End of an era in Pungo

MUNDEN'S STORE, built in 1908, is old - old in age and condition. It is at the crossroads of what locals jokingly call "downtown Pungo."

But that doesn't make it historic, and just because it's been around longer than anyone can remember doesn't mean taxpayers should step in to save it, an idea that's been floated as a trial balloon.

Although no one knows for sure, Munden's Store probably has been serving customers in Pungo longer than the Cavalier Hotel has been hosting tourists at the Oceanfront. Now the 6-acre property that includes the store has been sold.

John Munden, the tenant, has paid rent through June, The Pilot's John Warren reports. After that, what happens to it is anyone's guess. It's in such horrible shape that it would take a fortune to renovate for another use.

Part bar, part deli, the store over the decades has sold some of just about everything. But there's no reason to believe that the place inspired John Steinbeck's writing, or that President Woodrow Wilson stopped in for a ham and cheese, or that anything noteworthy happened there that would warrant public protection.

Historic is the spot where that cross was planted at First Landing more than 400 years ago. Historic are Jamestown and Appomattox and Arlington. It's not Kempsville, much as the city would like to make it so with plans for a history-themed Colonial-style shopping area.

Old Virginia Beach, full of lush farms and hunting clubs, fishing and oystering, was a wonderful, laid-back place. We can rue the coming of the strip mall all we want, but setting up tax incentives to protect Munden's Store from the wrecking ball? Despite the store's nostalgic hold on our imagination, that is hard to justify.