Cheeseburger in Paradise

You can spend money on the Creek again.
Jimmy Moore, the pastor of a church in Fines Creek and a lifetime tire man, closed up his shop last July. His was the last business on the Madison County side of Betsy's Gap, and the last business on Hwy 209. It was a general store years ago. Jimmy's Mom opened it up some time after the Second World War. (Jimmy's dad died in Normandy, and his momma had a family to raise.) Years and years later, as the general stores in this part of the county faded away, Jimmy turned into a tire shop and small engine repair. And there he sold tires and repaired small engines for many years. It was a gathering spot, or course. You could spend a few hours there and learn about everyone's tobacco, who needed surgery, and who needed new tires. And when Jimmy closed, he closed the last business operating on Spring Creek.
A few weeks ago the Creekside deli opened, about a mile up the creek and just down the drive from RM's old place. They sell cheeseburgers and grilled cheese and pizzas and soda pop and potato chips. And Vienna sausages and chewing tobacco. While this may not be an appealing menu for some folks, I for one and happy that there's a business open again on the Creek. It means that people are out and about and getting hungry. It means there is enough of a community around to support a little place like that, and, someone willing to take a risk and serve that community. There's a place to loiter in the parking lot, catching up with the news of the valley.