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Downcity/Providence Retail

AriPVD

By AriPVD
in Providence

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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There's a new cafe opening at the corner of Weybosset and Dorrance. City Cafe, signs in the windows say "opening soon." I peeked inside, it looks nice, wood counters and the like, slightly upscale.

Painters were working on the facade of American Apparel yesterday. All the paper was down from the windows so you could see in, it's a big, all white space.

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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Well, yes a grocery store, but that should be covered with OneTen. A shoe store, which is on it's way. A pharmacy, I know you've mentioned an attempt to get CVS into the Dress Barn spot.

What I really want to see is an ice cream shop. I would have given my left arm all summer for an ice cream shop Downcity. Hot days, walking home, I would have been in there almost daily. There's some up on Thayer, but that's not my way home, we need ice cream Downcity. If Herrell's or Toscanini's could be brought down from Boston I would die! The Herrell's in Allston Village used to do an excellent weekend breakfast when I lived there, way back in the day. Giant waffles and pancakes, huge cups of coffee, fresh fruit (it was vegetarian).

When I worked in Watertown, we used to drive into Central Square and buy pint after pint of Toscanini's for "lunch."

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eltron Hamlet

eltron

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Oooh ooh, a wishlist...

A used record store...think Amoeba East

a GOOD shoe store, like Berk's, but better

A bar or cafe with live music, ala Met Cafe or something like that

A funky cafe, not Tazza

A hardware store, ala Economy Hardware in Boston/Cambridge

Optician/high-end Optical (I spend alot on these damn glasses)

Spardello's, just for laughs. Best commercials EVER.

what Cotuit said.

NOT Louis, Burberry, Armani Exchange, Nikeville...if you must, only in addition to the other things...

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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A funky cafe, not Tazza

A hardware store, ala Economy Hardware in Boston/Cambridge

Spardello's, just for laughs. Best commercials EVER.

Tazza just doesn't work for me, I'm sure it's fine for what it is, but I want a cafe. There used to be this great place in Boston across from Back Bay Station called Mocha, I used to sit in there for hours. It closed years ago and I've never found a place anywhere that I enjoyed as much. I have hopes for this new City Cafe opening on Weybosset, could be my new Brewed Awakenings.

YES ECONOMY HARDWARE!!! That place kicks ass. I used to head into Central Sqaure from Waltham to shop there, even though there was a hardware store on Main Street in Waltham.

Spardello's commercials scare me. :ph34r: I bought a suit recently at Franklin Rogers on Westminster near the Arcade. Good service, nice suit, I recommend it. Although some of the staff in there seem to have never been outside.

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kinematix Whistle-Stop

kinematix

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Strong votes for:

-Boutique movie theatre (Mainstream movies but just a couple of screens)

-Trader Joes

-Apple Store

-A downtown version of Bagel Gourmet Ole (quick eats open late)

-A real deli- not just for sandwiches - Fresh fruit, olives, etc

Other Ideas:

-Maybe a gift related store or two like Oop. (a place where people know they might find something good but not know what they're really looking for- this keeps people shopping)

-movie rental?? or has this been beaten away by netflix?

-funky kitchen supply store (pots & pans/ small appliances... kind of a hip william & sonoma)

-Crate and Barrel Furniture

-florist

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Garris Town

Garris

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A used record store...think Amoeba East

a GOOD shoe store, like Berk's, but better

A bar or cafe with live music, ala Met Cafe or something like that

A funky cafe, not Tazza

NOT Louis, Burberry, Armani Exchange, Nikeville...if you must, only in addition to the other things...

Ah, the predictable, "I don't like what's happening downtown" list... :D.

The used record store (and even new CD store) genres are barely surviving as it is. I don't think that would be a good fit. Better for the West End/Broadway.

A hardware store like Economy Hardware would be great though, as would a high-end optical place, although we've already got a good number of those in Providence, between ones on Wickenden, Thayer, and Wayland. Downtown is the natural best place for one, though.

Despite having nearly as many metro ice cream places as Duncan Donuts (3 creameries on the East Side, 2 in North Prov, and 2 in East Prov) I agree a top flight ice cream or overall desert place would be great downtown, as those tend to be destinations for people if they are good and neighborhood gathering points. Maybe a Providence outpost of Grey's Ice Cream in Bristol/Little Compton or one of the Mass ones that Cotuit mentioned?

Downtown really needs two or three outstanding ethnic dining experiences in my opinion. It would reinforce downtown as being "hip," and ethnic dining in downtown Providence proper is amazingly thin for a city of its size (you have to know where the good places are on the fringes of the city to get good ethnic eats). Maybe bringing in something like a great Ethiopian/Eritrean place (maybe a Providence outpost of Cafe Adulis in New Haven?), a true Dim Sum house with rolling carts and outstanding Chinese (which the entire Providence area completely lacks), or a slick Spanish tapas place like "Solera" of Minneapolis would be great since these, again, would be destination restaurants offering something you couldn' get anywhere else in town.

Other thoughts:

- Ditto on a pharmacy and a boutique movie theater... A market is obvious and coming...

- Crate and Barrel is already in the mall, right? They're not coming downtown...

- I think a downtown Blockbuster or Hollywood Video would work.

- Every world class downtown has a world class newsstand... Maybe a tiny place stuffed with papers and magazines near Symposium or the Arcade?

- I agree with Cotuit on the cafe/coffee issue...

- Kayak/Canoe rental for the river...

- A small poster/wall hanging shop... There are none of these in Providence, as far as I know...

- I'd like one non-scary (aka Saki's) pizza place downtown...

- An ethnic food market, maybe as part of one of the ethnic restaurants. I also like the idea of a Williams Sonoma type place, although aren't they in the mall as well?

That's all I can think of for now... I'll ponder it...

- Garris

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Recchia Town

Recchia

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Umm, let's not forget that this is Rhode Island, so we obviously need a Dunkin Donuts, even though there's one right on Empire... :rolleyes:

I too would love an ice cream place, or even just a DQ if we had to settle for a chain. I know they're in the mall, but its a pain in the ass to get to it from the street and sometimes you just want that Cheesequake Blizzard NOW!

I'm also hoping for more 24 hour or open late type places. Right now everything closes at 5pm on Westminster, for the obvious reason that nobody lives there yet. Some late night Chinese would be nice, but only if there come enough bars/nightlife to bring people there who have the munchies late at night.

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kinematix Whistle-Stop

kinematix

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The more I think about it the more I think Garris is right about ethnic eats. A place like Garden Grill would be great too. Anyway, I would caution that relying on restaurants as the main attraction might not serve the locals the way it should- a healthy balance across the board seems like a good idea but from a development standpoint does this cause an area to lack identity? I've got no idea but I want to push my vote for some more food diversity either way.

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basachs Burg

basachs

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I think other suggestions are very good so I am not going to repeat them. But my own wish in addition to these suggestions is for a nice pet store/pet bakery. A lot of people on the East side and the West side have dogs and a nice upscale, independent, pet store would be very nice. And it gives you one more place to be able to go in with your dog.

I hate Petco/Petsmart and would gladly pay slightly higher prices for a place that caters to their customers, two legged and four legged.

Might sound crazy, but as long as we have a wish list going.... Looking back at all the vibrant shopping areas I have been to, all of them have a independent pet boutique type of place.

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ruchele Hamlet

ruchele

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Maybe a Providence outpost of Grey's Ice Cream in Bristol/Little Compton or one of the Mass ones that Cotuit mentioned?

Downtown really needs two or three outstanding ethnic dining experiences in my opinion . . . Ethiopian/Eritrean . . Dim Sum . . . outstanding Chinese . . . Spanish tapas. . .

a GOOD shoe store, like Berk's, but better

A bar or cafe with live music, ala Met Cafe or something like that

A funky cafe, not Tazza

A hardware store, ala Economy Hardware in Boston/Cambridge

Optician/high-end Optical (I spend alot on these damn glasses)

NOT Louis, Burberry, Armani Exchange, Nikeville...if you must, only in addition to the other things...

I second all the above.

Record/hardware/shoe/eyeglass stores !!! Yes yes yes!

Economy Hardware!!

How about a wine shop for all those incoming condo-dwellers, either Best Cellars (http://www.bestcellars.com/aboutbc/stores.asp) or something locally-owned?

Mid-priced restaurants I'll go regularly, not just high-end places. Ethiopian!!! Chinese, Mexican, a sit-down pizza place, etc. A great mid-priced breakfast/brunch place would be a huge hit.

Definitely a cafe, hopefully with outside seating - how about a cafe/bookstore a la Trident Booksellers? This could cover both the newstand and cafe fronts.

A mid- to upscale bar with food, occasional live music.

If we're going to have the "Louis, Burberry, Armani Exchange, Nikeville" etc., mix it in with things that are going to get a significant number of people down there for socializing, night-life, people-watching and other every-day stuff.

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eltron Hamlet

eltron

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Ah, the predictable, "I don't like what's happening downtown" list... :D.

Ah, but somebody has got to say it...

might as well be me!

Plus, I'm not really opposed to anything going on down there anyway, just don't want to see it get outta control.

I agree about your food suggestions...we do need some quality chinese and something like ethiopian down there. I wonder if we'll get that though since the best ethnic places always seemed to locate in cheap rent locales...

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Garris Town

Garris

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...we do need some quality chinese and something like ethiopian down there. I wonder if we'll get that though since the best ethnic places always seemed to locate in cheap rent locales...

While often case in some places, it's certainly not true in others... In some cities, the "ethnic" dining has gone quite mainstream. New Haven's best ethnic places (Cafe Adulis, Bangkok Gardens, Miso, etc) are right in the center of the action, and the same is true in Portland, OR, Seattle, and Burlington, VT. Back Bay Boston and downtown Minneapolis/St. Paul are full of ethnic eats.

Providence is pretty unique, in my experience, at having a center city that is fairly devoid of ethnic dining. As far as established outposts, there is really only New Japan, Cuban Revolution, and Bombay Club on the Hill, and they're all far from being prominent players. We've got a solid Italian, New American, and seafood & steak center city, with almost nothing else. Pretty odd...

I'm not saying all of Westminster has to be wall to wall restaurants, but even two "ethnic" options (say Ethiopian and Tapas) would in and of themselves be a huge shift for downtown Providence!

- Garris

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Garris Town

Garris

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What I want to see is something you see all over times square in NY. An electronics store with a display of their wares in the window. Walkmans, cd players, cell phones.........etc

Ick... Most people who live in NYC hate those places... They're usually fly by night operations selling sketchy stuff run by sketchy people... The stories I could tell you :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Whatever businesses are there, one thing that I wanted to remind the downtown powers that be that I want to see is signage... Signage is part of what makes a retail area feel vibrant. It doesn't have to be Times Square, but I would like some classy perpendicular signs, banners, etc...

- Garris

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Frankie811 City

Frankie811

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Look for a high end electronics retailer in the current Securitas space on Westminster.

Yeah, now your talking! Any idea when, because I'll be in the market for some high end stuff come December. Speaking of high end electronics, does anyone know how Bang & Olufsen is doing over at Providence Place?

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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In some cities, the "ethnic" dining has gone quite mainstream ... Back Bay Boston and downtown Minneapolis/St. Paul are full of ethnic eats.

Pho Pasteur has a Newbury Street location. Remember the Pho Pasteur rumor? Let's restart that rumor.

Look for a high end electronics retailer in the current Securitas space on Westminster.

I saw some guys with boxes and a trailer with a huge ass bale of bubble wrap down there yesterday, are they on the way out now?

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