So, what you're saying is: Fkd. Ave in Mayfair will only attract the young, rowdy, partying 18-30 crowd?

There are some establishments that do attract the more mature crowds, and seemed to profit quite nicely.

Has anyone ever been to Club Lyrics? It was in the Harbison Square shopping mall: Harbison/Roosevelt. (David's Bridal mall)

I know before it was made Lyrics, it was another bar/club that had some problems.
I was in Lyrics 2-3 times over a 2yr period. Each weekend nite I was there.. I didn't see kids or adults at the bars and tables with bottles of Bud or Yuengling.

I saw a jam packed club filled with adult men and women. And they weren't drinking beers. They were drinking martinis, wine, top shelf alcohol, etc. All you had to do was look down the bar.. and you'd see all kinds of fancy glasses that you don't see in any Mayfair bar I've been to.
The bars were packed, the tables were packed... and the dance floor was packed.
Evidently, there were enough adults willing to travel to Harbison/Roosevelt for this type of atmosphere.

Now, I know there is the question of a club like this surviving on 2-3 profitable nights a week, and I can't answer that. All I know is that the owner found a niche in the lower NE. And the people went there.

It's closed now. Maybe because they didn't turn a profit, or some other reason. But this place really packed in the "more mature" crowd.. from what I saw.

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I disagree. Parking is a "biggie", IMO.

I mentioned Lyrics as one example of an establishment that managed to attract a large "mature" crowd.
The music, upper scale drinks, and similar aged crowd were probably all draws for these patrons. But people of this age and maturity are also looking at safety as a primary concern when they are out socializing. Lyrics had a very large parking lot. The lot was full of other Lyrics patrons..all with their Cadillacs, Crown Vics, SUV's, etc.

Would these same people risk parking their cars on the streets of Fkd. Ave. in Mayfair? If they could even find a street parking spot, there's the risk of parelle parking, bumper damage, and the overall insecurity of your nice car sitting on the street..

The Grey Lodge: Nice place. Very popular. But when it's crowded, we all know it. No parking anywhere to be found. If I can't park my car ... I'm not going in.

Look at Michael's Cafe on Street Rd. in Bensalem. (I know.. it's a meat market.... )
They have a niche here too. They have a dress code. No sneakers allowed, I believe. No flip-flops, I believe. That alone sifts out some riff-raff. It seems to be an older crowd looking to dance and have fun. Some of the ladies there look like they've primped and primed all day..just to go out that one night!!
But the big draw could be the HUGE parking lot they have.

Don't discount the very real benefit of ample parking.

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Who wants to drink and drive in Bensalem? I always find parking in Mayfair and I don't sweat bullets driving home.

http://www.clublyrics.com/

When did it close? After the shooting in the parking lot last year after a weekly Salsa Night? Never been or desired to go there but I assumed it was still open and it didn't cater to an "upscale" crowd in recent times.

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Parking: 2nd Street, South Street, Main Street. None of these are easy places to park. Yet all are or have been very popular nightlife destinations. Impossibility of parking is deadly to business. Difficulty of parking can be overcome.

For short trips, like buying produce, we need easier parking and/or more node areas. By node areas I mean park once and hit the produce store, a meat store, and a bakery. In that way any inconvenience of parking is offset by convenience of clustered synergistic shopping.

Once we have some good nodes, we should then consider how to provide better parking.

It would also be nice if we could work with SEPTA for a special fare good only on the 66. We'd never be able to have a free bus like they have in downtown Denver, but it would be great if SEPTA could get increased ridership and revenue, and patrons of the Ave could get around the Ave at a low price that wouldn't make them think twice. Hopefully we'd even be able to get the 66 to run more often during non-rush hour times.


"Quality" of Patrons: 3300's original post was about encouraging more bars on Frankford Ave for a more Key West atmosphere. The thread evolved into Mayfair will never be Manayunk. Hopefully, if we are lucky it never will be. I have had the misfortune of hanging out on Main Street twice; give me a Frankford Ave bar any day. North Wildwood is probably a better model than Main Street.

I don't think we need to upscale ourselves, we just need to be who we are. And who we are as a neighborhood can't be stereotyped into a single category, neither downscale, nor upscale, nor all middle. There is room and need for both the Red Robin and Ry-Lei as well as overlap for each.


An Opportunity? One opportunity for businesses on the Avenue is to figure out how to better utilize and celebrate Mayfair's Irish-American heritage. And part of such an idea goes back to 3300's original thought of "what about more bars on the Ave"?

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I think if you were to ask the people who live off of Frankford Avenue whether they would prefer 3300 Mayfair's vision of Frankford Ave vs. the current state, most would vote in favor of 3300's vision. Its taking an avenue thats decent for now and altering it; making it better so it can survive into the future. I Think 3300 wants to revitalize the avenue in a way that fits the neighborhood and will work. What direction would you like to see Frankford Ave go? I don't think you want to sit back and watch it change over the years into KA.

Are there any plans for the Mayfair Business Assn. to establish a website soon? It would be very helpful to know exactly which stores are on Fkd. Ave.
I didn't know there was a shoe repair shop near Fkd/Cottman. I noticed it last week...after I drove up to Street Rd. for a handbag repair a month ago.
There must be tons of other stores along the Ave. most people have never seen. Especially if you're driving -- you need to keep your eyes on the road.. and therefore, can't see the different stores.
Either a list of stores in print or available on a website could be very helpful towards keeping dollars local, IMO

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There are a lot of little mom and pop stores on the avenue. Be it flower shops, shoe repair, or an old school place to purchase coffee. These are all places that other areas try to create, but we have it. We all need to take the short walk to go there to support those stores.

The more you see the good people walking the ave the more it will be inviting to others. The street itself would also benefit with a facer lift like different signage and trees and from what I understand that’s in the works.

In the end it is up to the people who live here to support the mom and pop stores. Before we can even talk about what should be here we need to support the good stores that are here.

You're right. We should support our local stores before hitting the malls whenever possible.
I just forget these stores are here, or am not aware that they are. For example: My son just bugged me to get him a Flyers jersey.
I didn't give SixSmith's Sporting Good shop (Frankford/??) a thought. I went right to Modells.
For the aggravation and gas it cost me to get to the Modells in Roosevelt Mall, if SixSmith's had a similar jersey/similar price, I could have walked that!!

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