There was a time when people decried the displacement of local merchants by large chain store supermarkets.
Times have changed.
I just returned from a sign unveiling for a new Cub Store on Clarence south of Maryland. It wasn’t groundbreaking. Probably fifty others were out in the wind for the festivities. Nobody brought any shovels. Borings are already being done. There were some speeches and the bigwigs removed the cover from the sign.
The required officials were there, from the developer [Oppidan], Cub Foods and from the local officialdom. Councilmember Bostrom served as sort of an emcee and Mayor Colemsm the Second spoke.
The Cub exec spoke of this as their fourth Saint Paul Store. I am wondering where the third one is to be.
After the speeches most of the crowd managed to make it up to the Parkside Lounge for sandwiches and drumsticks. The Parksdide will soon be disappearing to make room for the new store..
As these events go, the event was not especially notable, but it does indicate that there will soon be another place for Saint Paul people to get their vittles.
Kudos should probably be given to North East Neighborhoods Development Company, Councilmember Bostrom, and city PED for getting the project this far. Mr. Bostrom certainly made sure that Mr. Chuck Repke of NENDC got his recognition.
Posts
6 comments:
Were the sandwiches and drumsticks free. If so, I need to attend more groundbreaking/sign uncovering events!
Why do you think I go?
Actually, most of the time I go to this kind of thing is because I got some kind of a summons [masked as an invitatiom] and don't have a good reason not to go.
Usually I have received the invitation/summons because somehow over the years people have put me on lists mislabeled "community leader" and the event is in a part of the community where I have some connection.
I don't know why I got one for this particular event, but I think somebody might have remembered that I was the District 2 CO when the Phalen Village plan was begun[a long time ago -- like 1990]. I don't think it looks good to developers to put on a party where nobody shows up, so I show up.
Actually there are generally refreshments at almost every event of this kind. You don't pay for them, but deep down inside you know they are not free. Nothing is.
This one was a little unusual. We had the sweet stuff first. Before we went inside the Parkside, there were bakery items [cookies, bars, and small pies], soft drinks, and bottled water outside, catered in by Joseph's catering. I would have thought that with all the bakeries that Cub has that they would have provided that stuff, but I am not sure who was responsible for the arrangements.
Inside were the roast beef and drums at a buffet with buns and condiments. I don't think the Parkside has a kitchen, so that food likely was brought in too. It was just windy enough that inside seemed nice.
Maybe I ought to mention future invitations/ summonses when they come, so all three or four readers can attend also.
RS
I have seen you at these things, Ray. You don’t look like somebody who feels “summoned.” When they opened the first part of the Phalen boulevard you looked positively giddy.
Well, I don’t know if “giddy” is the word I would use, but there is no doubt that I was there and excited. Phalen Boulevard is one of the best things that has happened in this town in a really long time.
Actually, although Curt Milburn and some of the others with the Phalen Corridor Initiative were calling it the first phase of the boulevard, two parts [Maryland to Rose and Rose to Johnson Parkway] had already been opened.
I may have been a little misleading in my response to D.N. Berg’s post too. People learn about these things through various means. There are generally public announcements for these things and sometimes these are forwarded through general or neighborhood media. And there are the things I referred to as sometimes being summonses which are sent specifically to people. These aren’t really RSVP invite kinds of things, just “we want to make sure that you know” things.
While there were maybe the fifty or so at Thursday’s deal, that first segment opening on a chilly December Saturday morning four years ago [which may have been Lee Helgen’s first appearance before a lot of people as a public official, something we hope will not have much chance to replicate itself] and the completion ceremonies two years later both drew in the hundreds, with door-prize like awards given.
I do wish you had introduced yourself then. But I am glad that you were able to make it.
I am surprised that you did not point out that my initial post to "Revealing the Sign" asked the question "Were the sandwiches and drumsticks free?" Except, unlike this para-quote, I forgot to end the sentence with a question mark. I suppose you were saving my error in order to point out in front of a room full of people at work. ;^}
Yes, I would like to know when such groundbreakings/sign unveilings are occurring, not only for the possible free eats, prizes, etc. but also for the simple fun of being there to witness this type of thing.
The East Side Review has more content on the future store. While it seems that the development might not be as certain as was indicated at the ceremony, the presence of a Cub-authorized sign would make it seem very probable.
http://www.eastsidereviewnews.com/main.asp?
SectionID=64&SubSectionID=130&ArticleID=1805
Post a Comment