Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

guybehindawall t1_iwc9muf wrote

Reply to comment by Notfromcorporate in Maddie's closing by Mentalcasemama

I mean it might not be parking specifically but restaurants in the canal district have been talking about business being bad during games ever since the park opened. The prediction that business would be flowing over from the ballpark is, with extremely few exceptions, not materializing.

4

Notfromcorporate t1_iwceuyo wrote

That area wasn’t thriving before the stadium opened. Just seems like they all want to blame something else, rather themselves. It was a golden opportunity to capitalize on the stadium, but they all seemed bitter rather than helping themselves.

Maddie’s had shit hours. Bucks attracted shit people and had bad service. Smokehouse was in the decline food and service wise for a while now.

2

ganduvo t1_iwclkml wrote

Yeah if any of those places actually pivoted and tried to be open after the games, even with just a minor bar menu, I suspect they would have fared better. Seems like the Banner is always crowded after games and everywhere else was closed. Maddi's and Smokestack both have a great beer list and decent drinks, too. Why they close at 9 makes no sense to me.

3

Karen1968a t1_iwexkfw wrote

100%. You probably don’t have time to go out to eat before a weekday game. You couldn’t go to these restaurants after a game, they were closing or closed. Is that Covid? Staffing? I don’t know. Ballpark probably didn’t help, but it’s like 70 days a year, it’s not the primary reason

3

guybehindawall t1_iwclm47 wrote

Depends what you mean by "before the stadium opened" because the stadium opened in the middle of the pandemic. Before Covid? The area was definitely thriving and growing, that's *why* they put the stadium where they did.

I put the effects of Covid way above the ballpark as a cause for these closures, but blaming the restaurants themselves for the ballpark failing to help them when the promise was that they would is just silly. The Banner is literally the only place in the area I've heard of that gets a bump on game days, and they're also rumored to be for sale. And can anyone honestly say it's a better place than Maddi's, or Buck's, or Birch Tree, or Bay State Brewing? (The last two of which have both said they either get hurt or don't see a bump during games.)

Also, Maddi's was open on more weekdays and later on weekends only until the past year or so. The hours they had at the end are an effect of what closed them, not a cause.

3

Notfromcorporate t1_iwgqls8 wrote

Birch tree shouldn’t even be in convo of this type of thing. Nobodies going to get an egg flatbread after a baseball game at what’s essentially a big cafe.

Bay state is just a really awkward setup. Honestly can’t even tell it’s there.

The stadium isn’t stealing business. Unless you want to park in front of the place you’re going, it’s not hurting parking either.

Y’all want the area to thrive, but love to bitch about things that will bring outsiders in that can help out.

Covid is definitely to blame, but that area is just kind of shitty. You stay down there too late and it’s a rowdy college crowd, which foodies and what not don’t want to deal with.

These places also probably got PPP loans and can’t pay them back, which would make sense since they’re all closing around the same time.

2

guybehindawall t1_iwhf0uk wrote

Except Birch Tree is also a popular pizza spot and was running beer and pizza deals before games this past season, so they actually are in the conversation.

Bay State has the advantage of a dedicated parking lot, so they're a natural fit to see a bump during game days. But they aren't, because the people who go to the games aren't going out before or after. They're driving in, going to the game, and leaving after.

Meanwhile, it appears as though people who aren't going to the games are also staying away during games, likely due to the perceived lack of parking. This is something the city can and absolutely has to improve. And too much of the public simply does want to park right in front, and that absolutely needs to change as well.

This idea that the Canal District is or was this shitty area that needed saving by the ballpark is fucking psychotic - did you not see how many different small businesses opened in the area before Covid hit? The whole Crompton building, the Public Market, the ice rink, a few dispensaries, gyms, and all those bars and restaurants? It's been one of the few places in the city that has enough dense, walkable commerce to function like an actual city. Again, I'm not even placing much blame for these closings on the ballpark, but the idea that each of these businesses have somehow fumbled the bag is just nonsense.

1

Notfromcorporate t1_ix6p4yy wrote

Most small businesses fail.

It’s psychotic to blame this all on the stadium.

The reality is, nobody wants be down there, especially after a certain time. That’s why the market closes early, they get it. Nothing will survive down there unless it’s cheap food, that’s open late or an alcohol based business.

1

guybehindawall t1_ix80waj wrote

I already said two fucking times now I'm not placing much blame on the ballpark, what the fuck

1