[esquire]

Local news media are reporting that the Pollocks Hardware co-op on Main is in trouble and there's a slate attempting to take control to try and keep the store afloat in the face of mounting losses.

I admire their pluck but in some respects I think they're fighting a losing battle. Pollocks makes sense in a very densely populated neighbourhood where lots of people walk by on a busy shopping strip. North Main might have been that kind of a strip in the 30s, but it no longer is. The idea of running what amounts to a hipster Home Depot in the North End does not seem like a recipe for success.