Food for Thought
Now, let me get this straight: La Jolla Gallery manager Joy Ortner is upset because “people think they can spend $3 on a hamburger and be provided a place to sit with a view like someone dining in a restaurant in a dignified way.” (“Fast-Food Outlet’s Benches Stir McStrife in La Jolla,” July 15) Well, excuse me!
It’s no wonder that La Jolla Village businesses are not prospering: Traffic there is a nightmare, parking is next to impossible and many stores and galleries employ people who share Ms. 0rtner’s elitist attitudes.
Let’s face it: The McDonald’s benches really are not contributing to declining sales in the surrounding businesses; they’re just benches, for Pete’s sake. Maybe, if Ms. Ortner and her disgruntled neighbors were more willing to be courteous, pleasant and non-judgmental to the variety of people who visit La Jolla’s Village, their businesses would actually improve. How about it, Joy? It just might work. Lord knows, it couldn’t hurt.
LAURIE RUGGIERO ORR
Encinitas
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