Locke Street

[raisethehammer]

Locke was packed tonight...west town was jammed. Il Fiasco was packed, Bar on Locke was packed. Amuse Bouche was the only place mostly empty. Nina's Bistro had some folks inside as did Main Desserts.

[the dude]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

Amuse Bouche was the only place mostly empty.

it's no wonder. have you looked at their menu? the prices are mental, even for trendy kirkendall.

[SteelTown]

I'll be popping at Starbucks on Locke quite a bit. I usually go to the one at Meadowlands but I'll have a new spot to crash at with my study partner.

[RePinion]

From what I know, Starbucks stores are almost exclusively corporately owned. I've never heard of any franchises and a quick visit to their site confirms that Starbucks is not in the franchise business.

[DC83]

^^ The Locke Street BIA does a good job at dressing up the street, imo anyway.
Like during Christmas time, they give each store a small christmas tree that they light up in infront of their shops. It looks GREAT!

There is definately a need for streetscaping on a LOT of streets downtown, esp John Street! They still need to finish the northern part of Hughson too.

[raisethehammer]

yes, streetscaping Locke would be nice, but first I'd like to see them do Wilson/York by the market, John, James South and James North from LIUNA Station to the water. Locke seems to be doing just fine as is...haha.

On a good note, Locke St Bakery was jammed to the rafters today as usual.
They were handing out free drinks covered in whipped cream, on the street in front of Starbucks. It was kind of funny...the guy was asking everyone if they wanted one, but noticed my cup from up the street and didn't say a word.
Being good neighbours I guess. lol.

[SteelTown]

The best streetscape that I found in Hamiltonis Hughson St from Main to King St South. They spiced it up with colour instead of typical boring grey cement colour.

[raisethehammer]

yup, it's very nice.
Also, Hess Village has an awesome streetscape along with King William. I'm a sucker for urban cobblestone!

[matt602]

Apparently we're forgetting about King William? Probably the nicest cobblestone street in the city aside from Hess.

[raisethehammer]

man, anyone on Locke St today?? it was like the attack of the starbuckian suburanites. holy smokes. don't get me wrong...i'm sure the folks at the Green Monkey are loving life....each time I walked by there were half a dozen people in there milling around with these giant starbucks cups.
Speaking of which, what the heck do they serve in these foot and a half tall cups??? You can see the Starbucks people from 8 blocks away because of these huge, tall white things they are carrying.
Gee, I can't figure out why America is so fat! haha.

At any rate...it was amazing to see how many people obviously came to Locke today because they knew starbucks had opened. folks were oohing and aahing in the shop windows and coming in and out of shops saying stuff like "I had no clue there were so many neat stores here" and "what a great neighbourhood" etc.....
Yep, things have changed in Hamilton while you've all been cooconed inside Walmart the past decade. haha.
Welcome back to the city....sad that it took 2-foot tall cups of poorly-tasting, overpriced coffee to bring you back....but regardless, welcome back.

[SteelTown]

It's probably the venti java chip frappuccino lol

[RePinion]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

Welcome back to the city....sad that it took 2-foot tall cups of poorly-tasting, overpriced coffee to bring you back....but regardless, welcome back.

Yep. This is precisely the reaction I hoped for and expected. As I said, starbucks may be shite, but it's all about instilling confidence ...

This may be a bigger step for the downtown's revitalization than we realize.

[thistleclub]

Looks like Starbucks is intent on improving its brew: the company bought the company that makes Clover machines and intends to make it the chain's standard equipment.

[BCTed]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

man, anyone on Locke St today?? it was like the attack of the starbuckian suburanites. holy smokes. don't get me wrong...i'm sure the folks at the Green Monkey are loving life....each time I walked by there were half a dozen people in there milling around with these giant starbucks cups.
Speaking of which, what the heck do they serve in these foot and a half tall cups??? You can see the Starbucks people from 8 blocks away because of these huge, tall white things they are carrying.
Gee, I can't figure out why America is so fat! haha.

At any rate...it was amazing to see how many people obviously came to Locke today because they knew starbucks had opened. folks were oohing and aahing in the shop windows and coming in and out of shops saying stuff like "I had no clue there were so many neat stores here" and "what a great neighbourhood" etc.....
Yep, things have changed in Hamilton while you've all been cooconed inside Walmart the past decade. haha.
Welcome back to the city....sad that it took 2-foot tall cups of poorly-tasting, overpriced coffee to bring you back....but regardless, welcome back.

Where did the suburbanites come from?

[matt602]

Originally Posted by BCTed

Where did the suburbanites come from?

Downtown Toronto.

[BCTed]

Originally Posted by matt602

Downtown Toronto.

That's silly. There are plenty of Starbucks outlets in the suburban wilds of downtown Toronto.

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by BCTed

Where did the suburbanites come from?

step out your front door and take a good look (without beelining to the car, for once).

[raisethehammer]

if you consider going from one push-button espresso machine to another to be an 'improvement' more power to you.
I'll stick with the places that actually make the espresso and steam the milk after I place my order.

[thistleclub]

Your disinterest in Starbucks coffee is clear. I was reading too much into their intentions. Haven't tasted the output and was unwise to prejudge.

[LikeHamilton]

Anyone take a picture of it?