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The era of Panera in Coolidge Corner
By adamg on Sat, 11/10/2007 - 9:09pm
Martin Lieberman doesn't generally like the idea of chains in Coolidge Corner, but says he'll make an exception for Panera Bread, which just opened where Zathmary's used to be:
... Between this and the Citibank and Qdoba next door, they've given new life to that chunk of the sidewalk with their clean, modern looks, and I welcome a new food option that actually offers good food, as opposed to the unhealthy Quizno's or the cramped unworthiness of Finagle-a-Bagel. ...
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Comments
Unhealthy?
You'll be pretty surprised when you look at the nutritional content of Panera's offerings. Qdoba won't look so bad afterwards.
Agreed. There is nothing
Agreed. There is nothing healthy about Panera, but it still tastes so good.
Local vs chain
This is the frustrating bit, of course--Finagle a Bagel is not good but it is a locally owned chain (the founders went to Harvard Business School), while Panera is tasty but mall fodder that appears everywhere. What to do?
Make a sandwich in the
Make a sandwich in the morning and put it in a brown paper bag.
Most good business districts
Most good business districts need some mix between the chains and the locally owned smaller shops. I agree that it's certainly preferable to have locally owned chains like D'Angelos than the national ones. In the same light, though, I think it's better to have a national chain than an empty storefront that helps no one.
Regarding chain stores, especially the big ones,
First of all, there's also going to eventually be a "Staples" in the Coolidge Corner area as well.
Secondly, it's a self-fullfilling prophecy, and a process, which, once begun, feeds on itself. Get one or two chain stores/restaurants in an area, and soon the district will be over-inundated with chain stores, which will crowd out the smaller, independent and funkier places which give, or have given the area its special flavor that is so loved by everybody, ultimately altering the neighborhood's flavor for the worst. Not good, imho.
Hah! Grow up hippy!
Oh shut the Hell up! If you want to take a stand on something, hope about those crazy old people out there every week trying to either protest the war or sign me up for kabbalah!
Oh so we should only allow 'local' chains? Whats local? Like we need another Anna's or another Boca Grande? There's less taco places in Mexico than in Coolidge corner area now! And local isn't always good; Paris Creperie has hands down the worst service and some of the most mediocre food ever. Perhaps what Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village need is a bit of that town funding to tidy up things and redo sidewalks and lamps and such, and chase away some of those vagrants masturbating outside of the elementary schools and begging for change by Peets.
Grow up people - this isn't the 60s. If you don't like Panera, don't eat there.
Take a ride up to Arlington
Take a ride up to Arlington Heights someday. Panera was a huge improvement and anchors an area that used to be banks, empty store fronts, a roast beef shop that was probably a front for something, and a beauty parlor or two. Now that Panera, Trader Joes, and Walgreens took over space formerly occupied by nothing and not much, the are ALSO hosts a number of fine local establishments that benefit in no small measure from the traffic.
Arlington Heights
The Walgreens used to be an independent supermarket.. I think it was called 'Highland'.
It closed long before Walgreens
The highland in Arlington Heights was in very bad shape when we moved to that area in the early 90s. It closed about three years before it was redeveloped, and at least a full year prior to any redevelopment offers. The two events were not related.
Ironically, there was much speculation about it being an attractive target for Trader Joes, given their development patterns in the West Coast states where they are frequently found in former grocery store chain properties abandoned for larger stores - the arch-roofed Safeways and such.
too bad panera has equally
too bad panera has equally bad service and is somehow able to consistently screw up simple orders. enjoy, coolidge corner.