So many closings!

So over the past six months we have lost 4 eateries here in Greenfield:

Herms - I never went there personally. Anytime I went into that building, when the DMV was there, I never saw anyone go in or out of there. Not sure how much of a loss that was.

Emerald City Cafe - I used to frequent there last fall after they opened up. The coffee was pretty good, and prices were reasonable. Two things that bit that place. First off was location. Bank Row was a bad spot for a coffee shop right now, maybe after the change over the Toyota dealership to the transit site it would have done better as you would have a lot more foot traffic going past. Secondly, the guy running the place hated running it. Only reason he got into it was to eventually hand it down to his daughter. If you want more stories about this guy let me know, he's told me quite the tales when I was in there, including asking if I wanted to buy the place multiple times over.

Bill's Restaurant - Once again a place that I've never gone to eat, but never heard anything beyond "Its OK". They had a very loyal clientele and been in business for a long time. One thing I never knew was that it could seat about 200 in the banquet hall. From the outside it doesn't look like it could hold more than 100 tops. It went up for a foreclosure auction on Monday and was bought by former President of Greenfield Savings Bank and the owner of China Gourmet. What they plan to do is unknown but we may find out more in a few weeks. (Lots of unsubstantiated rumors about the prospects of the spot)

Cafe Koko - Opened with much glee to some of us coffee shop folks. They offered good coffee, good sandwiches at semi-reasonable prices. Over the years you could tell the place was going to waste. The employees got more and more sketchy, their customer base was getting weirder and weirder and many folks didn't feel safe walking in front of it or inside anymore.

In the same timeframe we've had a couple establishments open up.

El Greco - Have not made the trip into the location yet, although I have wanted to stop in. Maybe next time I am in town on a weekend I will. Maybe it will be able to get past the curse of anything in that location not managing to survive.

Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters - I've been to their two locations up on the trail in Shelburne. Coffee was decent, but tended to be a little higher on the price scale. They offered some flavored coffees, but typically sat in those carafes for hours so the temperature wained a bit. Pastries tended to be overpriced as well. Also offered many different styles of coffee/drinks that appealed to some who are not coffee buffs.

Although the Greenfield incarnation of SFCR is its location. It is where Mirlings used to be located. There is only a couple on street parking spots in the area and nothing else in the immediate area worth going to for shopping and the like. I went in there shortly after they opened up and found the storefront is too big, and no place to sit down and drink coffee.

Guess I should ask what do we think should go in at least two of these newly vacated spots, and what advantages do they have.

Bill's - Great spot. Its close enough to Main St for those working locally can walk to, they have parking available in the back. There was very slight rumors of Winterland (club/bar on Hope St) to move into that location. Not sure I like that very much, as I would much rather have a nice place to sit down and eat.

Koko's - Another pretty nice spot. Some parking across the street, and parking in the back behind Wilsons. The place itself is not very big, so expecting something fancy is out the window. My thought is some kind of deli style place. Light fare, limited seating (keep the flow moving). Less artsy fartsy, more straight foreward.

What do you think?