Bars and boutiques

Two local events we participated in two years ago that have not repeated illustrate the type of businesses in our neighborhood (Louisville's inner-ring but traditionally affluent suburb of St. Matthews - like a combination of Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington in Columbus). Two summers ago Stephanie and I went on a pub crawl that showcased the immediate neighborhood’s seven bars – all within one or two blocks’ walking distance of each other, at least five now with live music on some nights – for a total cover of $5. The November before Stephanie, Vincent, and I had walked and ridden a trolley around a neighborhood winter Holiday Walk that showcased the dozens and dozens of neighborhood shopping boutique stores, from the stores that line the big road half a block away, to Chenoweth Square stores, to stores near some of those bars. We’re neither big spender nor big drinkers, and so we aren’t the best possible clients/customers for these bars/stores. We do occasionally eat out in neighborhood restaurants – neither event showcased these. I have blogged about us patronizing the local doggie bakery and going back to Dutch’s (pictured above by day). Thursday evening Frisco and I went for ice cream (OK – I got a sorbet and fruit smoothie and Frisco got some water) and walked past most of the bars. The bar action reminds me just a tiny bit of the old Tennessee Street “strip,” back in its heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before the raising of the drinking age, downtown decay, and the suburbanization of the Florida State student population ruined it. Just as I heard from artist friends in Florida that the recession is hurting the arts scene down there (people buying less art), the recession is also hurting some boutique stores in our neighborhood. A couple of months ago on our morning TV news show they showcased a local business going under. And these two things have come together just down the street from us: An artist has apparently vacated the building that housed an art studio/gallery/art school – part of the block of boutique-y stores down from us – no doubt thanks in part to the recession. Apparently, young people are still finding beer money, but their parents have begun skipping buying art (and other "luxuries").

-- Perry