Eden Cafe (Pittsburgh, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: 2013, new home, neighborhood)

[SWBFAN]

Posted without commentary...


Christian's First Step to saving eden-a vegan cafe! | Indiegogo

[SWBFAN]

no one cares?

[wadejay26]

Nope, I ate there once. Thought the concept was ridiculous. I have no problem with a vegan restaurant, but why serve fake meat? If you want a cheesesteak, eat a cheesesteak. Not a vegan faux meat, faux cheese sandwich. If the business is not sustainable downtown because of stricter enforcement of parking meters, it should move to a different area or go under.

[jtab4994]

I would try it because I like weird stuff, but I'm not gonna drive all the way up to Scranton just for that. If they're still open next time I'm in the area I'll stop in.

[SWBFAN]

I know I said I posted w/o comment but It is nice to see he has all but met his donation goal in a few short days. Nice story.

[SteelCityRising]

I've actually just stumbled upon these "crowd-sourcing" or "kick-starter" sorts of campaigns, and I wish they had been around sooner, to be quite frank. While growing up in NEPA and watching the area deteriorate economically I saw so many of our family's favorite businesses go belly-up, and I wish they had a venue or forum where they could say "Hey! We're struggling! Please help us!" Here in the Pittsburgh area a popular local chef just raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance the launch of a trendy new restaurant in Braddock, an extremely neglected and impoverished dying mill town, in hopes of helping to save the community and to bring farm-fresh food to the table to be consumed by community residents at a reasonable price point. He met his goal and far surpassed it. I'm glad to see Mr. Pilosi has also met and surpassed his own goal with Eden.

With that being said I never understood the "anti-urban" mindset in NEPA. The fact that his business is suffering because his clientele doesn't want to pay for parking is mind-boggling. You're not going to find a unique local restaurant like this in the suburbs of Wilkes-Barre Township, Montage Mountain, Dickson City, or South Abington Township. Here in Pittsburgh parking is insanely expensive, not to mention a rather oppressive taxation structure, yet our city continues to attract new business ventures left and right. We even now have a gourmet hot dog restaurant, a shop that sells "urban" clothing to "tween" boys, and a store that sells gourmet dog biscuits. All are doing very well. The fact that Scranton can't support ONE vegan-friendly restaurant on its own due to "parking issues" is, well, sad. When is NEPA going to hop onto the "urban bandwagon" that has been sweeping this nation as of late with thousands of people pouring back into cities and helping to revitalize them? It seems like whenever I'm in NEPA, a region with a stagnant population, all I see are new homes being constructed in the 'burbs. It's a shame.

[ecoscape]

Steel just to have little bit different outlook I recommend this article to you Richard Florida Concedes the Limits of the Creative Class - The Daily Beast , enjoy.

[frank754]

That's the trouble with this area, too traditional. There *should* be more ventures like this, as there's a good college crowd around here and plenty of conscious progressives and environmentalists out there too. Here, though you can get natural foods at Wegman's, there's a lack of natural venues. A lot of people are vegetarian and vegan, most progressive cities, in fact, have a cultural ecosystem built around these businesses and lifestyles. In Eugene, Oregon, there are quite a few natural food stores and eateries, as well as a buzzing organic farming industry. In Asheville, NC there are at least 4 natural foods supermarkets, as well as vegetarian/vegan restaurants. Those are 2 places I've actually lived, but I'm sure I can add to the list cities like Ithaca, NY, Burlington VT, most west coast cities and college towns, and Denver/Boulder, etc.
Much of the traditional diet and processed foods are toxic, and it's good that a movement like this is going forward. It will only increase with time.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by ecoscape

Steel just to have little bit different outlook I recommend this article to you Richard Florida Concedes the Limits of the Creative Class - The Daily Beast , enjoy.

I advocate for the growth of cities in general. I'm not anti-suburb. I only become "anti-suburb" when the suburb's success and progress directly detrimentally impacts its host city. I see this with Scranton. Dickson City and Montage Mountain (Moosic) are teeming with commerce, and the "loser" here is Downtown Scranton. South Abington Township has new homes going up more quickly than many other places I've seen anywhere, really, yet the city proper of Scranton continues to deal with a bleeding population. I want to see South Abington Township, Dickson City, and Moosic thrive ALONG WITH Scranton---not at its expense, which is currently what's been happening since the 1990s, if not longer.

I grew up in the 'burbs myself (Pittston Township). I moved to the heart of a major city by choice and could not have been any happier with my decision. If and when I move back to NEPA in the future to help my sister care for my parents as they age I'll be making my home in either Scranton or Wilkes-Barre. I just don't see the benefits of living in the 'burbs (i.e. larger square footage for homes, larger lot sizes, more socioeconomically homogeneous public schools, etc.) outweighing the cons (longer commutes, more expensive to heat/cool larger homes, having to drive everywhere for everything, more traffic, less diversity, more chains vs. mom-and-pops, etc.)

I know Mayor Doherty took Richard Florida's credo hook, line, and sinker. You can't really blame him for that as "The Rise of the Creative Class" was all the rage for city planners and elected officials alike in the 1990s and early-2000s. I want to see Scranton grow in all ways, shapes, and sizes---not just more coffeehouses and bookworms but also more immigrants opening up ethnic markets and restaurants, more skilled tradesmen (i.e. plumbers, welders, masons, etc.) opening up companies and giving younger people the opportunity to apprentice with them, more manufacturing jobs bringing more opportunities for the non-college-educated, etc. I live adjacent to a Pittsburgh neighborhood with the "yoga/latte/cupcake/fro-yo/funny hat/hipster" vibe to it, and I don't like seeing working-class families being priced out to suburbia in order to make way for these "Trust Fund Babies". I don't ever want to see Scranton suffer the same fate, but the region at-large can't keep treating Scranton and Wilkes-Barre like pimples that need popping. This area would be NOTHING historically if not for the growth of those two primary cities.

Originally Posted by frank754

That's the trouble with this area, too traditional. There *should* be more ventures like this, as there's a good college crowd around here and plenty of conscious progressives and environmentalists out there too. Here, though you can get natural foods at Wegman's, there's a lack of natural venues. A lot of people are vegetarian and vegan, most progressive cities, in fact, have a cultural ecosystem built around these businesses and lifestyles. In Eugene, Oregon, there are quite a few natural food stores and eateries, as well as a buzzing organic farming industry. In Asheville, NC there are at least 4 natural foods supermarkets, as well as vegetarian/vegan restaurants. Those are 2 places I've actually lived, but I'm sure I can add to the list cities like Ithaca, NY, Burlington VT, most west coast cities and college towns, and Denver/Boulder, etc.
Much of the traditional diet and processed foods are toxic, and it's good that a movement like this is going forward. It will only increase with time.

I wish I could be a vegetarian, Frank, but I love meat too much (cue the gay jokes!) I grew up in a "meat 'n potatoes" household, so I learned at a very young age that it's awesome to be a carnivore. I know it's healthier, more compassionate, and more ecologically-sustainable to refrain from eating animals, but I don't know how to stop! How did you become a vegetarian, Frank?

[SWBFAN]

Right, like the article I read about a Chic Fil A and Chipotle opening in Dickson City.


Do you know what a Chipotle would do in Scranton with the college kids?