spectacle21

I'm not sure if this is appropriate to post here, but here goes: Just a few hours ago, I was part of a rather blunt display of discrimination. For less than a year, I was a regular customer at Reid's Fine Foods. The service was always professional and I enjoyed the dining atmosphere. Unfortunately, an incident occurred that forced me to discontinue my patronage at Reid's. On Monday December 21, 2009 between 2-2:30pm, I was present at the eatery for lunch. I received a meal prepared by a young Caucasian female consisting of chicken wings and macaroni & cheese. From there, I gathered a few more items and made my cash purchase at a register. Immediately after finding a seat, I noticed on first touch that my wings were abnormally cold. As anyone knows, ill-prepared food can harvest harmful bacteria such as Salmonella & E. Coli. I proceeded to the luncheon counter & asked an elderly Caucasian female employee if she could please heat the wings for me. She slyly replied that she could not perform the task...'for EBT.' I was confused and asked her to repeat her statement. She further enlightened me that she could not reheat food for any EBT/Government Subsidy Recipient. I was appalled, because I paid with cash. Furthermore, money is money --- there is no justifiable cause to deny a paying customer warm food. I could not believe that she made the assumption that I paid with an EBT card. The manager (a middle-aged Caucasian male) soon came to the scene and bluntly asked for my receipt. Once again, I was appalled. I had just paid for my food less than ten minutes before the incident. I went searching for my receipt and realized I had thrown it away. I expressed to the manager my displeasure and asked for a full refund. He went to his office to look up the transaction on the system. A few minutes later, he came back and admitted that he saw that I did pay with cash. He kept explaining to me that EBT customers do not receive the same benefits as cash/credit/debit paying customers. Once again, I was appalled. I further explained to him that it was completely out of line for he and his employee to discriminate against me off a broad assumption. I received my refund and vacated the premises. Overall, I am utterly disgusted. It is appalling to know that 'separate but equal' is STILL upheld in various American establishments in THIS era. I am a 23 year Black male and native of Charlotte. I am a recent college graduate and work in the Commerical Photography field and currently starting my own business centered on Photography and Graphic Arts. Due to my profession, I dress casually and with a small physical stature - aiding in my younger appearance. I am sure these factors fueled their assumptions. Reid's Fine Foods was a regular stop for me for lunch throughout the work week. I do not own a vehicle, so the location is a huge convenience for my daily travels to/from home and work. It should not matter whether or not I was an EBT customer. Warm food should not be denied to anyone paying for a decent customer service experience. I am disgusted with the blatant disregard for human decency in the matter. With their policy, they have in fact proven that African-Americans are STILL at a social disadvantage in this country. I am quite sure if I were Caucasian, the elderly employee would have heated my food with no questions asked. So, I filed a complaint with Action 9 News because I know Don Griffin frequents Reid's as well. What else can I do to get this matter heard? I want people to know what kind of business Reid's Fine Foods is running...

December 2009

Yea...I JUST saw the background as I logged on/off myspace. Pretty decent exposure.

Well....I may be a little late in the game with this, but here's my take on the new LYNX line. I ride it everyday to work to save on gas & do my part in saving the environment. Overall, I think its a smooth ride from downtown to Arrowood (where I get off) Station. However, I have a few gripes: they seriously need to build a long line of bus shelters outside of each station where buses feed in-&-out. You can't possibly expect people to just stand outside & face the elements while waiting on the bus from the train. I catch the 56 bus from Arrowood & there are only 2 small shelters for maybe 4 different bus 'bays.' I just find it to be extremely tacky & quite inconsiderate of what people have to face outside. Also, I think the platforms are too small to handle the amount of people that actually pace around the stations while waiting on a train. Granted, this is light rail & its not suppose to be as 'full-fledged' as heavy rail....but I just think its unsafe to have such small platforms with relatively large crowds in the area while trains are approaching/departing. In my opinion, I don't think this line was built to fully accomodate much larger crowds that are to be expected in the near future.

When was the "Greatland" concept phased out? I worked at a Target: Greatland just 8 months ago.

The area around Lenox Mall may be a traffic nightmare, but it is far more 'urban' than SouthPark.

I agree....the mall could use a more "stand-out" anchor. But, the present set-up is just fine for Northlake. The mall is still very new & its going to be a few years before its able to obtain a set identity.

Last weekend, I went to Northlake for the first time. In my opinion, I think that its a very nice mall with an even more inviting environment. The attention to detail with store design caught my eye and I was overall pleased with my shopping experience there. The Banana Republic Store has a wayyyyyy better selection than the Concord Mills store & is more visual captivating. I went to Northlake on a Saturday afternoon and was there well into the nite - the mall was pretty packed and far from dead. I'm sure it has its 'up-and-down' moments like every mall. As far as this mall attracting high-end stores...hmmmm....that's a maybe. The vibe I got from the mall was more of a clean, family-oriented destination....not super-stylish, ultra-chic, 'I-have-to-dress-up-to-come-to-this-mall" vibe (i.e. Lenox in ATL & SouthPark). Northlake reminds me more of a mix b/t Perimeter Mall & Gwinnett Place Mall (both in the ATL area).

I think it's unfair to project a gloomy future for Northlake at the sake of a few robberies. Yes, robberies/crime at ANY shopping center is bad. SouthPark, Concord Mills, & Carolina Place have all seen their share of these occurrences. Realistically, no mall is immune to this type of activity.

Wow...there goes alot of childhood memories. Charlotte is changing so much now that I'm away in college.

As an advent shopper, I have to agree with you. I went to the Ruehl @ Tampa's International Plaza during Spring Break a lil' over a week ago & was disappointed to find out that there is not a store here in Atlanta!!!

Ok...I live in Atlanta...& Fox5 News just did a report on the city's possibility of luring the HOF. Of course, the ATL media made it seem like the city already had it in the bag! They threw the obvious big names in the mix, you know: the Georgia Aquarium, booming downtown district, millions of people projected to visit, and of course...being ATLANTA. Then, they did something that hurt me as a Charlotte-native. They took a snapshot of Trade and Tryon Street on a dead afternoon and advertised that as our ENTIRE downtown. "Charlotte's downtown is a ghost-town compared to Atlanta." They even went as far as to describe us as a "town" and used phrases like "they're [Charlotte] hoping they can compete." I was tickled by this report, seeing that Atlanta seems to be very very very eager to land this gig.

I have to agree....Goldrusher will always be a classic......even after the 1,000,000th time I ride it!

I agree....Gucci, A/X, & Dior standout in my mind as real good contenders in this area for the time being.

Wow, Hotlanta....that statement is 'bout as elementary as one can get. Although, the Eastland area has recently been exposed to some bad aspects of life....its FAR from being "the ghetto" in a true sense. Also, giving broad generalizations of people in a given area is very ignorant. A majority of the people who shop there are teens/young adults (contrary to popular belief, they represent more than just BLACK people) who want a particular selection of clothing. Most of the time, this selection (which is more "thug" inspired...if that makes you comfortable ) is hard to find @ other regional malls. Yes, I took offense to your statement b/c I "waste my money to look like a thug or best" @ Eastland b/c that's my preferred style. Please, expand your thinking.

Not to sound negative....but I'm very glad to hear that Kansas City & Richmond are officially off the ballot. It never made sense to me WHY the two cities were even being considered. Of course, I do have a hometown bias for Charlotte....I feel that this would be another opportunity to strengthen our CBD. Building the HOF in Atlanta or Daytona would pretty much be a slap in the face to the City of Charlotte. Atlanta doesn't really need another tourist attraction on this scale - especially since opening the Georgia Aquarium (which is very nice) & already having a wealth of projects in that particular area near downtown. The HOF in Atlanta would just make the city look as though its taking on more than it can handle.

I would be highly disappointed, also. Another staple of Carolina history flushed down the drain. Hopefully, it will never come to that.

Concord Mills (Concord) SouthPark Northlake Eastland Carolina Place Birkdale Village University Place Eastridge Mall (Gastonia) The Bridges of Mint Hill (Coming 2007)

Northlake sounds like a great shopping destination. I'll be sure to visit the mall when I come back home for Thanksgiving. When 485 opens nearby, the area is going to boom even more economically.

I totally agree with you.

yea...that's true. But they might as well be separated by a freeway...b/c crossing that street is a death-trap...

I'm gonna have to agree with qirky....I don't think SouthPark is on the same scale as Buckhead. Its more comparable to the Perimeter Mall area rather than Buckhead. With the size and density of Buckhead alone, SouthPark could very well be a section of Buckhead. But nonetheless, with the way this area has been progressively changing over the years....SouthPark is bound to become Charlotte's premier area of upscale living and entertainment destination that its starting to become now.

I think that it would be a shame if Eastland Mall were closed. If Charlotte had more than 6 areas malls, then I would agree to it. But there's only like 4-5 areas mall in very different areas of the city as far as demographics are concerned. I use to live off Eastway Drive and Eastland Mall was the closest mall to me. The mall should be revamped.....I think they should build an extension between Burlington all the way to the old Hannaford building. That would be a great addition. They could fill it all up with urban retailers and a Macy's department store (since they might be considering moving here anyway). Eastland Mall caters to the Black/Hispanic community and that shouldn't be the grounds for closing it down. The same thing goes for Freedom Mall. Overall, these two malls just need some revitalization (u know, the same thing they did to SouthPark that turned it into the wallet-breaker of the region) that caters to the demographics of the area they are in.