Batesville Store is Closing

Virginia is not for small businesses. (archived: 2011)

And it’s a damn shame. I find it inexplicable and infuriating that, if everything that is reported is true – that Friday was the owners’ first notice that they were in violation – then the State’s choice to enforce their rules and shut down the store is inexcusable and unacceptable. The Batesville Store is part of what makes Albemarle Albemarle.

The Batesville Store is was an integral part of the community. Personally, I’d like to see the community of Batesville, if they were so inclined, refuse to let the state shut the store down.

At RealCrozetVA – read the letters from the owners.

Update 13 June – Perhaps the best explanation comes from a Newsplex comment (no longer available):

If you take time to read the letter provided by the Batesville Store to its clients, which is linked in the story, the reason for closing is clearly explained. They had been operating as a country store and were under the governance of the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. However, it was determined that the store did too much business to remain a country store. The only option available was for them to become a restaurant and to comply with all Virginia Health Department regulations. The owners state in their letter that the requiremetn (sic)to operate as a restaurant was not viable for many reasons.

At cvillenews – read insight from Waldo into the possible rationale, including a link to the County’s discussions about Country Stores as well as a question as to whether Country stores are economically viable (the government should either ensure that country stores do fit within code or choose to ignore them)

At the Newsplex – read about the State’s rationale; don’t miss the comments (archived: 2011).

Read a couple of their newsletters:

From October 2009

What will happen to the Batesville Broadband?