Pines of Italy isn't the only restaurant with problems. Almost every week you can read in the blogs about a struggling restaurant closing. So where are the Chamber of Commerce, Arlington County Economic Development, CPRO, the local media, and other organizations who are concerned about the success of small businesses? No one on the County Board offered any assistance to the Pines of Italy at Tuesday night's meeting. Meaning advice to the owners about how to fix the problems. Apparently there is no meaningful assistance offered to other struggling restaurants. All I've ever heard about them is when they're in arrears in sending their meals tax receipts to the County Treasurer. And when they go out of business.
You would think that Walter Tejada would be concerned about this minority-owned restaurant. And Mary Hynes literally micro-manages the restaurants in her Clarendon neighborhood. But I wonder why anyone would want to start a restaurant in Arlington that's not a national chain franchise. BTW, Pines of Italy serves really good Italian food. Pike Rider
20 comments:
Where is the Chamber of Commerce? Throwing another gala for another non-profit?
Where's Arlington's Office of Economic Development? Probably meeting with a REIT about bulldozing the Pines into a mixed use Penrose clone.
Another 'blighted' property that Zimmerman wants to market to an out-of-state REIT. Obviously if the restaurant is successful the owner won't sell.
Where's 'Talky" from CPRO? Talking about a trolley.
What do the non-residents who make all the development decisions care? Can't have a blighted building when there can be a Yuppie zoo like Penrose Square on the site with a Olive Garden on the ground floor.
All Economic Development does is talk to out-of-state REITS. Hell half the people who work in Economic Development don't live in Virginia. The other half live in Virginia but outside Arlington.
All the local media do is report that a restaurant closed and a few weeks or months later a new restaurant opened in the same space.
"Local Media"? Like the Sun Gazette, whose Editor serves on the Executive Committee at the Chamber of Commerce?
How about all the restaurants that fail and have adequate financing, a business plan, do not have live entertainment, etc?
What promises do Arlington County Economic Development and the REITs make to restaurant owners to persuade them to sign leases they can't afford?
Do minority-owned businesses get the same treatment from County government as (say) Westover Market?
Insofar as I can determine, local businesses are basically cash cows for County Government. Why should people in the County Manager's office who don't live in Arlington be expected to care? About anything?
CPRO is on the County Board's Gimme list, BTW, in the event you wondered why CPRO is focused on re-development.
My view of county government - on-the-job retirees who don't live in Arlington who are 5 years from retirement and who do as they are told.
Economic Development is too busy making corporate welfare deals with REITs to care about small businesses that are overtaxed to give corporate welfare to REITs.
Pines of Italy isn't a REIT approved fern bar -- outta here!
Where's Ingrid Morroy, who professes to be so concerned about small business?
Where was Healthy Companies International? Major League management consulting form headquartered in Arlington owned by Fisette's domestic partner.
Worst is the Arlington Chamber of Gala Events.
Ingrid Morroy gives local business a song and dance. Frank O'Leary is a Scrooge tax collector. CPRO only cares about redeveloping the Pike. Chamber of Commerce is a social club. I am surprised that any new restaurants that aren't national chains survive in Arlington. If they do it's in spite of, not because of, County Government.
Why don't they bring in 'Restaurant Impossible'? Oh, I see, it's a minority-owned restaurant.
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