a much needed and wanted business from setting up shop based upon speculation and fear.

Rachel Bishop