Remember the local mom-and-pop shops

With Quick Check opening in Monroe, a new dynamic has been brought to this community. As nice as it will be to have cheaper gas in the area, please don’t forget your neighborhood privately owned local shops, such as Bagel World in Monroe. Don’t be fooled into the gimmicks Quick Chek will put out there. The free coffee and soda phase will wear out, as well as their $.25 donation to M-W Little League on each sandwich (what is a $500 check at the end of the month really for a billion-dollar corporation?). But those local shops will still be there, grinding out each day, trying to survive in a world lead by corporations. Quick Chek is a nice convenience to have, but what will they do for your neighborhood? Will they be there to help out in a time of need? If there is a house fire down the road, will they come and bring water and food to the victims? Will they care if you don’t have that extra $.10 cents for your coffee? Are they going to donate hundreds of bagels each month to local churches? When it is all said and done, you are going to do what is most convenient and time-efficient for yourself. But just remember who has been around the community for the last decade, and who needs your business more. Jeff McCann Monroe