In a message dated 9/21/2010 4:30:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, philly.jo...@gmail.com writes:
_http://www.manakeeshcafe.com/_ (http://www.manakeeshcafe.com/) >From their website (emphasis added): "... located at the corner of 45th and Walnut Street, directly across from Saad’s Halal Restaurant. We aim to merge the Lebanese and American breakfast, providing a distinct Lebanese twist to many American favorites, while introducing a distinct cultural flavor to the community, contributing to the transformation of our corner into a ‘New Lebanon.’ " 1. Unless (or even although) the Manakeesh website says the cafe is only going to be open for breakfast (hard to believe considering what they're spending to set it up and must be imagining in terms of return on investment), I wonder whether Saad -- who's built his Halal food business with sweat and tears over the years -- will be happy to see that the new guys on the block are using his name and popularity in their promotion. Did Macy's tell everyone its store was right across the street from Gimbel's? 2. The rest of us in the close proximity of 45th & Walnut -- everybody from Orens Brothers and me with rental properties there, to the Second Mile Center (a thrift store run by a conservative Christian organization -- although they don't tout the block as a "New Jerusalem," Monarch Hardware, a Korean Karate school, several other non-Lebanese businesses of no particular ethnicity, and lots of tenants of every make and model) certainly welcome one and all and revel in the diversity... but might have some questions and even a tad of suspicion about the meaning of 'diversity' to and the appreciation of America by anyone who envisions "the transformation of [this] corner into a "New Lebanon." ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alan Krigman KRF Management, ICON/Information Concepts Inc 211 S 45th St, Philadelphia PA 19104-2918 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502 krf...@aol.com or al.krig...@krf.icodat.com
