If you feel like relaxing at the end of the day with a good book, then meeting friends for drinks, staying for dinner, then catching a rather intellectual film, lecture or comedy show, you can do all of that in one place at the newly opened Busboys and Poets in MidCity, Washington DC.

The name of the venue is inspired by Langston Hughes who was discovered as a poet while he was a busboy, and the theme carries through.  There’s a literature-oriented bookstore; a bar; lots of couches and

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Connect Four, Trivial Pursuit, Backgammon… the games you played as a kid… or as an adult.  As stated in a previous article, Next gen housing for changing households, the urban crowd stays home less, goes out more.  So, some venues are bringing the living room to them.

Pharoah’s Rock & Blues (pictured) in Adams Morgan has a ‘living room’ on their second floor that provides the aforementioned ‘board games’ for their patrons to use.  The best part is that you don’t have to put it away when

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In yesterday’s entry, I questioned why rooftop dining was so rare, and today I provide an example that flies in the face of ‘old economy’ downtown development - Lauriol Plaza; probably the most successful restaurant in the entire Washington DC area.

What are its secrets to such crazed popularity that the waiting time for dinner is at least an hour every single night?  No secret really…

It’s has top-notch service and is located in the heart of an urban, walkable neighborhood where people walk

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I was sitting next to a friend of mine whose girlfriend exclaimed, “I feel like going to one of those restaurants with rooftop dining!“  It wasn’t a difficult decision, being that there were really only two choices in the neighborhood.  Which made me wonder, why are there only two?

It’s easier to figure why not.  First of all, it’s practically free real estate space, compared to most rooftops that add no value.  The same with patio dining, but that’s another story.  Second, people absolutely

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Inspiring places have an energy, a vibe, a freshness that says you’re going to experience things you haven’t before, whether it’s food, music, people, design, ideas or a unique combination of them all.  The secret yet unasked question is, “How can a place maintain such a demanding creative edge?“

Ask a group that recenty sold 6 million albums, Gorillaz.  It’s a virtual band presented as cartoon characters, and no one knows the exact line-up of artists except Damon Albarn of Blur, the only

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It’s lunchtime (for entrepreneurs, that could mean anytime between noon and 6 pm.)  You’ve got $5 for food and drink, whether it’s all you got or all you want to spend.  Why is it that the only choices are either unhealthy or chains? McD’s, Subway… What if you wanted to support your fellow entrepreneur, that independent sandwich shop down the street, but the bill always totals over $7? Surely there’s a no-frills chic answer.

Why does this matter?  Because cities need entrepreneurs to create

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Do the cafes and coffeeshops in your neighborhood have stories, soul… values?

Fast Company magazine did a little informal study of company values and found that “having at least some values of two words or more pumped up returns by 16% over the S&P, companies with all one-word values lost 2%, and Berkshire Hathaway, whose core values run some 5000 words, beat the S&P by 65%.“

So here’s a suggestion and litmus test if you’re opening up a new venue - do you have your values written out,

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...since the service economy began evolving into the experience economy, and as a result, retail and entertainment began merging.

Whole Foods is the national trendsetter when it comes to groceries.  Yes it’s a chain, but as the Apple Computer of the grocery industry, it continues to set new standards in creativity, as well as environmental stewardship. personal health, and now enterainment and fun.  Here are some of their multi-experience features that any-sized venue can be inspired by at

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There’s nothing more important to a great downtown/main street than the entrepreneurs who open that signature restaurant or venue that starts a chain reaction of quality venues behind it.

Warren Brown had dual degrees in law and public health from George Washington University, but hated his work as a lawyer for the federal government.  Meanwhile, friends and family loved anything he baked.  So he did what most lawyers do - quit his job and opened a bakery.

A few awards and an Oprah

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Can you believe they were thinking of razing this building?  It’s a good thing it’s in DC.  If it were in Detroit, it’d probably be gone.  That’s not a slam on Detroit, that’s an all-too-well-known fact.

Built in 1924 as a 2500-seat grand theater, the Tivoli was left for dead after the 1968 riots, which pretty much left most city downtowns in the same condition until recently.  This is why diversity is good not only for social well-being, but the economy as well.

Revitalized and re-opened in

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How about a bookstore, ice cream, art gallery coffeehouse.  That properly describes the Market Street Cafe in Frederick, Maryland, the second largest city in Maryland that’s enjoying a bit of a renaissance.

These mutiple-venues-in-one are a growing trend in retail, and a good one too.  At the Market Street Cafe you can browse through a carefully selected stock of used books, enjoy a great cup of coffee and ice cream for dessert, peruse the local art for sale on the walls, run into your

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The next coffeehouse - the teahouse?

Time Magazine wrote, “The old drink is having a comeback, in restaurants, at salons, at home…“

So what’s the difference between a coffeehouse that serves tea and a teahouse?  It depends.  There are two kinds of teahouses - those that offer a sweet alternative to coffee called bubble tea like Bubble Island Tea in Ann Arbor (pictured), and the Asian-oriented ones that are focused on health, both physically and mentally, like Teaism in Washington DC.  The

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A Coffeehouse David vs. Goliath

This is the coffeehouse ‘David’ in Athens, Georgia, Blue Sky Cafe, an independent, long-time institution and favorite hangout.  I assume there’s no need to tell you what the coffeehouse Goliath* is that opened up right next door, with little sympathy and remorse if they had put Blue Sky out of business.

Well, the good news is that Blue Sky expanded and is doing better than ever after that certain chain next door opened.  Why?  Because in addition to being a

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How can a chain be cool?

That’s a bit of an oxymoron there, but the best way to make a chain cool is to make it seem like an independent.  The most effective way is not to call it the same thing with the same products everywhere, but of course, I guess that’s what a chain is.  The other strategy is to make the locale as unique to the local culture as possible.

Espresso Royale Caffe is in a few college towns, but at least they’re unique in each place, have live entertainment (which of course

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All of the above.  This is ‘Clocks’ in Athens, GA.

We’re become a lot more acclimated to diversity and choice - we’re seeing mixed housing, retail and office in our communities, and even in the same building.  This trend is continuing down to single venues within buildings, and people like it.  Why only recently?  We now have more access to knowledge, and that means it’s no longer considered crazy to run both a bookstore and a restaurant in the same venue.

Or a bar and a restaurant.  Or a

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The biggest criticism to the idea of revitalizing and building neighborhoods and town centers is that they end up looking too new and sterile.  Authenticity comes with an organic nature to development.  Which is why the venue developer is as crucial to an area’s success as a building developer or community developer.  In fact, if the venue developer is good enough, the latter two become followers - and that may be the case in Madison, Wisconsin.

Local entrepreneur brothers Chris and Finn

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Yep, cool neon sign, great customer service, familiar faces and local charm.  But what about low prices?  Don’t the national chains, RiteAid/CVS/Walgreens have a lock on this?  Kennedy Smith, former long-time executive director of and current consultant to the National Main Street Center, demystifies the myth:

“RiteAid/CVS/Walgreens are a different story. Independent pharmacies can actually operate more efficiently than these guys - their national association has a buying service that, by

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Many of us shop at large supermarkets, whether it’s Whole Foods, Safeway or Piggly Wiggly.  However, just about all of them are ugly one-story flat boxes.  Thanks to technology, the times they are a changin’.

Structural, energy-efficiency and venting advancements are making it increasingly commonplace to allow people to live above such large, open plan buildings.  That basically means more housing where there typically wasn’t any, and that’s good for affordability and pedestrian

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In Bologna, Italy I came across what appeared to be the busiest establishment in the city (I should know, I walked throughout the entire central town).  The reason:  Good food, very inexpensive, fast service.

It reminded me of the ‘Nazi soup kitchen’ from Seinfeld, where you followed a strict routine to order and pick-up, otherwise you’d get a lot of angry stares. The adrenalin was flowing as I carefully scanned the menu and planned my attack, in Italian and all.

First you order - “due

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The things a CoolTown piazza can’t be without:

Movie theaters - There are several reasons why movie theaters can be the centerpiece to making a CoolTown piazza a true destination:

1. It will single-handedly bring hundreds of people out at night (away from their couch and TV sets.)  They’d then be within a mecca of food, entertainment and social opportunities.

2. It promotes diversity - see point #4 of this previous CoolTown blog.

3. In Europe’s oldest cities, monumental churches anchored

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The things a CoolTown piazza can’t be without:

The eclectic nightclub - Nightlife is a must for the creative - entrepreneurial market, and for many the night doesn’t begin until the morning.  If you’re the only nightclub in town, then you need a minimum of three stories to play three genres of music - whether it’s hip hop, r&b, house, techno, trance, salsa, ‘new swing’ or that 70s, 80s, 90s stuff.  Why?  Just ask any creative - entrepreneur what kind of music they like - “Everything” is the

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Essential #3 - The things a CoolTown piazza can’t be without:

The pub - Where everybody knows your name.  The pub is a standard in England, and the typical ones there are small, very homey, lots of wood floors, walls and furniture, and a line of regulars parked on the bar stools.  For some, that bar stool is the equivalent of the couch in the living room, while the buzz of conversation in the air replaces your television set.  Well in fact, many pubs do have a “tellie” just for that reason -

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Seinfeld fans can relate to this one…

Essential #2 - The things a CoolTown piazza can’t be without:

The late night cafe:  The place where you can get $5 sandwiches/burritos or $4 bacon*/eggs/toast at 3 in the morning, without OD’ing** on grease, fat and sugar.

The key is to establish places that people can theoretically frequent every single day without going bankrupt or skyrocketing their risk for diabetes.  Not everyone has to drink coffee or tea, but everyone’s gotta eat, and wouldn’t it

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This week I’ll take a look at what the ideal shops, restaurants, entertainment and services would be on a CoolTown main street, or even better, a piazza.  Thus, imagine the coolest of main streets as a piazza.

Essential #1 - These are the things a CoolTown piazza can’t be without:

The hang-out coffeehouse.  The one with the local owners, local art on the walls, local live bands stopping by (see the pattern?) and bulletin board stuffed with ads from people selling bikes to seeking

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Fast Company Magazine:  The giant retailer’s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart’s relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Charles Fishman

What an eye-opening story (just click anywhere in the paragraph above).  It makes you realize that Wal-mart isn’t a national retailer anymore, it’s an international wholesaler.  While it’s single-handedly forcing the

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