This is another chain restaurant that I think has a very wide appeal and could be a draw for a revitalized downtown. There is usually a 1 hour wait at these places by 5pm on almost any given evening, even during the week.
Olive Garden
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Posted in: Retail
Submitted by Michael Seery
December 21, 2010
21 December 2010
Written by mjs@seerystrings.com
13 Comments
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As loved as the Olive Garden is by many, it isn’t the best fit for the Triple Bottom Line Statement where the goal is to support vibrant local independent businesses that contribute to the local culture, community and economy. See “Locals have 4x economic impact over nationals”. A common theme of many seems to be ‘make Bristol unique!’
I guess I have to totally have to disagree with the above point. These chains are owned by local franchisees. Not only that, if the development of Bristol is going to break completely with what most people are familiar and comfortable with then it is absolutely doomed to failure. I think there is not only plenty of room for “independent businesses” as well as chains. The chains are what will draw people, being friendly and familiar, and the unique businesses will be the points of interest that win them over. Nor do I think having “chain” type businesses conflicts with any of the ideas laid out by Bristol Rising and the Triple Bottom Line Statement in any way. There is no way in heck that Bristol is going to be moved instantly from what it is to this utopian fantasy of a place where all the businesses are entirely unique, local, and successful. If in the future it gets there I am all for it, but it is far from that point now and everyone can mark these words; this development will be an abissmal failure without a balance of businesses and amenities that the average Bristol resident can identify with now and businesses and amenities that will take time for the average Bristol resident to appreciate as time goes on. I am all for small and local, but I am not for certain failure, and without a balance that is what Bristol will have with this development.
I agree that Bristol doesn’t need another franchise or another dollar store. If we want that we have Farmington Ave with its endless array of franchises. I would be for a decent bookstore. A supermarket for this end of Bristol. A movie theatre. I would also like some upscale retail shops that carry well made clothing. There isn’t anywhere in Bristol that you can shop for better clothing. I am sadden to think that if the “chain” type stores are only stores that would draw people downtown. There are a great many people who think for themselves and due to the import mentality of these big box stores, very little is American made. I’d rather support American made as do most of us. This downtown area already is a failure. I remember when there was a real downtown. I remember when the stores were busy. People crowding the sidewalks. The redevelopment of the ’60′s was never realized devastating our downtown. This isn’t by any stretch of the imagination going to be an instant thing. Bringing in the franchises isn’t the answer. Litchfield won’t even let in a McDonalds and they seem to be doing fine. We need business that will draw people in and not from just Bristol, but as a destination for surrounding areas. Making Bristol unique in itself could be a draw. We have a wonderful opportunity in the making. I also think that adding rail service to and from Hartford is a wonderful idea. I would rather take a train than sit on Rt 84 every morning.
No way.The food is horrible.I`d never go.
Mike, some of what you say might be true…. but when you delve deeper Olive Garden doesn’t really go to creating a unique experience downtown. There’s simply not much charm to it.
Now, sticking w/ the Italian theme, perhaps instead there can be an italian restaurant where they actually spin and make the pasta & pizza dough right in front of you, and it’s wholly authentic–like there is in a place I once dined in Groton, CT. That place was an experience, and people from neighboring towns would come specifically for it.
Kate has it right. Olive Garden, while being an “on the surface draw” b/c it is known nationally is not really going to be a reason for people to want to come out and visit, esp. when you have cheap chains on route 6, and an Olive Garden in West Hartford.
Plus, when you go “chain” or “national”, people don’t understand that while at times it may be slightly more expensive there is actually up to 60 cents on the dollar circulation retention back into the local economy, whereas your chains and national outlets the local economy keeps somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 cents locally. Keeping money local is EXTREMELY beneficial to the community in many aspects.
I appreciate you posting this, as it’s a good discussion to have.
Balance will be key, you are right. Whether or not chains ultimately create balance, is not so clear cut. Obviously we are looking to create a space that is wholly unique from the national and chain mentality that has permeated this country.
There are chains that are absolutely everywhere, like say Chilis that we’ve pretty much agreed we want to avoid, but there are also some “almost” chains that may still work. One that springs to mind is Joey Garlics. The nearest Joey Garlics may be too close to work for Bristol, but I feel Olive garden is somewhere between the two. It is a chain, but I feel it does have a real draw. It’s always packed. If the money it keeps in town doesn’t fall in line with the plans and we decide to avoid it for that reason, perhaps a Joey Garlics type would keep more money in town? Is there a way to find out how much money a business keeps local? If they keep a lot, that name is very recognizable around here and it’s as popular as an Olive Garden.
Also, I know we’re guaranteed to have a McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts on the property already right? Do you have any worry about them harming other small local start ups that would compete with them?
We do not need anymore chain restaurants in Bristol. I think the people of Bristol would absolutely give a new and locally owned restaurant a chance. There are plenty of other cities that are not littered with chain restaurants that do well and sustain themselves just fine.
I would like to see locally owned businesses be given the opportunity to succeed without having to worry about competing with known national chains downtown. National chains can stay on route 6. They will always do great business wherever they are placed. Give local businesses the chance to succeed for once, instead of over corporatizing the downtown area.
While I agree that too many chains are not desirable, we must face the facts that some of them WILL bring in people and we need to do just that. We must try to get a fine balance between the locally owned and chains. As a former small business owner, I realize that the overhead at these beautiful, new buildings may be too high for some of the smaller, local businesses. I guess the balancing act is going to be a challenge-but it is doable.
No, No, No!
We could easily get a good independent Italian/Mediterranean restaurant started in Bristol; chains are very restrictive in menu availability – imagine if every Italian restaurant in America was an Olive Garden *shudders*.
Does anyone remember the restaurant Bristol Works that was formerly on Main Street? They were famous for their tea-cup popovers and had good food at reasonable prices. We do not need another Italian restaurant or pizza place in town. The Yankee Silversmith, which was in Wallingford, burned down a couple of years ago. It was a terrific place (also famous for popovers) that offered steaks, fish, seafood and pasta in a pleasant atmosphere. It was in an old train car! Bristol residents need to go out of town for these types of meals, unless they are members of Chipannee Golf Club.