To the Editor:
The Times reported two weeks ago in their headline that liquor brought new vitality to V.H. And of course the owner/manager of the Copper Wok was the main voice quoted. There were no proof or statistics provided. Did the reporter look to see that this was one of the wettest summers registered? I believe this had an affect on people going downtown. Did the SSA bring in more tourists to V.H.? This brings in more vitality. How much more retail sales did the Stop & Shop do? Don’t just ask proponents of liquor, it’s one-sided.
So the Copper Wok, Mikado, and Soffita’s serve liquor. Will they continue the vitality downtown in the winter? Imported servers have gone away. Tourists have gone home, and we are left with year-rounders who may or can not take up the slack. And how much are the costs of certain retail sales to the town? How many of the restaurateurs own private property in V.H.? Do they own the commercial property they occupy? And how much does the extra liquor availability supply to our town in taxes?
How about now that the summer is over, will the winter be running at 13 percent better now that there are no tourists? Or, as usual, will it have still been the summer grab for the money and run, leaving V.H. in almost exactly the same place?
It’s time to do some real investigative reporting.
Dana Hodsdon
Vineyard Haven
The post Numbers may tell different story appeared first on The Martha's Vineyard Times.