Do you have a grudge against Home Depot, CVS, Wal Mart etc as well?

Well, I don't know if I'd term it a grudge, but I definitely think this corporate expansion going on in the U.S. is causing regions, neighborhoods, & towns to lose a good deal of their personality and charm.

Maybe I'm being a dinosaur, but I pine for the days when there were independent hardware stores, pharmacies, and markets.

Growing up in Mayfair, the biggest crime of my childhood was when the Mayfair Movie theater (at least the front half of it) became a Thrift Drug (now Eckerd) & when the Mayfair Market became the Drug Palace (now Rite Aid).

I understand that change happens. I know that it is now faster & more convenient with these corporate mega-stores everywhere. Still, there has definitely been something lost.

Errands are just errands now.

My wife is French & how they live their life there is just so damned charming to me. They go shopping at small little specialized neighborhood shops. They buy fresh bread & groceries every day from the smallest, cutest shops & the owners and workers know them. They go for a four o'clock coffee or tea at small bistros or cafes, again welcomed by the owners & workers.

Going on errands in France is actually a great way to spend part of your day. They also walk more and drive a lot less.

The quality of life is just higher the old way. Now, we're in a big rush to get everywhere and we shop at the same monotholic mega-stores and noone knows each other and there is just no charm to it.

Move to SPhilly bro. Try the 'Passyunk Square' area. There are tons of small local places around, and it is a tight little neighborhood (unlike Loft District or my part of Spring Garden)

Hey guys . . . calm down. We don't have to fight this battle every time anyone mentions any retail.

I have gone to many Starbucks. And, I have gone to many other chain retailers and restaurants. And, I've argued on these pages in favor of them.

The question was asked from a new person who is moving to Old City.

Starbucks is fine for people visiting Betsy Ross House, Elfreth's Alley, etc. I'm sure that many people will be much more comfortable with a national chain where they know exactly what they are gettting. I've always wished we had a similar sort of thing on Market Street, as well.

But, if you are moving into the neighborhood and want to find the places where local folks go for coffee, then the sensible thing is to direct people to Cafe Ole, Big Jar (where they can look at books, as well), Old City Coffee, etc. Hell, most people going to Betsy Ross House will never discover that OC Coffee even exists.

Each type of business has it's own value.

But, if you are living in Old City, you will probably prefer a place that makes you feel that you are in Old City rather than a store (Starbucks) that makes you feel that you could be in King of Prussia as well as Old City.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs

Try Wilenski's Hardware (since 1913?), it's a time warp. I get my meat from Tom's Prime Cuts, where they gladly drag out a 80 lb. chunk of beef and slice your steaks to order. Deli cuts and cheese's, at least three places. Juliana's coffe shop, though they sell La Colombe, not Old City Coffee.

I always wondered, where exactly is this Passyunk Square area?

Passyunk Square goes from Washington Ave to Tasker and 6th Street to Broad. The civic association for that area has a good website:

http://www.passyunk.org/

Strangely enough, even though I live in Passyunk Square, my husband and I usually take a nice walk to South Street to hang out and drink coffee (most often on 4th at Java, sometimes at South Cafe).

And we (my husband and myself) don't go to any Starbucks. Just on principle, we like to patronize independent establishments and make sure they stick around. There are allready enough people going to Starbucks. And there are already enough Starbucks - but that's not going to stop them from putting another one in the building thats being fixed up at 9th and South.

Does anyone else think South Street is becoming a strip mall with its Gap and KFC and Net and 9 cell phone stores? There are some good hold-outs, but ...

Hey guys . . . can we take this new topic over to S. Phlily, or someplace like that. Or start a new thread to talk about South Street.

This one is supposed to be about coffee shops in Old City.

Thanks.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs

Old City coffee is (hands down) the best in the city.

Old City Coffee has the best "Coffee Coffee" milkshake as well as the best coffee bean selection around. Double Shots coffee shop, on 2nd and Chestnut, has this incredible highly caffeinated drink called "Cafe Extreme", which is coffee with 4, 6, or 8 shots of espresso in it. It's awesome! Plus they have an internet connection that I can actually connect to with my Pocket PC, unlike Old City Coffee's internet connection which is Apple friendly and PDA unfriendly.

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OldCityModDuo

www.phillyadz.com