Corporatization of University Boulevard destroys flavor of UA

Mike's place, Kippys, Carol' Yogurt, Casa Blanca, Ultimate Smoothies, Pony Espresso, Bike Shack ... These are just a few of the restaurants, cafes and shops that have close in my four-year stay at the U of A. The future look of University Blvd. will be: Coffee Plantation, The Gap, Olive Garden, Taco Bell, and Wal-Mart.

The fabric of our school is single handedly being torn apart by the Marshall Foundation (MF). The reason a lot of the mom and pop stores have been closing is because all the MF cares about is the money. Within 20 feet you could have found two smoothie shops. If you are hungry for a gyro there are more than four places to choose from. No stores can survive with such stiff competition and if anything they are killing each other off. MF has no regard for supporting business, all they want is for the rent to be paid. On top of it all most of the business are on month-to-month renting situations and can be kicked out on a month's notice. Many shopping areas only allow a certain number of restaurants and businesses to exist in order to make the area profitable for all.

But the MF has thrown in a bunch of sharks to fight it out. MF is the cause for the flavor of the month, and the closing of the places that I call my university home. They have no desire to develop any community or places of tradition. One day University Blvd. will be a corporate who's who in shops, making U of A a little more like ASU.

By Edwin Wong (letter)
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 7, 1997