N. Durham: Harris Teeter, Walgreens progressing slowly at Willowdaile
October 24, 2007
Some questions vex the unlucky among us for the ages. Will Sisyphus ever get that darned stone up the hill without it falling down? Will NBC ever allow the "E.R." franchise to get the euthanasia it has so desperately needed for so long?
And on point for this blog: When the !&#$!@ will construction ever begin on the Harris Teeter up at Willowdaile, where a cinema sacrificed itself on the bulldozer altar for a store that's yet to open?
Rest a while longer, o suburban ones. You'll soon be sucking at the new Teet[er] -- as opposed to its Big Star-era ancestor across the street, which just plain sucks. The issue holding things up is a rather mundane and hum-drum problem. Namely, utility easements between the new store and neighboring businesses on the lot.
Word from the manager of one of these businesses is that the easements discussions are rolling along at this point (we'd heard a previous report that they were stuck in the mud.) New to report is that the now-closed Kangaroo/Pantry gas station between the Coffee World and Napa is set to transform itself into a Walgreens in the near future. Which should be a great comfort to those North Durhamites who've had to suffer the indignity of only having an Eckerd's Rite Aid, oh, right across the street.
Anyhow, report is that the construction should begin soon on the new Teet, though how soon is still apparently a matter of some speculation. The Durham News is reporting a fall 2008/winter 2009 opening, which meshes with a near-term construction start.
I haven't been to that particular Eckerd/Rite Aid, but if it's anything like the one at Broad & Guess, I'd be applauding a Walgreen's across the street. I finally moved all my prescriptions to Kroger due to the general surliness and incompetence of the Eckerd pharmacy staff. I was at Walgreen's for years in California, and was happy with their service. The Kroger at Northpoint has UNC pharmacy interns as clerks, not dispirited low-wage workers who appear to hate their jobs and their customers.
Posted by: cd | October 25, 2007 at 08:21 AM