Yeah, like that ever stopped Starbuck's from posting up on every street corner. if that ain't a successful business model based on oversaturation, I don't know what is. Besides, it's a "black" neighborhood - that's already been established. It ain't like one store is enough. You can't get enough of Popeye's. With the dispensary next to it, that'll draw some people from outside the neighborhood. And yes, I already knew there were Popeye's there.
I've actually talked to someone who owns a Popeye's, I know black people eating fried chicken is a fun stereotype but the Popeye's on 82nd ave and the one in Troutdale do more business than the 2 stores on MLK. White people on meth seem to like that spicy chicken more.
The one at the truck stop off the Aurora exit along the I-5 does a bang-up business. Lots of big ol' redneck truckers stoppin' for some chicken, biscuits, 'n' gravy.
Ghettos are now "historical landmarks." Of course, deliberately keeping property values low keeps the dark people who live there impoverished, and thus more dependent on their white political leaders in the PDC. Gotta keep 'em herded up and not getting too uppity by selling they homes and moving to a nicer area. Liberalism is a mental disorder.
When I was in pharma, one of my clinics at Emanuel loved Popeye's for lunch. I'd order $200 worth of food at the one on MLK and the entire clinic would smell like a heart attack for the next few days.
If PDC really wants to keep property values low, they should set up a homeless camp/drug zone in the spot where the store was proposed to be built. Maybe even let a few violent criminals out of the county jail to live there and rape and/or murder a few people.
Reading the reactions, I'm starting to feel like I'm on the wrong side here, so I'm going to have a go at defending the anti-Trader-Joe's crowd: First, this is Portland. There's probably a million nice grocery stores within a half-mile of where this was going. Second, this is Portland now, not Portland circa "Drugstore Cowboy". Everybody knows about it. Housing prices are going through the roof. You're probably going to get the San Francisco effect where teachers can't afford to live near their schools pretty soon. But this area is still affordable, even if it's a bit rough (but nothing like Flint/Detroit rough). The Trader Joe's isn't going to provide enough jobs to the locals to make up for the fact that their landlords will up their rents immediately and drive them out of an area they grew up in. Am I close?
If it ain't Trade Joe's, it's going to be something else. Or it's going to stay a shithole part of town. Pick your poison - which is worse? I guess I can't speak for everyone else, but that's been my kind of thinking about it.
So, did you actually eat Popeye's? Had it a few times. So good, but I swear I was going to have a heart attack after eating it. And that was back when I used to run 5-10 miles/day.
My posts were clearly over-the-top, but the point of them remains a valid concern for the people living in that area. I used to work there all of the time. I had a free clinic on Killingsworth that was right across the street from a very well-known drug dealing spot. Let's just say I didn't wear a suit or tie on the days I'd be in that part of town. I never had any problems there, though, and people basically just kept to themselves.
Yeah, I used to eat it with them. It's really good, but I haven't had it in years. If there was one closer to me, I'd probably pick some up once in a while, because we all like fried chicken in this house. KFC to go is almost a monthly thing on a Friday when my wife leaves her office.
I do like KFC's mash potatoes and gravy. There's one at the coast we hit up on rare occasion. And I do mean rare. So good, but sooo bad.
