Op-Ed: Fast Food Restaurants are Doing Nothing Positive

— By Alyssa Bretz—

As I walked into my local grocery store today I became very disappointed when I noticed a Taco Bell sign in the front window of the old Longboard Liquors spot. At first I thought it was a joke, thinking to myself, no way is Half Moon Bay allowing another fast-food chain in our community, no way is it 2013 and people still eat that crap and no way is it going right next door to an organic health foods store! But then I stopped and considered, this could actually be happening. I am not sure who is behind this happening or who is in support of this, but people in this community need to understand the following: 

Happy Taco, a family-owned and operated local business for over the last 20 years is literally 250 feet away. Respect needs to be had for these tenants who have been providing great food, friendly service and legitimate business ethic for the last 23 years and counting. While Taco Bell’s quality does not even compare to Happy Taco’s, it is important to realize they will still be in competition with one another due to the fact they both offer similar food items. Locals love Happy Taco and the other great Mexican Restaurants such as: Tres Amigos, Spanishtown and La Taqueria. There is no reason why Half Moon Bay needs another Mexican Restaurant, especially a fake Mexican Restaurant chain.  

Happy Taco and their fellow small business competitors do not deserve this big business invasion and neither do the current generation of children struggling with health and weight issues. Taco Bell lacks proper nutrition and has had multiple law suits against their meat. They treat their employees like dirt, but claim to “care about each other and the planet”. If taco bell "cared about each other and the planet" than they would not use preservatives, harmful food additives, and blue #1 food dye in their menu as these are known health risks and environmental destroyers. They would also not open up right next to a family owned local business that has been there for over 20 years.  

Popeyes another fast food restaurant, serving fried chicken, is also only several feet away. When Popeyes opened up, it was already a downgrade for our community as their food also lacks proper nutrition, their tacky décor can be seen by all tourists travelling on hwy 92, and their greasy fried food smell wafts throughout the intersection combining with the greasy food wafts of Burger King and McDonalds creating a rather disgusting aroma.  

What is happening to Half Moon Bay? Are we letting go of our local values? Are we letting go of respect for our hard working local businesses? Are we losing respect for our bodies and our minds? Are we forgetting about the local farmers this community was built upon? Taco Bell, Popeyes, McDonald's, Burger King and the other fast food restaurants are doing nothing positive for our bodies, our minds, our community, our children, our schools, or this country. They are destroying local businesses and our health one restaurant at a time and we are allowing them to do the same to our community. Please do not support this behavior and instead support the local farms and local businesses keeping this community and our children going.