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Thanks for all the info pknopp. Maybe the reason downtown doesn't seem to be thriving is due to the fact that there are so many great neighborhood locales such as Dudley Avenue Pizza Place, and jimmy Columbos off 7th Street.
Thanks for all the info pknopp. Maybe the reason downtown doesn't seem to be thriving is due to the fact that there are so many great neighborhood locales such as Dudley Avenue Pizza Place, and jimmy Columbos off 7th Street.
Columbo's and The Pizza Place are both Parkersburg institutes and will do well no matter what happens to the rest of Parkersburg.
The Pizza Place just opened a new store up in what I suppose would be considered off-downtown Marietta.
Last summer they started a "summer concert series" on Friday evenings at the new Point Park amphitheater, which has drawn some very large crowds, and given some life to downtown. it seems like there are more restaurants and small businesses downtown than there has been in a long time, and with the new WVU-P campus on Market Street, it should generate even more business downtown. There has also been talk of a new downtown hotel, which is badly needed with the expanding Public Debt, as well as the activity from Marcellus/Utica shale drilling. While there are a few good local eateries (especially North End Tavern) this is one area I wish were better. There are far too many major chains, which have driven away the local restaurants. Parkersburg used to have one of the best restaurants in West Virginia, Point of View, that is nothing more than a vacant building sitting atop a ridge overlooking the Ohio River now.
I think what happened is that the original owner sold out back in the late 1990's, and then it was never the same. The food and service went way down, and then it changed hands again a couple more times. When the Outback and the other large chains came into town I think that hurt their business a lot too. A smaller restaurant may have survived, but Point of View was a large restaurant. I just remember their Friday seafood buffet was the best buffet I've ever seen anywhere.
Parkersburg is very spread out and the surrounding areas have enough things going on to not die of boredom. The downtown is dead, but there is some effort to bring it back to life (somewhat). I love the park days where Market St. is closed to traffic and people can walk anywhere (in conjunction with the car show). The farmers' market is a success by all accounts I've seen, and there are plans to extend the Rail Trail downtown via the Little Kanawha Connector, eventually. The Highmark HQ and Public Debt expansion is helping things a bit, and the WVU-P campus certainly can't hurt.
I will note that the difference between the downtowns of Marietta and Parkersburg have to do with history (Marietta is much older) as well as the fact that there is a college campus adjacent to Marietta, whereas Parkersburg is mostly a center of commerce, not residence, and not so much retail anymore.
You guys ever eat at the Mountaineer Family Restaurant? Seems like it still does ok even though they moved the highway and made it harder to access.
I haven't eaten there for years - I think there was also one in Beckley when i lived there. It still has a very loyal following, and seems to be holding its own. Another constantly busy little restaurant at that interchange is the Omelette Shoppe.
Something else going on within the city boundaries is the development of a wetlands park, due to open this summer and set to be the largest wetlands within a municipality in the nation. Parkersburg does have a good park system for a town its size.
Something else going on within the city boundaries is the development of a wetlands park, due to open this summer and set to be the largest wetlands within a municipality in the nation. Parkersburg does have a good park system for a town its size.
Of course it doesnt. Charleston wont give them any money. Its north of the redline where they stop caring.
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