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RESTAURANT OWNERS, WHY IS IT SO TOUGH?1.27.07 | |
AP - From where I'm sitting, the North End appears to be in a steady pattern of economic rise. So much so, that real estate continues to appreciate rapidly, brand new schools decorate our streets, and eclectic shops and restaurants continue to move in to reap rewards of being in a thriving neighborhood. Area business feeds on the dense neighborhoods that appear ever-full of premium consumers. People here love a good product, and they especially love it when they don't have to travel far to get it.
 I now get to the point of this writing. Knee-deep in such a thirsty market, why did Subway on 26th & Proctor close up shop? This should not have happened. I can think of no better place to run a very small, yet successful neighborhood business. Is it just me, or is there bigtime business opportunity being squandered and ignored right in front of our eyes daily? Am I missing something.. has the North End set sail for a recession? With the future so bright, I can't help but wonder what will fill Subway's void. Count on someone moving in and accepting the fantastic business scenario, and at that time, it will appear quite obvious to us all that the place is going to be full. "What a no-brainer that was!" the owner will say every winter in Maui over a Mai-Tai and a bbq'd chicken lunch aboard modest catamaran. Sometimes things just come too easy. On such an optimistic front, you would hope something really fun and exciting would come ashore. |
How about a unique pub or a gourmet sandwich shop or pizza by the slice? How about Pagliacci??? I'm drooling over the possibilities. Subway didn't make it because it's tired. Honestly, any restaurant that's done right would be filling a noticable hole. Restaurants in the Proctor District aren't exactly specializing in take-out. Aside from coffee and baked goods, there is much left to be desired in the area of takeout. Imagine a quick deli, a gyrocery, or a bratwurst hut as easy and close as Starbucks! AP would love to hear from
you. He prefers you send
email telling him he's way off base.
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PLEASE, SKIP BAYLESS!
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In reference to the article written on espn.com by a guy named
Skip Bayless:
To whom it may apply, Will somebody tell Skip Bayless he’s the most unoriginal, overrated,
worthless sports writer in the media today? How many East coast
writers have to make reference to Coffee, Fish and Nirvana when
writing about the Pacific Northwest because they don’t actually
know anything about the region? Hey Skippy. You forgot about our
favorite - “Sleepless in Seattle” reference. Or is that the title
of your next article?Once again, second string columnist and
sports “analyst,” Skip Bayless, shares his warped and all too
often unfounded opinions with the sporting world. This time, he
directs his disdain toward the Seattle Seahawks accomplishments,
who he believes do not belong in the NFC Championship game. According
to “horse’s rear” Bayless, almost everything about the Seahawks
13 win season in 2005 was a farce.The fact that, Shaun Alexander broke the NFL touchdown record and
won the League MVP means nothing to Skip. He claims that Shaun
had the luxury of a soft schedule and a good offensive line. What
kind of argument is that??!! Every running back in the league
that puts up good numbers has a good offensive line. I suppose
Shaun should run away from his tackles to prove something to excuse-makers
like you. Maybe he should pound defenders more, until his knees
give out so he can cut his career short, like Terell Davis. The
gift of Shaun is that he thinks about what he's doing when on
the field. He follows the path of least resistance and it has
proven to work for him health-wise, which turns out good for the
team.Meanwhile you are more apt to give praise to your boy, DeShaun Foster, who
hasn’t been able to play an entire season yet. Oh yeah! There’s
a running back! |
Here’s
some sound advice Skip. Do not make these condescending remarks
about very successful businessmen. It only reveals your jealousy
to the world. |
THE LIFE OF A NORTHWEST SPORTS FAN
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It’s the same old story on a different day. A Northwest sports fan gets excited about the local team and the prospect
of a brighter future, and then receives news that sets their enthusiasm tumbling in the wrong direction. Life as a sports fan in this region is, emotionally, a full time nightmare. Sports teams perennially doomed with mediocrity
and occasional flashes of brilliance are something we’ve all grown accustomed to.
Too often we endure changes at inconvenient times. The latest, Seattle
Supersonics' free agent head coach, Nate McMillan, delivers his version of a swift blow to the ‘groinal’ region of his biggest fans. He goes to Portland. Ouch! Reportedly, Portland Trailblazers owner, Paul Allen, offered Nate McMillan around 5 years, $30 million, which he graciously accepted. Nate has made it abundantly clear that this change has nothing to do with money and everything to do with a change in scenery, a new challenge or another page in his young coaching career. Whatever it is, it means leaving us when things looked promising and that’s a story
we as Seattle sports fans know all too well. Well, good for you Nate. Thanks for the memories and all the time you’ve dedicated to the Seattle franchise, and our region. You |
have been a consummate
professional. You have demanded greatness from your teammates and players and you have always shown grace and class in losing and winning.
Oh yeah, and another thing... I hope you lose down in Portland. I hope you fail miserably! It’s nothing personal, of course. That’s just how I cope with disappointment here.
You will be booed loudly upon your return to Key Arena despite the fact that you have dedicated almost twenty years to this franchise as a player and then coach. That doesn’t matter anymore. You hurt my feelings and if you hadn’t noticed, we’re all a little sensitive around here. Too many times, we’ve lost our star players and coaches amidst what looked to be hopeful times. Too many times, we’ve endured disappointment when we should be feeling excited about the prospect of a brighter future. And so the life goes of a Seattle sports fan. Once again, I am left to wonder how this change will affect the future. The only thing we can count
on these days is the inevitability of it happening again. |
TACOMA - BUILT TO LAST
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Tall Ships Festival and Freedom Fair have come to an end and Tacoma
officials and laborers have quickly  switched
into clean-up mode. From the far end of Ruston, near the old Asarco
plant, all the way thru Thea Foss there is evidence of a rather
colossal event. It was a party to remember, that fact is not up for debate. Tacoma has passed its own test. The question as to whether our town could handle millions of tourists over a five day weekend has been answered. Record numbers of people showed, even more than the most extreme predictions and Tacoma took it in stride. During the Tall Ships Festival, I met with Evan Harris, the skipper 
and son of the builder of New Zealand sailboat, R. Tucker Thompson.
Evan, like so many of the visitors from abroad, was impressed by
Tacoma and her people.“You from here mate?” Evan said to me outside the Blue Olive bar and restaurant. He told me something I wasn’t expecting. “The people in Tacoma are so nice - nicer than back home.” I thought that was the polite thing to say. He’s probably said it before in another town, but who cares, he said it about us and he meant it. |
I too was impressed with how nice people were over the long weekend.
Everywhere I went, the people of our city were on their best behavior.
It was like Christmas in July! I am impressed with Tacoma’s vision,
planning and execution of this event but I’m left with one pressing
question… what’s next? Now that we know our city and waterfront are 
capable of high volumes, I’d like to know how we are going to utilize
our new facilities on an annual basis. History has shown that Tacoma’s
growth spurts can be inconsistent and lack long term vision. The
latest growth seems different, but my skepticism is warranted. It took years for Tacoma to build a quality hotel downtown, the Sheraton. Thirty years later we finally see some semblance of a town center. I don’t want to wait another thirty years to see people inhabiting the downtown area in volumes. I have some ideas, and I’ll bet there are some others of you out there who have ideas as well. Perhaps this can become a forum for suggestions on what Tacoma 
can do to help continue growth downtown and in the tourism industry
alike. And don’t for a minute
think it’s not going to happen. Growth here is |
inevitable.
The question that needs attention is “How will we grow?”
If you have anything to say about Tacoma’s past, present and future you now have a forum to communicate. Click on our ‘Subjectives’ box and make your presence felt. Northtacoma.net continues to be a voice for our neighborhoods, schools and most importantly, the people. In our city, growth and change are already occurring. It will be up to us to ensure that the growth is positive and Tacoma’s heartbeat is built to last.
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TACOMA TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL, DAY 1
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Winds blew out of the West this afternoon as the perfect day unfolded
for the Parade of Sail on Tacoma’s waterfront. Tall ships gathered
from all over the globe in our own Puget Sound's Quartermaster Harbor
yesterday and this morning, before setting sail in dramatic fashion
toward the Tacoma Port |
most accommodating to a festival of this magnitude. |
type
made their way to Old
Christian is a freelance writer who has graciously donated his time for the sake of covering this event. If you're bored, email him. |
TACOMA TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL, DAY 2
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As promised, I’m reporting live from the beer garden in the center
of the Thea Foss waterway and the Tall Ships Festival. Some say,
good reporting requires that you engage yourself in the experience
and surroundings. This would be my justification then for sitting
in a beer garden at 10:00AM. You need to know - you should know
- that you can have beer down here for breakfast. I’m certainly
not
recommending or even condoning such an action. I’m simply reporting
- and I recommend the Blonde Ale. It seems the most interesting part to this whole
experience is that it’s in Tacoma. This incredible showing of people
and vending and entertainment is actually happening in 
our town. A town, no doubt, that’s still wondering how it made a
top five list nationally for the most stressed out people. How long
has it been since a planned party in this town captured the excitement
and |
anticipation that it has? Maybe your grandparents could tell you….maybe.
That’s how long it’s been and quite frankly, we probably didn’t
deserve to host an event like this until recently. Thanks to some
visionaries and 
the determination of a good town full of good people, things are
starting to look promising. Our newest additions are the University of Washington,
the Glass Museum, the History and Art Museums, the new convention
center and most importantly 
a concerted effort to clean up the Thea Foss waterway. Does it look
better to you? Well, it is better- and it will continue to get better
as long as people care about it. Every waterborne city should have a waterway like Thea Foss – a place where you can 
choose from more than two or three places as destinations. It should
be a place for us to get away without going too far. Everyone needs
to sit by the water and feel the marine
air flow over them now |
and
again. I just can’t
help but feel optimistic as I look at an unfamiliar skyline reflecting
off the water. It’s Tacoma’s skyline! I’m not going to report to you about traffic
jams and congestion and
complaints like that because honestly, I don’t care. Finding a way
down here is worth your time. As a matter fact, you owe it to yourself
to find some time this weekend and see what this city has undertaken.
Maybe even more, you owe it to the people who made this happen.
Christian is a freelance writer who has graciously donated his time for the sake of covering this event. If you're bored, email him. |
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