Where ‘Friends’ meet for coffee

Forget Central Perk, the sofa-laden coffee house where the characters of the TV show Friends meet up, Tryst has it going.

Let me count the ways to make a great neighborhood hangout:  Provide lots of big comfortable chairs and couches for those who want relaxed conversation;  a communal table for those who want to strike up spontaneous dialogue or collaborate on work projects; lots of small tables near the front for more intimate conversation and dining; or

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There are many reasons why fast food doesn’t jive with a CoolTown, and here’s a whole book of them.  Below are listed just a few:

Health:  There are many ways town planning can promote health, and avoiding these is one of them.

Local economy:  I’ve got an upcoming week’s blog on this, but fast food chains simply take more money out of the local economy than local entrepreneurs.  The National Main Street Center is the best resource on this.

Community spirit:  The more fast food restaurants

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As we evolve from a service economy to an experience economy, diners are seeking more than just good food, they’re looking for a great time.

One of the popular restaurant types in is Ethiopian cuisine, which is essentially a giant pizza-sized serving of soft bread with varieties of spreads and fillings you combine yourself.

The best part to me is that you get to break all the rules.  First of all, you sit on the floor.  Second, you share from a common serving dish, and

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How can a town be fun if you don’t have fun places to eat? My favorite restaurant when I lived in San Francisco was The Coriya Hot Pot, and still is.

The basic concept of this all-you-can-eat experience is that you cook your own food - known as hot pot dining - or hot-potting. All the vegetables, meats, etc. are laid out like a salad bar for you to choose from, followed by sauces (of which you can use recommended combinations).  The fun part comes when you start cooking your preferences on

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OK, so you still have to pay $3 for the beer, but the City of West Palm Beach choreographs the beer truck and local live bands every Thursday night in its revitalized town square.  I was there on one of those nights and wish we had it here in Washington DC.

Clematis by Night was initiated by then Mayor Nancy Graham as a means of revitalizing the City’s neglected downtown.  Not only that, but she established a progressive, young planning department and attracted innovative investors to carry

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A CoolTown government would look at enhancing the talent of its own people rather than importing it from somewhere else (ie big corporations).

It would promote ways of utilizing technology (e.g. the internet) and fresh ideas (e.g. universities) to enhance the skills and businesses of its own residents and establish a strong local economy.  Much of this is detailed in Going Local: Creating Self Reliant Communities in a Global Age by Michael Shuman (who also happens to be a CoolTown …

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Well, the ultimate CoolTowns are in places like Paris and London because of the overwhelming priority of people over automobiles (these cities matured well before cars hit the streets).  The U.S. has its share of cool city governments.

Arts & Entertainment: The City of Austin has a live band play before every council meeting.  That’s the spirit of the city and its live music capital of the world slogan, where there are more live music venues per capita than anywhere else.  In Seattle, the

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It depends on who voted them into office.  Since governments are elected by the people, the mindset of its community’s leaders is a good indication of what government will do.  How they perceive risk is a fundamental indicator of whether or not they will endorse a CoolTown:

The risk-takers:  These are the people you read about in the paper, the ones who commit to ideas no one else will and set trends:  Artists and entertainers, Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey, entrepreneurial mayors like Richard

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You need strong, entrepreneurial government leadership to see innovative development implemented.  If the mayor doesn’t support the concept you may as well invest somewhere else.

What does government leadership provide?  For instance, it can produce policies that support entrepreneurial economic development; establish a tax system that reinvests into the project that generated the taxes in the first place; and provide a common vision that inspires community and business leaders to support the

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The most effective sense of security comes in being around people you know, and CoolTowns make that easier.  Most importantly, it reduces the fear of being unsafe, which keeps way too many people inside and perpetuates a vicious cycle of ever fewer people going out.  Here’s what investors are looking to do:

1. Create a high enough density of people to have ‘eyes on the street’ security at all times.
2. Attract a diversity of housing types, stores, restaurants, services and workplaces that

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