Chain Restaurants Change Philadelphia'sCharacter

National restaurant chains moving into Philadelphia’s Center City are changing the character and landscape of the historic area.

1 minute read

July 26, 2006, 3:00 PM PDT

By Matt Baumann

"At the edge of every American city you will find the familiar shoulder of generic chainification - the Wendy's and Home Depots, the Old Country Buffets and Wal-Marts, and so on and on...And it is why the centers of great, old cities have remained so inordinately precious and such destinations. They're still chock-full of the oddball, the independent, the genuine, the family-run, the defiantly traditional, the funky and the organic - the very sorts of touchstones and eateries that have been erased so determinedly from the margins."

Thanks to Matt Baumann

FULL STORY: On the Side: Applebee's and the chainifying of the city

Thursday, June 29, 2006 in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Community / Economic Development History / Preservation Pennsylvania

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