Without a trace of irony, Wal-Mart spokesman John Mendez asked me if there was a small, locally owned coffeehouse in Redlands where we could meet for our interview last week.
That ruled out Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, corporate giants that already killed a small, locally owned coffeehouse downtown.
He wanted a place with unique flavor, where the money spent would support local owners, not a giant corporation.
So we met at Stell on Barton Road, a college hangout where the baristas wear street clothes and their patter is humor-laced.
Stell is to Starbucks what local shops are to Wal-Mart, little fish that must swim ever faster to survive the big shark.
The disappearance of locally owned, uniquely flavored mom-and-pop shops is one of the specters raised by opponents of Wal-Mart Supercenters across the Inland area, including the one proposed for Redlands.
Wal-Mart's reputation for cutthroat business practices is also a target of opponents such as the Redlands Good Neighbor Coalition.
But Wal-Mart is reshaping its image as a corporate good-guy.
Mendez -- a soft-spoken man only a year into his job as Wal-Mart's Southern California flack -- was eager to tell me about its green initiatives.
From shrunken-down business cards, to a fleet of Priuses, to freezer sections where the lights come on only when a customer approaches -- Wal-Mart's focus today is environmental sustainability, Mendez wanted me to know.
The corporate giant is buying produce from local growers, not just to improve its image but to reduce the number of miles the fruits and vegetables have to be trucked, thereby lowering fuel consumption, he said.
Some Wal-Mart stores will be solar-powered, and customers are being urged to switch to compact fluorescent lights.
Wal-Mart also has been a leader of reducing waste by asking suppliers to reduce packaging, for example introducing concentrated liquid laundry detergent, Mendez said; now every manufacturer makes a concentrated version.
Those green initiatives are commendable, but they don't outweigh the damage big-box stores do to the quality of life in towns like Redlands, said John Walsh, chaplain at the University of Redlands, who opposes the superstore.
"Wal-Mart will clearly impact local businesses, many of which are family-owned by people who have contributed to the (area's) quality of life ... for decades," Walsh said.
Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman said small, locally owned businesses coexist with Wal-Marts everywhere, and thrive as long as they carve out unique niches and don't try to compete head-to-head with Wal-Mart.
Coalition member Corla Coles said she worries about the danger to students at the nearby high school under construction in north Redlands, from heavy trucks bringing in goods to the 24-hour superstore.
Mendez said Wal-Marts operate safely near schools across the country.
Wal-Mart will apply soon for permits to build the Redlands superstore. The city has received more than a dozen letters, including a few in favor.
But opponents hope Redlands will reject Wal-Mart's superstore, as Inglewood did, or that Wal-Mart will withdraw, as it did in Highland and Fontana.
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