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Fast food dies slow death downtown
Friday, December 19, 2008
by Dan Eaton
Downtown Columbus workers are within walking distance of all manner of lunch meals – Venezuelan arepas, Ohio-style Monte Cristo sandwiches, micro-brewed beer. But good luck finding staples like the Big Mac, Whopper and or a single with cheese.
“Any property owner would love to have fast food as a tenant,” said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District downtown. “Am I personally distraught? No.” Ricksecker said the district does feature several good independent restaurants, as well as some lower-profile fast-casual chains such as Potbelly Sandwich Works and Einstein Bros. Bagels, owned by Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc.
Said downtown restaurant owner Jeff Mathes of fast food’s flight: “As an independent owner and an urbanite, I think it’s OK.”
And one major player stands out: Subway, owned by Doctor’s Associates Inc., has seven sandwich shops scattered throughout downtown.
Comments
- howatzer: When's happy hour?
- Down the Lane: @mbeaumont,@SJT, @Mercurius, @drew thanks for all the love and support! @J
- SJT: We had our employee xmas party here and the service and food were excellent
- Walker: I agree that Grant is going to be even more important for pedestrians wi
- gmcsoccer: personally i would swap the upgrading of the Main St bridge for the Grant S
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Fast food dies slow death downtown
By: Walker
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I don’t know if not having fast food is really that bad downtown. There are some great quick serve options that are far healthier. Serenity Cafe on 4th is pretty good for a great sandwich. And I think they have burgers.
Besides, wouldn’t the hot dog stands count as fast food?
They certainly do to me sir! :lol:
They certainly do to me sir! :lol:
Nothing beats an all beef with sauerkraut and mustard
They certainly do to me sir! :lol:
Nothing beats an all beef with sauerkraut and mustard
Every time I talk hot dogs lately, I picture Liz Lessner…and I gotta tell you, if I don’t get Dirty Frank’s soon, she’ll be creeping into my dreams in every naughty way.
Besides, wouldn’t the hot dog stands count as fast food?
Yeah. People tend to automacticly associate fast food with the big burger chains, but its much more than that. Food carts, pizza by the slice, chinese take out, cafeteria, etc are all fast food to me. Anything that involves ordering from a counter, with a simple menu, and the food ready within a few minutes is fast food.
An odd little book that made me question what I think of as fast food:
The idea is to save as much time as you can when preparing food because, given the pace of “modern” life (the book was written in 1930!), it’s hard to have time to prepare a meal and enjoy it properly.
So is fast food fast because of how it’s prepared? How it’s consumed? A little of each?
I thought there was a whole new term for “fast food” being used now, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it is.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing some fast food bounce back into downtown. Sure, some of it is unhealthy when eating unhealthy amounts of it, but so is nearly everything else.
How about a flagship urban White Castle downtown open 24/7? ;)
How about a flagship urban White Castle downtown open 24/7? ;)
How about a flagship urban White Castle downtown open 24/7? ;)
We could combine it with a Blockbuster, a furniture store and a Verizon.
When I think of fast food I tend to think of burger joints. As a lunch option, it seems to be they’ve been trending downward for a while. Not really surprised they’re moving out of downtown.
I like the idea of a mostly indie-restaurant downtown.
I think it’s probably more about the lack of drivethru window options for QSRs than any sort of cost advantage Indies have (the article acknowledged this this later on), even the McDonald’s at Easton couldn’t make it without a drivethru. That’s the difference between subway and the more traditional QSRs. Subway’s business model isn’t dependent on car traffic.
The McDonald’s in the Market exchange district is almost always packed but it has two drive thru windows…So clearly QSRs can make it downtown…. if they have a drivethru.
Hey more power to the indies! I don’t miss the fast food that much (other than Wendy’s for civiic pride reasons). Besides Indies generally make better neighbors and customers :)
How about a flagship urban White Castle downtown open 24/7? ;)
We could combine it with a Blockbuster, a furniture store and a Verizon.
I like the way you think! :D
How about a flagship urban White Castle downtown open 24/7? ;)
We could combine it with a Blockbuster, a furniture store and a Verizon.
I like the way you think! :D
Throw in downtown hot air balloon rides and a techno DJ and we’d be all set.
I would love to see a companion piece to this on the local independent shops making up for the lack of national chains.
Me too… except that independent vs. chain may not be quite the right cut at it. I mean, small wonderful independent company is wildly successful (think, I don’t know, Jeni’s)… branches out… spreads to other cities, perhaps; when does it morph into the hated chain, against which we cheer the beloved local independent? My two cents would be, issues like food quality, sustainability, social justice and price matter more than location of HQ and number of branches. Granted, those things tend to correlate with independent vs. chain — at least, with “independent that gets touted as an alternative to chains” vs. chain –, which is why it’s a useful shorthand. But they don’t have to (says the guy from the state where they have In’n'Out Burgers….)
Me too… except that independent vs. chain may not be quite the right cut at it. I mean, small wonderful independent company is wildly successful (think, I don’t know, Jeni’s)… branches out… spreads to other cities, perhaps; when does it morph into the hated chain, against which we cheer the beloved local independent? My two cents would be, issues like food quality, sustainability, social justice and price matter more than location of HQ and number of branches. Granted, those things tend to correlate with independent vs. chain — at least, with “independent that gets touted as an alternative to chains” vs. chain –, which is why it’s a useful shorthand. But they don’t have to (says the guy from the state where they have In’n'Out Burgers….)
I’m just looking at it from the angle of why right another tired new piece about what we don’t have and instead hit on the positive. Not that it wouldn’t be great to have a cheap, quick food court option near Broad and High. And does Dunkin Donuts count now as fast food?
Oh, I gotcha.
I kinda thought writing about the absence of fast food places was focusing on the positive, actually….
Oh, I gotcha.
I kinda thought writing about the absence of fast food places was focusing on the positive, actually….
I think most of us would agree with you. But those aren’t the people we’re trying to convince that downtown is a great place.
I thought their sales there were just underperforming compared to other stores with drive thrus and late night hours. I don’t think they were operating in the red.