something Davis Sq probably doesn't need

[ron_newman]

Someone wants to open a Quizno's sub shop franchise at 401 Highland Avenue, where Disc Diggers used to be. The proposal keeps getting postponed from one Planning Board meeting to the next; it supposedly comes up again at this Thursday night's meeting.

While I can't see a real basis for showing up to oppose it, I also don't see it filling any real need, given that you can already get sandwiches of various kinds at Au Bon Pain, Blue Shirt, Mike's, Diesel, Christo's Seven Star, Subway, O'Natural's, and probably other places I've forgotten about.

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

If it doesn't fill a real need, then it'll go out of business.

[ron_newman]

I never see anyone in McDonald's, yet it somehow stays in business. It's often empty while Anna's across the street is jammed.

I would not like to see a wholesale invasion of chain franchises into Davis Square.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I've often wondered how that McD's stays open if it never has any customers. Do they perhaps do a takeout business at lunchtime, serving people who work at businesses in the area and are looking for something to eat at their desks?

The Porter Sq. McD's closed, which kinda surprised me because that one *does* get customers.

Porter Square

[ron_newman]

A while ago, I recall reading that the Porter Square Shopping Center management was non-renewing leases of franchises that it no longer wanted to have around. So Dress Barn was replaced by Porter Square Books; Parade of Shoes by Radio Shack; McDonald's by Qdoba.

Re: Porter Square

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

McDonald's owns Qdoba, anyway.

Re: Porter Square

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Jack in the Box owns Qdoba. McDonalds owns a Mexican chain called Chipotle.

Re: Porter Square

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

oh, snap, you're right.

Re: Porter Square

[ron_newman]

McDonald's doesn't own Qdoba. McDonald's owns a different Mexican chain, Chipotle, which hasn't yet shown up around here.

I just looked on Qdoba's web site and am surprised to find that Qdoba has been owned by Jack-in-the-Box since 2003.

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

Sauce definitely doesn't fill a need, and somehow it stays in business.

Chain stores are mostly the sign of a lack of imagination. Whether it's the the entrepreneurs who lack imagination or the public is always a question.

[cos]

That is patently untrue. The location here is key. There are a large number of people in Davis Square, and they often want food. Having [generic chain food place] there is unlikely to have much effect on the number of people of people who are in Davis Square wanting food, but likely to draw some percentage of those people who would otherwise be going to some of the other places. That doesn't mean it's filling a need, it just means it's got a good location and it's convenient. And is doing so at the expense of other businesses - some of which may be filling a bigger need. Who's to judge that?

The mere fact that a food place located in Davis Square makes enough money to stay in business, is no reflection of whether it's filling a real need. It is a reflection of the fact that Davis Square is a prime location for any business to want to be in. And why is that? Because of all the little independent business that fill the square, many of them unique. A generic chain business would be feeding off that trough while at the same time actually doing its small part to dilute it - to weaken the reasons Davis Square draws so many people. As long as the chain places remain a minority, Davis Square is robust enough to stand that without much harm. If they become a majority, there may very well be harm, to all the businesses there (though with the Somerville Theater and Johnny D's as anchors, it'll continue to do pretty well).

As a warning case, look at Porter Square. Sure, it has a red line stop, and it even has a couple of unique local businesses (like Toad), but there's no critical mass there, it's mostly chain. So for the most part, people go there to get groceries and leave, or to change from the commuter rail to the red line. It's not nearly the sort of place Davis Square is. It is, however, a great place for a new Quizno's :)

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Of course there are other factors here. For example, Quizno's isn't quite [generic chain food place] at the moment, because there are so few in the region. As long as it remained one of the few Quizno's in metro Boston, it would be a draw. That would change if a few others opened up, particlarly in Somerville and nearby cities. That's just one example, there are plenty of other things worth considering. I just want to dispute "If it doesn't fill a real need, then it'll go out of business" as a way of looking at whether we want it here or not. I think it's a tired canard that generates heat and no light on this sort of decision, and I see it far too often.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

i don't think you've observed porter much then. especially tried to get parking to shop there. there ARE still some unique things there, which makes them a unique attraction. a non chain music store. a wool/yarn/knitting/spinning store. the hardware store is PACKED. the all-women's gym is definitely something that gets a lot of traffic. sure, some of the stores are merely copies of stuff, and convenient, and not something you'd go straight there for, but many of the others are. now, the fact that so much is packed into one place, makes the whole package a destination spot with a lot of attractiveness.

#

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Not to mention one of the most awesome liquor stores ever...
And the Porter Exchange Mall.

and don't forget Porter Square Books

[ron_newman]

... which now features many author's events, just like the late lamented WordsWorth did.

Re: and don't forget Porter Square Books

[twe.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's very cool place, esp. with the demise of Wordsworth's. (It's also much more convenient than going to crazy, hectic Harvard Square.) I do miss being able to walk there. That parking lot is really terrible and often puts me off from driving there, which is a shame because the book store and the Ace are cool stores.

[cos]

My experience of Porter is that despite having some cool places, it really doesn't have critical mass. People don't really go to Porter Square, they go to specific places that happen to be located in Porter Square. It's not a place people go to hang out, or arrange to meet their friends, or decide to just go wandering around in without a specific plan of where they're going and why. So, unlike Davis Square, Porter doesn't have social gravity that really helps the local businesses, nor does it fill a similar need for people. It's just a convenient place for these businesses to be located in, that people know how to get to.

I don't think Porter Square is an example of the sort of development direction we don't want Davis Square to take. And conversely, Davis may be a good example for the direction we do want Porter to go in.

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

Yes, but Davis Square also has the Somerville Theater and Johnny D's and a couple of other smaller bars that provide entertainment. That's a huge draw.

And frankly, Quiznos would help draw people. I know I head over to Coolidge Corner to grab a sub from there every now and then. It would be a lot more convenient to have one locally.

[cos]

Agreed on both. In fact, I brought both of those things up in my comment :) Are you just intending to emphasize those two points? Or saying something different - in which case I'm missing it, would you clarify?

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

strength in numbers :)