Another sad day.

Not much left of old Boone and the town is losing it's soul. Becoming some unrecognizable town of college apartments and corporate chains. I've heard that Porto is being demolished and housing going up.Sigh.

I get to Boone 1-4 times a year and it feels less and less like "home" with each passing year.

wow

^^^
Joni Mitchell never lies.

When I describe my hometown, I always say that it was once a quaint little mountain town with a small college in it. Now, it's a big college with what used to be a quaint little mountain town in it.

Graduated in ‘86. Spent many an afternoon and evening at Woodlands back in those days. I thought it was pretty cool that after the place burned down it got rebuilt to look the same. I don’t know what year it was but I’ll never forget pulling in for dinner (after a several year gap since the previous time) and seeing an Outback next door. Don’t get me wrong I like that chain as well but damn it just looked wrong. Nothing lasts forever but when you see your old favorites dying out it’s tough.

What do we think will happen with that property? It’s a big building with lots of parking in a desirable location. Any chance a local business will buy it and carry on or will it get bought up by an evil corporation?

Based upon what has been happening recently in Boone, my guess is the building will be torn down. It will be replaced with a multi-floor apartment building with commercial retail on the 1st floor. "Multi-use"...

Or perhaps another fast-food place...

Sad.

Think about it: if it weren't for Howards Knob on one side and KBS on the other, you could almost ride through campus and never know it was App.

Regarding Port, it's a crying a$$ shame but I believe we'll see more businesses in the High Country close due to lack of staffing. You'd think a town with 20,000 students would have a deeper labor pool, but alas...

Tell me about it (Boone not being the same). Last time I was there spent $70 for lunch for 4 people at Lost Province. Everything was "extra", even the french fries. Didn't even have any alcohol and this was before the "transitory" inflation hit.

Booneshine, AMB, COBOs, River Street, Local, Ransom, Horton. I think Boone is doing fine. If Port had reinvested a little in their business they could have kept up. Hate to see them go but Boone isn't going backwards. I helped bring beer to Boone in the 80s. It's steady uphill since then.

mike87 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:17 am

Booneshine, AMB, COBOs, River Street, Local, Ransom, Horton. I think Boone is doing fine. If Port had reinvested a little in their business they could have kept up. Hate to see them go but Boone isn't going backwards. I helped bring beer to Boone in the 80s. It's steady uphill since then.

None of those is the same as what we are talking about except maybe the breweries.

APPdiesel wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:12 am

What do we think will happen with that property? It’s a big building with lots of parking in a desirable location. Any chance a local business will buy it and carry on or will it get bought up by an evil corporation?

This cannot happen at any cost. We already have a freaking starbucks in town. Where are our militant hippies? In my day, if starbucks even thought of opening in Boone, we'd round up all the hippies from hippie hill, and burn it down to the ground.

We cannot have a chain that close to campus.

BallantyneApp wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:05 am

APPdiesel wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:12 am

What do we think will happen with that property? It’s a big building with lots of parking in a desirable location. Any chance a local business will buy it and carry on or will it get bought up by an evil corporation?

This cannot happen at any cost. We already have a freaking starbucks in town. Where are our militant hippies? In my day, if starbucks even thought of opening in Boone, we'd round up all the hippies from hippie hill, and burn it down to the ground.

We cannot have a chain that close to campus.

I know the broadcasting building is on the corner of Rivers and Depot. That’s university property. I wonder if there are any programs that need a new home that would give App a reason to buy it.

Meh on Portofino’s. It was ok, so was Parthenon and Char. But then again, I’m of the age of Cottonwood, Murphy’s, Klondike, Caribbean Cafe, Geno’s, Big Al’s, Mike and Willie’s, and Rafters/Savannah Joe’s.

As I was there in the mid 90's through '01, we always said when liquor by the drink passed everything would be too many chain restaurants. So far it isn't AS bad as I thought it would be.

APPdiesel wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:12 am

What do we think will happen with that property? It’s a big building with lots of parking in a desirable location. Any chance a local business will buy it and carry on or will it get bought up by an evil corporation?

Probably on of these dime a dozens