Quote:
Originally Posted by Drybrain
You know what? I messed up; it's the Foggy Goggle going to Gottingen, not the Shoe Shop. Either way though, is it weird that I don't particularly think the Shoe Shop is so great? The building is wonderfully eclectic, but the bar feels of a piece with the general late-90s/early 2000s vibe of the whole strip. A lot of mediocre food and drink options that feel really dated. Maybe it's because I've only been here a few years, or that I never went to university here, but I never go there, and don't have much in the way of memories associated with the strip. There's vastly better food and drink to be had on Barrington at Stillwell or Highwayman or Obladee or any number of other places, and they have more personality too, IMO.
I do empathize with what you mean about soul though. e.g.: the new Tom's is fine, but it's got nothing on the old one. The electicism of the old Maritime Life building really helped to make that place special.
And The Carleton IS special too, and its closure is really unfortunate. It seems to be part of a national cycle, too.
For what it's worth, I'm not a Nove Centre booster. The economics are bad and the architecture is merely okay. But I don't think it's a small-business destroying spaceship that's going to crush the life out of downtown either. Nor is it the only thing changing the character of the Argyle strip--the businesses there need a refresh, and that's been slowly happening with the likes of Lot Six and the trickle-over effect of the new places opening on Barrington. |
I figured you must have meant the Foggy Goggle, as I hadn't heard that the Shoe Shop was moving. I don't think it's weird to think that the Shoe Shop isn't that great, as I was indirectly saying so when I said that the building is what makes it special. If you take away the atmosphere and put the same menu, etc., in a more generic location then there's not enough left to draw people in, IMHO. However, there's no denying that it has a really unique atmosphere that lends its eclecticism to help make Argyle a neat place to be.
Put in a bunch of generic higher-end joints, and I'm not so sure I'd be inclined to go there so much. But that's just me, and I'm obviously not the target market for such places. I do like places such as Stillwell, Obladee, Stubborn Goat, etc., but I will really miss having no place to witness live music in an atmosphere such as The Carleton. But I've said enough about that already.
FWIW, the Nova Centre does make the sidewalk patios much less enjoyable but I suppose no less so than the old Herald building did. I think the problem that the businesses had with it was the effects of a large construction project happening next door as opposed to the effects of the NC being there in a finished state. In fact, I'm sure I heard Mike say that he hoped he could hold on long enough for the NC to be finished so that his business could reap the spin-off benefits from the anticipated crowds of people it will draw. Of course there's no hope of that now that its opening has been delayed for several months...