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Does World of Beer equal world of trouble in Davis Square?
By adamg on Wed, 04/10/2013 - 1:11pm
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Plenty of business
College students are only a fraction of the local beer drinking that goes on in Davis - wide age range of folks head there.
I've gone to a couple of World of Beer outlets, but I'm having trouble figuring out how a location like Davis Square fits in their business model, actually. The most urban one I've been to was the World of Beer in Columbia, SC - and they didn't have a lot of competition there for a place to sit and drink good beer. They are a good place to have around when you are trapped in strip mall and office park suburbia and faced with Ruby Fridays versus Chili Wing World and such.
I can see a good side to having one in Davis, though: it will draw away the tourists and those who want a large, but less curated selection from the bars that are often too packed on a summer weeknight to get near. I can't see it even denting the more mature bar crowd at The Burren and may make it possible to get a table at Mike's for actual food eating or a pint at Redbones (which has a large and very well curated selection) without getting there by 5:30.
Went to my first World of Beer last week
It was in downtown Savannah, and it seemed to blend into the neighborhood (this neighborhood, in particular, seemed fairly analogous to Davis or maybe Boylston Street in Back Bay) pretty well. I didn't even realize it was a chain until just now. Word to the wise, though, when you're deliriously hungry and they have a "Soup of the Day" sign outside, it's a joke - it's just another beer.
Now if we could just get the South African sandwich joint down the street in Savannah to expand up here with them...
i hate the argument that
barely serving food = giant bar fight central...
dear god they barely serve food, and they want to move in here? who will think of the kids?? someone stop and think of the kids!!!
Tavern in The Square (TiTS)in Allston serves food and they have not been known for their safety.
have you gone to Sligo's for their fine culinary delights??
barely serving food makes them like Silhouette or The Model... but hopefully not like Mary Ann's
Been to the one in Evanston, Illinois
http://wobusa.com/Locations/Evanston.aspx
Evanston is very careful in what thy allow in and World of Beer has blended in nicely.
There is nothing to worry about.
In fact the city of Evanston chose World of Beer over Tilted Kilt which is an upscale Hooters.
It's all about Ancient History
And any old timer who remembers the Jumbo up in Teele and the reason that the Davis Square Store 24 became a Store 18 knows why everyone is jittery. I was there for the arguments about Mike's getting a liquor license; it's still a very sore point for the city government.
I doubt World o midrange Beers will be a big problem, but they're going to be required to close relatively early, have extra bouncers, and probably have their kitchen monitored (because they'll have to serve more food than they want to) by Zoning.
I'm not sure that this operation is the best fit for Davis; one street-filling closing-time brawl and they'll lose their license. Unlike the Sligo, which couldn't fill an alley with its closing-time crowd.
First time I snuck into the
First time I snuck into the Sligo with a fake ID I saw a full on chair-swinging bar brawl. They must be grandfathered in.
Are you kidding?
Love this quote from the link:
"I have told them that I am VERY concerned about this as a possible use since I don't want to see a drinking hole in Davis that allows you to bring in your own food and barely serves any food of their own."
Now keep that in your mind and check out her website:
http://www.rebekahgewirtz.org/
"Re-Election Party for Rebekah at Saloon!"
If you have ever been to Saloon you would quickly realize its not the place that one could establish a good "base".
But seriously?
Does she reallyyyyy have a problem with people being able to bring their own food into a bar and have a few drinks with friends? God forbid you try and save a little money while having a good time.
The alderman should just say
The alderman should just say it outright: she doesn't like chain restaurants for no appreciable reason. Within a block of that space is the Joshua Tree, the Sligo and the Burren. All of them have similar menus and serve similar clientele. The decor in the Joshua Tree is essentially ripped off from the WOB floor plan. I can tell you there's *definitely* more beer variety on a WOB menu than at any of those bars. Somerville is happy to hand out victualler/alcohol licenses to any ethnic restaurant that keeps popping up on that same block as JT, and let the Rosebud build its own new venue, but apparently one more venue is just too much for this alderman? Please. Don't like chain restaurants? Fine. Just say so.
The Joshua Tree...
Is also a chain, with 3-4 locations in NYC as well as the one in Davis. Bottom line, it's not up to her to decide if the neighborhood "needs" another place like Redbones. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't...but the people will decide that by either spending money there, or not spending money there.
Joshua Tree
When it opened in Davis, I think it was the first one anywhere. Even so, there's a big difference between a small local or regional chain (think Boloco or JP Licks) and a huge national one (Subway, McDonald's).
What exactly
Is the difference? What about Legal Seafood? A big national chain that started as a local business. Dunkin Donuts? If the building is zoned for that business and someone wants to lease the space, then they should be allowed to do so.
Zoned for that business?
I'm not sure it's actually zoned for a restaurant or bar use. Most recently it was a Social Security office, and before that, a department store.
Well,
If they're talking about putting in a restaurant, I'm sure it's zoned for said business. They aren't putting it in the middle of a residential neighborhood not zoned for commercial business.
My point was, it's not up to an alderwoman to decide what business fits best for a community. It's up to the community, which votes with its dollars.
The community also votes with votes
We elect her; if she doesn't do what we want, we un-elect her and elect someone else. That's democracy, one citizen-one vote, which sometimes conflicts with the "free market" of one dollar-one vote.
(I'm inclined to favor the proposal, since more live music is always better for a community that prides itself on its support of the arts. But I see nothing wrong with using the democratic process. That's what it's for.)