Facebook is right, Cotswold isn’t cool enough to be worth part of the Common Market name
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Charlotteans are super territorial and touchy about neighborhood names — and Common Market has set off a huge debate.
The iconic Charlotte bottle shop and deli company announced they would be opening a new location nestled between the Oakhurst and Cotswold neighborhoods.
Before you email me, yes, I know it is actually in the Oakhurst neighborhood.
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[Agenda story: Common Market is opening a new location in Oakhurst]
To appeal to both neighborhoods, they’re dubbing it their “OakWold” location.
The name is an amalgamation of the two, obviously, a la NoDa and LoSo and SoDoSoPa.
As you might expect, it’s touched a nerve online. Facebook is full of complaints of people who just plain don’t like the name.
“To create a landmark such as the new CM with a fake name like OakWold is disrespectful to the new neighborhood it will reside in,” one guy wrote.
“Oakwold isn’t a place and it’s not happening. Pushing it will only alienate the locals, I am one of those locals,” another person wrote.
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Blake Barnes, co-owner of Common Market, said on Facebook that there is no intention to alienate anyone. He wrote that the name was the decision of ownership group of Common Market and that he understands the negative sentiment. He pointed out that they would be investing a lot of capital in the area.
Common Market Plaza Midwood
Here’s my hot take: Cotswold is not cool enough to be catered to.
Oakhurst is booming and hip and cool and all the things that epitomize Common Market’s ethos. Cotswold is the land of dueling supermarket megachains and long lines for the elementary school carpool.
Cotswold isn’t cool enough to smash part of its name into this new location. Common Market Oakhurst has a better ring to it, anyway.
Come fight me, Cotswold.
