While strolling through Old Town Pasadena last night I happened to notice that the well established Delacey's Club 41 has closed. I have no idea how long it's been closed as I rarely have time to "stroll" anywhere these days, least of all Old Town. But, there it was, doors locked, windows covered in brown paper, the neon sign no longer flickering. No more table side Ceasar salads for me, sniff, sniff.
This is just another example of what made Old Town special falling by the wayside and making room for yet another chain. It breaks my heart because I was there in the late 80's early 90's when Old Town was that little diamond in the rough where funky, ecclectic, artistic and inspired little shops were dotted up and down Colorado Blvd. in between the thrift shops and dive bars. Anyone remember the original 35er? Or Four Quarters? The Espresso Bar (or E-Bar as it was known)? The Bastille? (I would kill for one of those deliciously flakey ham and cheese croissants)
Now we have The Cheescake Factory, Il Forniao, Tiffany, Banana Republic, The Gap, Victoria's Secret and so on. You get the picture. And honestly, I have nothing against these chain stores (ok, maybe a few of them) but it's the homoginization of what was once an interesting place to explore & shop and find something unique that makes my skin crawl! Now there is virtually NO difference between Old Town Pasadena and any mall anywhere in America. Oh, except you have to pay for parking in Old Town. I guess it's just part of Globalization...
The only hope this brings me is that maybe, no not maybe, definitely, people are yearning for something different and unique, and personal. And this is what keeps my own creativity going. My jewelry business certainly can't compete on many levels with Nordstrom or H&M or even Target for that matter, but I can blow them away in the creativity and quality departments and that's always been the key to my success.
So, I guess the next time I have a hankering for a table side Ceasar, I'll just have to get creative and make it at home.
1 comment:
That seems to be happening everywhere! It breaks my heart too. We sacrifice so much without even realizing it. I do hope that the pedulum swings in the other direction soon.
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