Donut fans near downtown Raleigh can’t be happy that Krispy Kreme will close its oversized kiosk on the Fayetteville Street Mall just after the hawk-ey fans depart for the NHL All-Star Game at RBC Center.
But to say the store’s closure “wouldn’t be a good display of corporate citizenship,” as Downtown Raleigh Alliance President David Diaz did to the News & Observer, is the height of arrogance.
Is Krispy Kreme, or any other business that opens on the Mall, obligated to remain open forever ? even if it loses money ? just to prevent “for lease” signs and empty storefronts from popping up near the nice hotels, embarrassing downtown boosters? Sounds to me like an invitation for entrepreneurs to avoid the Mall altogether and do business someplace that understands that capitalism embodies both the possibility of success and the potential for failure.
