What do people have against chain restaurants and suburbs? (Arlington: section 8, apartments)

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

My beef with NoVA's chain resturants was that they weren't any of the good ones. In KY, I have Sonic, Hardee's, Steak and Shake, Zaxby's among most of the other chains that were in NoVA. If you are gonna have chain resturants at least have GOOD ones.

The beef others may have with chains is that they may want to bring in friends from out of town to have some local cuisine. If one is living somewhere like Reston, they would be PO'd to have to drive to DC to taste some actual local cuisine because if one wanted to eat at a chain why should the visitor even come to eat there.

Another issue is supporting local business. I hate to support some fat cat on top at McDonald's while I could help someone here in Hardin County, KY send their kid to college by patronizing their business.

Believe me, the local McDonald's owner and all of this employees also hope to send their kids to college and they too live in your county.

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

Downtown Reston doesn't feel "cozy" to me. It doesn't feel like a place that has developed soul. To me it feels like a bunch of high-rises plopped in the middle of four busy roadways with chain restaurants below offices. Reston (and much of NoVA for that matter) feels like the Sunbelt, and I personally don't see that as being a good thing.

Yet after spending a year denouncing living there, you signed another year's lease on another place there.

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by TitaniumSquirrel

"fake" areas like Reston or Ashburn.

that they are

the chains are symptoms, not causes, of a mass-produced culture out there that makes itself look foolish by trying to emulate a city - better off enclosing the mall like they did at Dulles Town Center than creating another embarrassing Disneytown like Reston Town Center

after my 17th bland grilled chicken sandwich in Reston, decided if I'm going to eat out there, better off just going to Mickey D's

I grew up in towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut that were not extremely wealthy, but retained a lot of local character because there were so many locally-owned places to eat, you can't create a real community when all the profits from your community are being sent to distant corporations who own most of the stores and restaurants, and there's no reinvestment from local business owners

that said, I kind of like Herndon, it's got all incomes, and while its downtown area is just a couple blocks, it doesn't look fake and Jimmy's is a much better time than any of the cheesy places in RTC

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by TitaniumSquirrel

I'm sorry you can't meet people in "fake" areas like Reston or Ashburn.

I can meet people out there, but they're all dudes talking about their jobs and what their house is worth right now. And after a few beers, you just feel sorry for the female bartender we're all hitting on, Mod cut

You know in Vegas they hire people to work Karaoke places and interract with singers and the crowd to make sure the place keeps its energy going. I think they should pay 25 year old women from Arlington to hang out in Reston bars, not as employees, but plants to make the places more interesting. It would get the armies of men there to spend more on food and drinks.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

Since you broached the topic as a likely affront against my disdain for short-sighted sprawl I'm not going to hold back. When I'm investigating relocation to an area one thing I really hope for is some sense of individual identity---uniquities that set the place apart from any other generic suburb in the country. When I travel I look to patronize mom-and-pop eateries whenever possible so I can get to experience something new and exciting. Variety is the spice of life.

When your community's "fake" downtown (yes, it does feel "fake") is comprised of mostly over-priced chain restaurants that you could find in Tysons Corner, Fairfax, Leesburg, (or Naperville, King of Prussia, Bloomington, or Fort Lauderdale for that matter), then it's hard to really form a strong "connection" towards it. Downtown Reston doesn't feel "cozy" to me. It doesn't feel like a place that has developed soul. To me it feels like a bunch of high-rises plopped in the middle of four busy roadways with chain restaurants below offices. Reston (and much of NoVA for that matter) feels like the Sunbelt, and I personally don't see that as being a good thing.

Have I eaten at chain restaurants? Yes. Do I currently eat at chain restaurants? Yes. However, if given a choice I'd patronize a smaller venture ANYDAY over a corporate goliath. For example, tomorrow night I will be at Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in Herndon while I'm sure many others will be packing Macaroni Grill or Cosi. There was once a time when people sought out unique places to eat when they visited new places. Now? People go places and eat at the same chain restaurant they could find in their own backyards. Why?

And yet many other Northern Virginians will be packing places like Whitlows on Wilson, Boulevard Woodgrill, Mexicali Blues, Eventide, Talulla/ Eat Bar, Iota, Northside Social, Rays the Steaks, Lyon Hall, Quarterdeck, Arlington Cinema n Drafthouse, P. Brennans on Columbia Pike, Tiffany Tavern and Gatsbys in Old Town, Landini Brothers in Old Town, Woo Lae Oak, Inox and Konami in Tysons, Honey Pig in Annandale, countless ethnic eateries in Falls Church's Eden Center..and that list could go on and on and on and on. What exactly is your point?

[weezycom]

Not Inox anymore. It closed after dinner service on Friday.

[TitaniumSquirrel]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

I can meet people out there, but they're all dudes talking about their jobs and what their house is worth right now.

Funny, I have hung out with plenty of people in Reston and house value never comes up in conversation and last I checked, people everywhere in the country typically talk about their jobs from time-to-time (seeing as they spend 40+ hours there each week). Way to stereotype.

[TitaniumSquirrel]

Originally Posted by arielmina

I hate chain restaurants but love the suburbs. My beef with chains is that there's no originality and the quality is not as good, it's mass produced. Up in CT where we lived prior to moving here, it was all mom and pop with the occasional chain like Olive Garden, Bertuccis, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Applebees. But there were at least double the amount of mom and pop family owned restaurants - and let me tell you the food was a million times better than it is down here.


I very much lament the loss of diners (ok well there are some but they are not good), bagel shops, mamma's Italian places, German restaurants, authentic Mexican, local delis...I could go on...

With high-end local places, I will definitely agree with your point that there is more originality. With most cheaper to mid-end places I find their menus to be just as generic as chains. Many of them source their ingredients from the same places anyway. I think what people like often boils down to where they're from as well. I was in CA for a while, and while I was able to find a couple of fantastic authentic Mexican restaurants, most of it was no better than I can find here. Many of the Asian restaurants where surprisingly subpar despite being talked up by the locals. Most Californians will disagree with me, but seriously, any metro area with millions of people is going to have a pretty similar variety and quality of cuisines.

[TitaniumSquirrel]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

Wow. Okay. To each and all their own--no one is forcing you to live in Arlington. If you're happy where you are, and enjoying suburbia, more power to you.

Nobody is forcing me, but there are plenty of people who seem to think Arlington is the end-all be-all of Northern Virginia. There's a lot more to the area.

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

Since you broached the topic as a likely affront against my disdain for short-sighted sprawl I'm not going to hold back. When I'm investigating relocation to an area one thing I really hope for is some sense of individual identity---uniquities that set the place apart from any other generic suburb in the country. When I travel I look to patronize mom-and-pop eateries whenever possible so I can get to experience something new and exciting. Variety is the spice of life.

When your community's "fake" downtown (yes, it does feel "fake") is comprised of mostly over-priced chain restaurants that you could find in Tysons Corner, Fairfax, Leesburg, (or Naperville, King of Prussia, Bloomington, or Fort Lauderdale for that matter), then it's hard to really form a strong "connection" towards it. Downtown Reston doesn't feel "cozy" to me. It doesn't feel like a place that has developed soul. To me it feels like a bunch of high-rises plopped in the middle of four busy roadways with chain restaurants below offices. Reston (and much of NoVA for that matter) feels like the Sunbelt, and I personally don't see that as being a good thing.

Have I eaten at chain restaurants? Yes. Do I currently eat at chain restaurants? Yes. However, if given a choice I'd patronize a smaller venture ANYDAY over a corporate goliath. For example, tomorrow night I will be at Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in Herndon while I'm sure many others will be packing Macaroni Grill or Cosi. There was once a time when people sought out unique places to eat when they visited new places. Now? People go places and eat at the same chain restaurant they could find in their own backyards. Why?

You can choose to believe this was directed squarely at you, but you are just one of many.

Not to go too off-topic, but sprawl is inevitable. Sure, in an ideal world we would all live in high-density urban environments with mass transit, but that is completely at-odds with the economic realities of development and population growth.

Your definition of "soul" seems to be nearly completely based on age of an area. Show me a single new downtown-style development in any part of the country that doesn't contain mostly chain restaurants. If everything were to have the "soul" you seek, we might as well just stop all new construction now. Sorry it doesn't feel cozy to you, but they're doing something right as evidenced by the packed restaurants and thriving businesses there.

"Corporate goliath" seems a bit misdirected. By your definition we should punish success. Five Guys started out as a local mom & pop but did so well that they began franchising it. Should we now turn our backs on them because they were able to expand so much and are now a "chain"? Many of these chains contribute tons to the local economy supporting countless waiters, cooks, and restaurant managers.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

Yet after spending a year denouncing living there, you signed another year's lease on another place there.

Are you against giving second chances? RR found a good deal on an apt and decided one more chance. Can't fault him for that.

Believe me, the local McDonald's owner and all of this employees also hope to send their kids to college and they too live in your county.

But he has to pay a cut to McD's CEO and has to follow McD's rules.