Doe Urine ≠ Econmomic Renaissance Downtown

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.  Don't build a Bass Pro at Canal Side - who cares. - Modified by me.

I never got the allure of a Bass Pro.  When I think of an "anchor" to a retail spot, or a key to the revitalization of our City, this doesn't even enter the picture.

Look I have nothing against hunting or fishing.  Some of my fondest memories are the time spent with a family whose annual food budget counted on their take of venison - I loved cooking with it.  They also raised pigs.  Full disclosure, it was also the first time I was ready to ask someone to marry me (it's OK, I am still friends with her and her sister).  It also was the source of one of my favorite stories - the time Ralph wanted Amy to test her sights and drew a deer on a piece of cardboard. She fired and the shot went wide right (appropriate as I was with them on the day of that dark cloud in Buffalo Bills history).  Ralph put a leaf in the hole and had Amy shoot again.  The leaf fell.  She put the bullet through the same hole.  Ralph suggested I be nice to his daughter, as she could take me out one nut at a time. :)

No, my problem is that, as my wife first pointed out, we never saw people running downtown to buy doe urine then dropping a couple of big bills at SeaBar or Hutch's or the dozens of other fine restaurants or businesses downtown.

There is a dynamic that works.  I have been buying herbs and spices at Penzey's for years.  First by mail order, then when they opened in Cleveland. But, they opened this year in Buffalo.  Their presence a couple of doors down caused us to become member/owners of the Lexington Co-op.  A trip to Penzeys/Co-op/Guercio's is now a regular trip.

So here's the thought:  Screw the hard stuff and bring a Lotte/Assi asian market like the one I was at in Northern VA last weekend. Tons of fresh produce.  Live fish in tanks.  Every condiment you can think of.

That would bring me downtown to canal side!