I think you're right that this is the message many of the Baltimore Ave. businesses are getting, but my question is who is the "we" who have decided that "we want more sit down restaurants, that they are not upscale enough, that we want coffee houses, bookstores, etc."?
I certainly like coffee houses (my daughter thinks it is a MAJOR treat to stop at the Green Line for a cup of tea after an evening walk), and bookstores are wonderful, but even a highly literate/academic neighborhood can only support so many of those (and I'd rather see that business go to Larry's wonderful Last Word).
Good question, actually. And it does beg an important question: if the current businesses on Baltimore don't cater to the community, then why are they staying in business? They're obviously catering to somebody.
"Upscale" shopping and restaurant areas are really nice, but ask the people who live in Manayunk what development there has done to their neighborhood . . . and where they go to get the things they NEED; the answer will be that they have to get in their cars and drive somewhere else, i.e., the suburbs.
Good point, again. I like going to Manyunk to stroll around (though their lack of bookstores kind of bugs me), but I'd have a hard time living in a place where I couldn't walk to a decent supermarket. ----
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