Basta to More Fast Food in the Dimond
My email account filled today with e-chat comments about the possibility of a Little Caesar's
franchise opening at 2216 MacArthur Blvd in the Dimond District (the former Beneficial Finance site). It seems like maybe Fast Food does in fact kill - not just in a Michael Pollan organic way, but a slow death of (r)emerging communities and business districts.Many of the comments shared reflected a no more attitude about:
1. More Fast Food places
2. More cheap Chinese restaurants
3. More nail shops
4. More cheap pizza outlets
Many of the comments expressed interest in:
1. a good pizza restaurant
2. a deli
3. a good Italian place
4. an Ethiopian restaurant
5. a Fabric/Craft store
6. some sort of store that were serve "senior" needs
7. more businesses like Paws & Claws, La Farine, Farmer Joe's, the Dimond Cafe, Loka Yoga, and Peet's that are about more than just making a dollar and who see the long term potential business - and community - gain in the development of the entire neighborhood in a sustainable way.
8. I'm hoping for some sort of a family-style beer/brew pub place!
In the past the Dimond Merchants Association facilitated a survey that tried to gather the opinions and interests of members of the community. I remember many hoping for another Arizmendi or Barney's to open in the Dimond. It looks to me like something along these lines will happen again. Check out the Dimond District online group for more info.
Kudos to Ruth for all her hard work. Support her efforts and the Dimond by going to Paws & Claws and buying your pet supplies exclusively from them!
Check out the updated 2.0 website Shop Dimond .
2 comments:
I feel kind of funny telling Little Caesar's we don't want them here. I mean this is our burg, the place of diversity, so why are we shutting out this one business. Maybe I'm all wet and crazy as usual, but that building has been vacant for a heck of a long time. Little Caesar's is a chain but they always keep up their store fronts. I dunno. It just seems like all of sudden the Dimond is looking better and we start excluding the fast food? I don't eat it but others do. I don't go to nail salons but they are packed when I look in there. It doesn't seem right to force them out if they are coming into a building no one else is wanting. That is making a statement there on improving our neighborhood. There are plenty of other vacant places for other folks. I say, "Let them have it if they want it."
I agree with you...we shouldn't become so power-crazed that we say who can and can't come into the Dimond. Yet we also need to work towards a balance. I'm not at all against pizza (love it!), cheap Chinese (trying to avoid it more and more....eating too much of it) and/or nail shops (my wife loves them in the Dimond). It's more about finding a balance of business offerings.
There's also the huge danger of gentrification and changing the heart and soul of the hood in order to shape a demographic transformation, or to lock out the poor.
I think balance is good for everyone - the businesses, the people, and the future.
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