NOOOOOO!!!!! Pawn shop to replace Found?

[granola-gurl.livejournal.com]

So, I have to admit to enjoying some of the "gentrification" of Davis Square.  Not Pinkberry (glad to see it leave), not the loss of the sewing shop (I liked the "old school" feel and bought thread there) but was happy about the possibility of a grocery store (which unfortunately is no more) and some new restaurants.  I often thought, "If only we could get rid of that stupid pawn shop!"  While the loss of Found was not tragic to me (I did not shop there), as I walked by this morning I noticed a sign on the door of Found.  It appears as if the small pawn shop now plans on moving into that bigger space?????  How is this even a possibility????  I almost threw a tantrum right then and there.  Instead, I am reserving my tantrum for right now: NOOOOOOO!!!!!

Comments

[ron_newman]

I'm hoping we still get a grocery store, even though it won't be Roche Bros. All of the construction going on at 240 Elm Street is being done under the permits already issued for a grocery store.

The city can't stop the pawn shop from moving into the ex-Found, since it's a retail store replacing another retail store. But yeah, yuck.

pawn shop

[mary388.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what you mean by no grocery store in Davis. I heard that a store called Urban Market or something like that will be going in there. I am glad that there will not be yet another
eating establishment going into the Found space. We need some diversity in Davis. Already I feel it is just a destination not a real neighborhood square. I have sold some broken jewelry in the pawn shop and seemed to get a good price. I also thought of the yuck factor when it first came in but have embraced the change! Heck, with the good citizens of MA stupidly voting in casinos, there is more need than ever for a place like this! What will go into the
pawn shop place?

RE: pawn shop

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

Foodie's Urban Market?

RE: pawn shop

[teko.livejournal.com]

"with the good citizens of MA stupidly voting in casinos, there is more need than ever for a place like this!"

I'm unclear as to what you're getting at. Do you mean that with a casino in Everett, we Somervillians will be so poor from gambling that we'll need to pawn our possessions?

[teko.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine a pawn shop taking up that cavernous space, unless they've decided to start pawning furniture.

I also can't imagine Foundry on Elm is very thrilled about being next to a glamorous pawn shop. Ew.

[lb-lee.livejournal.com]

I swear by MacKinnon's myself; even though I live in JP, I still go and buy stuff from them regularly. (They have the best, cheapest sun-dried tomatoes in Boston! WHERE DO THEY GET THEM???)

Then again, I'm kinda used to having to get my groceries from four different shops these days.

[ron_newman]

The sign was not there when I walked by tonight at 10:30. Did you happen to take a photo of it?

[granola-gurl.livejournal.com]

I did not take a picture of it (should have though). Well, that is good news though. Maybe they realized how totally ridiculous moving into that big space would be (at least that is my hope)......

[wobblymusic.livejournal.com]

Why I have a soft spot in my heart for that pawn shop:

(http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/wobblymusic/13961433/324/324_original.jpg)

OT: Grover jacket?!

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

aww, the super grover rain jacket? We have its matching umbrella!

[lizforalderman.livejournal.com]

Honest question: why the hate on the pawn shop? Have there been issues with it in the past?

[ron_newman]

I have a particular petty reason: a few years ago, the pawn shop decided that leaving a comment on Tiffany Sedaris's Somerville News obituary was a good way to advertise their shop. (Don't go looking for it now; the comments are gone.) EDIT: See first comment archived here

[granola-gurl.livejournal.com]

Nope, no issues in particular. Pawn shops just make me feel sad.

[elizabeth weinbloom (from livejournal.com)]

That's a big negative reaction for a business that just makes you feel sad. I just looked up LBC Boutique & Loan, and they have outstanding Yelp reviews from people they've helped out with loans and sales of high end goods (much like Found, in fact).

The prospect of pawning a family heirloom might be sad to you, but to another person it might mean the difference between, say, being able to get the car repaired now or having to wait til after payday.

[granola-gurl.livejournal.com]

Yep, totally get that and feel lucky that I have not needed to use the services of a pawn shop in my life thus far. I am still entitled to not particularly wanting one in my neighborhood and feeling "sad" that pawn shops have to exist in the first place.

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way, but really, when you think about it, a pawn shop isn't that different from a store like Buffalo Exchange. You bring in your things, they give you a fraction of what they are worth and sell them for profit. Is that much different from a pawn shop? If we could remove the predatory 'loan' aspect of the pawn shop, I kind of like the idea of a Buffalo Exchange type store for housewares & furniture. So much of this just ends up in the trash because people have very little incentive to bring it to Goodwill.

[granola-gurl.livejournal.com]

I think of Buffalo Exchange as more like a garage sale (where you sell your item for WAY less than you bought them or what they are worth) than a pawn shop. I think a Buffalo Exchange for housewares and furniture is a great idea (although, i guess that already exists in Craigslist). But a brick-and-mortar craigslist would be cool. I thought the idea behind a pawn shop is that you "loan" your valuable in exchange for money with the hope that you will be able to pay back the loan in order to regain the rights to your prized possession.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

There's a distinctly working-class feel to pawn shops, down-at-the-heels working-class even.

[ron_newman]

There's a working-class, even down-at-the-heels feeling to Family Dollar too, but I'm happy to have it in the square (even though I wish they hadn't started selling cigarettes).

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

Though of course there are strong class associations to selling cigarettes.

[ron_newman]

Previous discussion of the pawn shop here (back when they were still called La Chic Boutique)

[guthmeister.livejournal.com]

I've been watching this thread and feeling hesitant to post because I don't want to be misread as anti-small business -- I love our local businesses. But I want to acknowledge Granola_gurl's feelings and say that pawnshops make me sad too. I admit I don't know the business owners of the pawnshop in Davis Square. This is not a condemnation of them personally or their expansion. Maybe they are lovely people. But what seems to be missing from this thread is an acknowledgement that, for the most part, pawnshops are designed to profit from the working poor. People who live paycheck to paycheck are most vulnerable to needing to this form of fast cash. Financial precarity is what keeps pawnshops, payday lenders, and check cashers in business. Do financially secure people pawn things? Sure. Is that the demographic of most pawn shops? No. In general, businesses profiting from urban poverty makes me sad. No matter whose neighborhood it's in.

[katherine fiorello (from livejournal.com)]

Couldn't have said it any better & 100% my feelings on this too and about having any pawn shop in my neighborhood. I always wonder how much of the items were sold by the owners & how much were stolen goods that were sold for fast cash for drugs, etc (this is coming from someone who was broken into & had a bunch of meaningful jewelry stolen to be pawned for drugs). I would have loved to see another clothing store or shoe store sold at all price points or really anything else other than a pawn shop there.

[ron_newman]

By the way, isn't this a lovely website? And how about this one ?

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I found the pawn shop runners creepy and off-putting, so I'm not welcoming them getting more space.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

Ha! In college I did research on pawn shops and found quotes from owners saying how hard their dating lives were, the minute they said they owned a pawn shop, the mood changed.

[ron_newman]

- the pawn shop runners

My initial reaction to this phrase was "What? They have ribbons on display?"

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

Slightly OT, but speaking of Found: Many thanks to the previous poster who provided contact info. I have emailed the owners, left a message on their Facebook, sent a message through their contact store page and called their home phone. No return on anything---surprise.

[ron_newman]

Here's a link to the info that pakoo referred to in her comment.

I think it's time to involve the local press - Somerville Journal, Somerville Times, Boston Globe, maybe even the Herald.

[g-me.livejournal.com]

Wait...no grocery store going in at the old social security building? I thought it was going to be a roche bros...what did I miss?

[ron_newman]

We should still be getting a grocery store, as the current construction is proceeding under the permit that was given for Roche Bros. But Roche Bros. pulled out last year. There were lots of posts here about that.

[ron_newman]

I see a FOR LEASE sign on the storefront now. Nothing about a pawn shop.