A A A A Search :
Toledo Talk   (musing about Lake Erie West and beyond)
From CaptainLance's workspace   

Sunday afternoon downtown?

I rode my bike downtown this afternoon (read that post here.)

I was hoping to stop in somewhere for a beer or something. Here is a list of where I tried to go: Manhattan's, Pub St. George, Wesley's, The Blarney, Maumee Bay Brewing, Home Slice Pizza, Fusion... there are others but I can't remember them all. Every single one was closed. What gives?!? I've had this problem late on a Sunday night, but I figured some places would be open and have a baseball game on, the olympics, something.

Why is nothing open on Sunday in T-town?

created by CaptainLance on Aug 10, 2008 at 03:34:53 pm     Comments: 19

print      source      versions

Comments ... #

Why is T-Town dying? would be a more appropriate question, but in fairness, I don't recall very much ever being open downtown on Sunday, and I'm going back to the 40s and 50s. About all that was open back then on Sunday was White Towers, the bus station (and its restaurant)the movie theatres, and the burlesque theatres. Maybe Leo's book store and a few bars as well.

posted by Darkseid on Aug 10, 2008 at 03:41:23 pm     #



And as you notice-just about all of that is gone now(don't know about Leo's).

posted by Darkseid on Aug 10, 2008 at 03:42:56 pm     #



Leo's is still there. But it was closed too.

posted by CaptainLance on Aug 10, 2008 at 03:56:47 pm     #



Did ya Caesers Show Bar?

posted by ToledoLatina on Aug 10, 2008 at 04:00:58 pm     #



My bro and his family live in Baltimore, and a couple years ago they were back for a visit, and on the way to maumee bay st park, I told him we could swing thru downtown so they could see the new baseball stadium...

I guess I never thought about it this way, but the sheer lack of people totally freaked them out!! They thought it was like some creepy Armageddon movie! We walked the lap around the stadium just after lunch on a gorgeous day like today was, and the sentiment was pretty much 'this is a REAL cool stadium - now get us the hell outta here before the zombies come out!'

posted by billy on Aug 10, 2008 at 04:09:18 pm     #



billy - exactly! it's just weird. I've traveled a lot, and our downtown is pretty nice. It feels like people should be there. WTF? Maybe the new stadium will bring them out?

posted by CaptainLance on Aug 10, 2008 at 04:22:23 pm     #



My personal favorite downtown is Easy Street Cafe. They are open every day with food and drink. Now open for breakfast too! Join the Hall of Foam there! I visit them often because they are the only ones I can count on being open.

posted by jonald on Aug 10, 2008 at 05:24:15 pm     #



jonald what's the Hall of Foam?

posted by jshriver on Aug 10, 2008 at 05:26:32 pm     #



Something to do with beer, I'm sure.

posted by Darkseid on Aug 10, 2008 at 06:25:18 pm     #



Easy Street, Packos at the Park, and Spaghetti Warehouse are 3 restaurants that would come to mind as being likely to be open on a Sunday afternoon. (Don't know if you tried any of those places though.)

Is Manos open on Sundays? I only eat there on weekdays (yum!), so I haven't paid attention to their weekend schedule?

posted by mom2 on Aug 10, 2008 at 09:17:29 pm     #



I remember reading a story online about someone who came into town for a concert at the Bijou (mc chris, if I remember correctly), and accidentally showed up 2 hours early. For those two hours, they wandered aimlessly amongst the empty sidewalks and closed businesses, wondering if a bomb had dropped while they were on the road, and they didn't hear about it.

They finally stumbled on Murphy's. And even then, there was nobody there.

posted by TheTalentedMrC on Aug 10, 2008 at 09:22:28 pm     #



Sunday afternoon in big cities seem tame as well, except boring upscale restaurants and hotels.

Sunday is a day of worship and rest generally.

Downtown Monroe had an art/jazz festival today. There's a renewable energy place, a place with vintage Schwinn's, a large new bike store, a health/herb store... you picked the wrong way to ride. There was a nice crosswind too.

posted by charlatan on Aug 10, 2008 at 10:08:44 pm     #



Hadn't thought of Easy Street. Good call.

I didn't head down Packo's way. Spaghetti Warehouse was open and packed.

posted by CaptainLance on Aug 11, 2008 at 05:54:18 am     #



Easy Street in BG had a wall of foam that had something like 70 beers on it. When you had one of each (as recorded on a punch card or something) they gave you a shirt.

posted by Ace_Face on Aug 11, 2008 at 10:02:51 am     #



I will say one thing in downtown Toledo's defense: if you go into the Loop in Chicago or downtown New York on a Sunday morning in the summer, those places are pretty dead too....

posted by Ace_Face on Aug 11, 2008 at 03:33:16 pm     #



"... if you go into the Loop in Chicago or downtown New York on a Sunday morning in the summer, those places are pretty dead too ..."

That may be, but the title of this thread is referring to Sunday afternoon not morning.

If you want to wile away a random summer weekend afternoon among other people in a downtown setting, head to Ann Arbor.

posted by jr on Aug 11, 2008 at 04:16:53 pm     #



What goes on there, JR?

posted by Darkseid on Aug 11, 2008 at 04:20:57 pm     #



Ann Arbor Hands on Science Museum, which, as far as I can tell, does NOT receive funding from a tax levy.

But seriously, Zingerman's Deli. Zingerman's stopped shipments to Ohio stores on July 27, so no more Zingerman's bread at The Andersons. Can also shop at the Zingerman's Bakehouse out by I-94 and the State Street exit, but it's fun to visit their deli in the Kerrytown District. We were there a couple Sundays ago. In the afternoon. And the deli and the area were alive with people.

About the Kerrytown District :

Kerrytown District is a unique blend of neighborhood and business. We are an historic area of downtown Ann Arbor that offers you one of a kind shops, restaurants, markets, delis, concert house, art gallery, Farmers' Market, childrens museum, and a rich and diverse culture. Come shop, dine, and be entertained, stroll our tree lined streets.

If you like books and interesting book stores, Shaman Drum Bookshop is worth a visit.

I like the professionally-run theatre in downtown Ann Arbor called Performance Network Theatre. It's for live plays not movies.

Plenty of restaurants, pubs, and funky stores to visit and browse in downtown A2. Funny thing is, a popular street in Ann Arbor is named Main Street. You only need to park once and simply walk around the area and check it out.

I wish a mini version of downtown Ann Arbor existed somewhere in Toledo. Where would that be located? The Warehouse District? Uptown? Near UT? At the moment, the answer is probably downtown Bowling Green or even downtown Perrysburg.

Toledo has a street downtown on the east side called Main Street and combined with Starr Ave, that area should be Toledo's most walkable part of town, in my opinion.

Here's a twenty minute video titled "Insignts into a Lively Downtown" that focuses on Ann Arbor.

"Ann Arbor is generally regarded as a successful, walkable, small city."

posted by jr on Aug 11, 2008 at 05:43:14 pm     #



You're right JR - that area of the east side could be nice and walkable. I like that Frankie's is open again. Interesting video.

posted by CaptainLance on Aug 11, 2008 at 08:44:44 pm     #