Hastings on 50th St to Close
Tonight I participated in the mad rush that is a liquidation sale at the 50th St. Hastings. It has been one of my favorite stores to shop at because of its late hours and wide range of products. Throughout the years several of my friends have worked there. I can honestly say I will miss it when it closes.
Rumor has it that the building owner wanted Hastings to sign another 10-year lease, which the company did not want to do because the margin of profit at the store was not high enough for that long of a commitment. I respect the choices of the businesses, even though I am sad to see the store go.
I have a hunch that we will see a new Hastings store in Southwest Lubbock soon…
The store closing got me thinking: this sort of thing is exactly why I don’t want to see our public education system privatized. Picture a low-performing school with declining attendance. The responsible, public system of education would try to find and fix the problems at the school and correct them for the good of the community. A private system of education would likely close the school and seek out better, more profitable schools — undoubtedly in Southwest Lubbock! After all, competition between schools will send the students to the best schools, right? Never mind the gaping holes in our community that business will judge “not worth the risk,” right?
It makes me sick to my stomach to think about an education system with no accountability to the community.
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July 27th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Yep, it’s the 10 year lease thing. The reason they don’t want to sign one though isn’t because of profits, that store is the top performer in the Texas/NM region. The building is falling apart and is sapping the business from 82nd St. They were trying to get a new store built by the new Target out past the W Loop, but there doesn’t seem to be anytime for it now.