Tag Archives: restaurants

Regional and semi-national fast food burger chains

Most of us are familiar with the national fast food burger chains like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Five Guys, Sonic, and Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. But, there are many local, regional, and semi-national burger chains that dot the map and … Continue reading

Posted in advertising, branding, cities, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, Food, food systems, fun, geography, history, land use, product design, shopping, Statistics, third places, tourism, traffic | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The steaming hot market for drive-thru coffee shops

Across the country there is an ongoing boom in freestanding drive-thru/walk-up coffee shops. These units rarely, if ever, incorporate indoor seating, though they may have some outdoor seats. Instead these shops are designed and meant for customers on the go … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, bicycling, branding, business, Cars, Cities, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, consumerism, Cuisine, economic development, food systems, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, placemaking, planning, product design, shopping, spatial design, Statistics, third places, traffic, Transportation, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Roadside Americana: Atomic age stops, sights, and oddities

This blogpost is a little adventure through the sights and sounds of America’s roadside culture to depict how the Atomic Age has impacted it since 1945. A whole variety of businesses have adopted the term “atomic” or some variation thereof … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, archaeology, architecture, art, atomic age, branding, brewpubs, cities, coffee shops/cafes, Communications, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, economic development, entertainment, entrepreneurship, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, marketing, military, place names, placemaking, Science, Science fiction, signs, technology, theaters, third places, toponymy, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chronology & Geography of Civil Rights Lunch Counter Sit-ins

Below is a chronological and geographical list of the start date(s) of known lunch counter sit-ins that took place to protest Jim Crow-style segregated seating and dining accommodations for African-Americans. While segregated lunch counter were most common in the South, … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, business, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, colleges, culture, downtown, economics, education, Food, geography, historic preservation, history, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, Maps, politics, racism, social equity, Statistics, third places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Suburban food truck rodeo round-ups

While visiting San Antonio this past spring, several food trucks were lined up around portions of the main government square in the city’s central business district waiting for hungry diners to come bounding out of their office chutes at noon. … Continue reading

Posted in bicycling, Biking, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, Cuisine, economic development, economic gardening, entrepreneurship, Food, food systems, fun, infrastructure, land use, logistics, marketing, placemaking, planning, politics, Small business, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Waste not, want not

The old adage used for the post title needs to be applied more forcefully to the food service industry, particularly quick-serve (fast food) restaurants, coffee shops, and similar dining establishments. I cannot count the number of times I have been … Continue reading

Posted in civics, climate change, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, energy, environment, Food, food systems, health, humanity, infrastructure, logistics, nature, planning, pollution, product design, recycling, Small business, sustainability, technology, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A trek to Eagle Monk Brewpub

Last Friday afternoon, my middle son and I decided to partake the food and  craft beers at a newish brewpub in Greater Lansing called Eagle Monk. It is located on the west side of town along Mt. Hope Highway and just … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, branding, cities, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Food, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, pictures, placemaking, product design, revitalization, spatial design, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

HopCat abounds with beer and more

HopCat in downtown Grand Rapids is rightfully touted as being rated as one of the best beer bars in the world. It is a top-notch venue and serves up a ginormous selection of beers including 49 on tap and 200 … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, cities, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, Food, fun, historic preservation, history, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, product design, revitalization, third places, tourism, transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Collegiate cuisine entrepreneurship

There is probably no better way to try out a new restaurant concept than to test it in a college town. For some reason, college students are interested exploring a wide variety of cuisines and are willing to try new … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, cities, coffee shops/cafes, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Food, food systems, fun, geography, globalization, placemaking, product design, Small business, third places | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The flaws in prototypical design

In the urban planner’s never-ending quest to avoid bland sameness and looking like Anywhere, USA, one of our arch enemies is “the prototype design.” These are often touted by chain organizations like restaurants and retail stores as the only option available, … Continue reading

Posted in advertising, architecture, cities, civics, Communications, consumerism, economic development, economics, government, history, land use, placemaking, planning, pollution, product design, psychology, revitalization, spatial design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments