People posting must think that Bang-On, Ten-Thousand-Villages & every other store on the block is not a chain. News flash: there are plenty of chain stores in Carytown, just very few exceptional national brands. Sure what Carytown needs, what Richmond needs in another restaurant, I mean barf. With few exceptions it is just a matter of where to get a Sysco Food Vendor pre-packaged steak/burger at, NY Deli or Can-Can.

Part of the Carytown charm though has got to be the homeless, the bad smells, the virtual absence of parking, the crime, the insane rent, the higher sales taxes, the fact that most stores close by 6pm, the bohemian lack of organization. Right? Right?

Carytown, Virginia needs to clean up its act, and embrace a circle of life, or it will continue the vicious cycle of death that has plagued it for years.

re: All Fired Up–yes, it is now under new ownership.

Oh and I still think that closing the “windows” at Can Can ruined so much of the feel of the area. I know that Can Can was new. But it was great for the season that it was open.

I am a whole-hearted advocate of the Thompson to Boulevard pedestrian mall concept. Such an idea has been bruited on this site in months past, and makes just plain good sense.

Wonder if there’s ever been a study about what the ratio is per cars going down Cary to those that actually stop for its passengers to shop, dine or seek entertainment here. My hunch is that we’d be surprised.

What I see in the middle of the day is clogged one-way traffic, motorists not stopping, but avoiding the Downtown Expressway tolls. Trust me, it’s going to get worse with the “user fee” price hike, a tax by any other name, and one done without public approval.

[The RMA will argue that the regional residents have de facto representation through elected officials on the RMA board.

This contention is exactly what some members of George III's Parliament made: that each MP actually represented all British subjects, not just their districts. ]

So, yes. And I also agree that establishing homogenizing standards for the shops isn’t a good idea. We want diversity and creativity, as this is a hallmark and reason for Carytown’s continued existence.

Now, will somebody get up on a ladder and flick a finger against Can Can’s west-facing neon?

color me crazy, but I thought the bohemian feel of CT was the whole point…coordinate the property owners…improve the common spaces…enforce building codes and property maintainance…

but if I wanted standardization I would move to Short Pump

also. RVA Foodie, why on earth would you tell farouk’s to close just because you think they are boring? thats just lame. that is the only place in carytown you can get traditional indian food! and their lunch buffet is a STAPLE for the people who work around there. maybe we should think more about keeping places OPEN than shutting them down because YOU don’t like them.

Quite simply, Carytown as a whole (or at some structured point), should be a pedestrian only area. In doing so, the roadway could be replaced with pavers, cobblestone, or some other unique layer. Park benches, fountains, larger sidewalks, trees, nice lamp posts, plants, and other features would need to be added. Store fronts would all need to be renovated to comply with some kind of higher standards of design. This would probably take some kind of a covenants committee who could oversee all improvements in the Carytown district. Think of Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchant Square, or in Boston….Fanuel Hall. These areas attract people not only for their shops and restaurants, but also because of their charm and enjoyable surroundings. Parking, Auto Traffic, People, and Money, are the hurdles that would need to be overcome. This would require all Carytown property owners to actively want to be part of some kind of association that had some control over their property. It would require extreme help from the city in the form of planning, implementation, money, and incentive to property owners and businesses. However, if Carytown was able to make this facelift and change it’s dynamic, it is hard to believe it wouldn’t be a huge success.

http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=380

Lava is now closing.

But, while hauling my little grocery cart from Kroger this evening I noted that the big ugly SPACE AVAILABLE sign that draped All Fired Up!, and the small posters that indicated the owners were pooped and looking for somebody to take over the business, were absent. Hope this is good news.

Thing about picking up random trash is that I like the way the sidewalk looks afterward. I can stand back and say: Hey, I can’t do much, but I did this. And it takes no time at all.

I didn’t realize Eck had a clean up crew for his territory down the street. Makes sense. And Uptown looks good, too. Urban shopping shouldn’t necessarily mean “gritty.”

OK. No more kinetic force against a supine equine. Although, I have to say, I miss the bartlett pear trees. They provided shade in the summer, staved off rain between awnings, and picturesque sights in the snow. The trees were old, yes, but in some other town where the urban arboreal was taken with some seriousness, those trees would’ve just gotten trimmed back, some nipping and tucking, and the street wouldn’t at certain times seem sterile and hard. LIke some De Chirico painting. “Melancholy and Mystery of the Street” —

http://www.colchsfc.ac.uk/art/De%20Chirico%202.jpg

I too pick up random bit of debris off CT sidewalks on early morning walks, as I do in front of my own property..funny though…I did the same when I was a renter…not because I am special but because I did not want to live with a pile of crap in front of my apartment…same principal applies to a business..look at the Main Street developments near VPU…Eck pays for a regular picker-upper person to tend the entire corridor…I am not buying that trash and weeds represent % renters, more likely the limited 24 hours in a day but business owners have got to understand that the 5 minutes a day that would be required would improve the look of care and attention to the area would also improve the reputation of the shopping district

not meaning to “beat a dead horse” here but pride of ownership should extend to the public spaces in CT