Campustown Redevelopment

[TXCyclones]

Duff is almost all chain restaurants but there's some good local options in the campustown area

• Fighting Burrito
• Mr. Burrito
• Jeffs Pizza
• Stomping Grounds
• Cafe B
• Pizza Pit (a chain)
• Arcadia cafe

Es Tas

I've been going to Pizza Pit since the 80's... How in TF have I never known that's a chain?

Where is Es Tas (and what is it?)
I'd add West Street Deli to your list. Pretty good.
Fighting Burrito is not good.
Arcadia is average.
The Lincoln Way pizza wars is humorous with Jeff's, Fireside (or whatever it is), Blaze, etc, etc all side by side on the block between CVS/Starbucks.

We ate at Provisions Lot F restaurant one night. Odd location. Nice place. Decent food. Wish it were near campus.

Edit: How do I bookmark this page for reference next weekend?

 

[TXCyclones]

I was in Campustown for the 2015 UNI game and had both Fighting and Mr. Burrito.

I was an OG Flying Burrito fanatic during my days in Ames, and I wasn't really at all disappointed by it. Didn't think Mr. Burrito was that great. Maybe I'll need to do another sample. For science.

I'm honestly kind of blown away by how slick Ames has become. Campustown has a ton more "name" places than it did in my day, with nice new buildings and all that. Downtown especially has ratcheted things up a bunch too, and the Somerset area is really nice. I've been to a lot of college towns, and any more the only independent local businesses are bars and casual restaurants. Things Campustown still has a lot of, and has arguably improved upon.

There were a lot of empty storefronts on Welch around the Cy's Roost area, which shocked me. Campustown seemed barren because of it. I've spent a lot of time in Tempe lately and have been blown away by all of the restaurants and bars that Mill Ave and surrounding areas offer. Then there a side-by-side restaurant called Snooze/Postinos that would fit really well in Ames. I just don't see why Campustown couldn't support some of those opportunities.

 

[ribsnwhiskey]

I've been going to Pizza Pit since the 80's... How in TF have I never known that's a chain?

Where is Es Tas (and what is it?)
I'd add West Street Deli to your list. Pretty good.
Fighting Burrito is not good.
Arcadia is average.
The Lincoln Way pizza wars is humorous with Jeff's, Fireside (or whatever it is), Blaze, etc, etc all side by side on the block between CVS/Starbucks.

We ate at Provisions Lot F restaurant one night. Odd location. Nice place. Decent food. Wish it were near campus.

Edit: How do I bookmark this page for reference next weekend?

Provisions was specifically built in the ISU Research Park as part of the expansion of the Park to add more amenities for people who work out there. There is currently a new McFarland Clinic/Child Care Center being built and the new Ames Racquet/Fitness Center is either open or has opened recently out there.

Glad to see the consensus is that Fighting Burrito sucks. I couldn't agree more.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

Boy. A lot of buzzwords there.

Yep. I was just thinking it read like a grant proposal needing a minimum word count for the intro. "Students will immerse themselves in a university..." What kind of language is that?

 

[DFWClone]

There were a lot of empty storefronts on Welch around the Cy's Roost area, which shocked me. Campustown seemed barren because of it. I've spent a lot of time in Tempe lately and have been blown away by all of the restaurants and bars that Mill Ave and surrounding areas offer. Then there a side-by-side restaurant called Snooze/Postinos that would fit really well in Ames. I just don't see why Campustown couldn't support some of those opportunities.

Tempe is in one of the biggest metros areas in the country, so to compare it to ames is a little unfair. One school is in Arizona and well, the other is in Iowa...

As for empty store fronts on welch, not sure which store fronts you're referring to. Most of them are all bars and were probably just closed at the time while you were there. There's also some tattoo shops, clothing stores, and random other things in those shops. Head to welch around 11:30 on a Friday night and it won't seem so dead.

 

[alarson]

Tempe is in one of the biggest metros areas in the country, so to compare it to ames is a little unfair. One school is in Arizona and well, the other is in Iowa...

As for empty store fronts on welch, not sure which store fronts you're referring to. Most of them are all bars and were probably just closed at the time while you were there. There's also some tattoo shops, clothing stores, and random other things in those shops. Head to welch around 11:30 on a Friday night and it won't seem so dead.

Also roughly 52,000 students on the tempe campus, vs 36k in ames (and i believe ASU has been at that size for awhile, while ISU not that long ago was closer to 25k)

 

[TXCyclones]

Tempe is in one of the biggest metros areas in the country, so to compare it to ames is a little unfair. One school is in Arizona and well, the other is in Iowa...

As for empty store fronts on welch, not sure which store fronts you're referring to. Most of them are all bars and were probably just closed at the time while you were there. There's also some tattoo shops, clothing stores, and random other things in those shops. Head to welch around 11:30 on a Friday night and it won't seem so dead.

Tempe is not the same as Phoenix. It's a college town and the bars restaurants are supported by the students primarily. ISU could support more than is currently available.

But the businesses I'm referencing around Cy's weren't closed for summer. They were empty, others had the windows covered, etc. We'll see next weekend if they've sprung back to life.

 

[TXCyclones]

Also roughly 52,000 students on the tempe campus, vs 36k in ames (and i believe ASU has been at that size for awhile, while ISU not that long ago was closer to 25k)

So in theory ISU could support 3 bars/restaurants per 5 of theirs.

 

[alarson]

So in theory ISU could support 3 bars/restaurants per 5 of theirs.

That math seems to check out.

Of course, the surrounding community being much larger is also a factor as you said.

From what i remember of mill ave, a lot of its properties were also just generally more well taken care of. There's a good amount of property in campustown that probably just needs to meet the bulldozer.

 

[bozclone]

I would guess that spaces around Cy's Roost are next on the list for an upgrade. I don't know of any plans, but that seems like the next logical step. Right now it looks a little odd because you have the new and then it switches back to the old.

 

[ribsnwhiskey]

The only area near Welch Ave. with multiple empty storefronts I can think of is the section of Lincoln Way just to the west that is about to be knocked down and redeveloped. And yeah, Tempe is an actual part of the Phoenix metro, population over 4 million. Not really comparable to Ames.

 

[CloneGuy8]

I must be the only one that doesn't like how the 'new' looks. That area has lost it's charm, but I don't like change. Just don't touch Welch Ave Station, Mickey's, or Paddy's please.

Now get off my lawn.

 

[SoapyCy]

Mill Ave is also about the only truly walkable pedestrian neighborhood in the entire metro area.

 

[cyclone87]

Tempe is not the same as Phoenix. It's a college town and the bars restaurants are supported by the students primarily. ISU could support more than is currently available.

But the businesses I'm referencing around Cy's weren't closed for summer. They were empty, others had the windows covered, etc. We'll see next weekend if they've sprung back to life.

On of the tattoo shops closed (not Asylum) and was replaced by a chinese snack shop, on the other side IndiaDelights Express closed and is being replaced by Taste Place. Taste Place is moving because their building is being torn down and redeveloped. Lots of changes going on.

 

[theshadow]

As far as Lincoln Way is concerned, there are only 3 open buildings between Grand and Duff:
(1) The OP -- which nobody can see anyway
(2) The gas station across from Casey's
(3) Butch's
Everything else has a business, so I suppose the true primary complaint is the exterior appearance of the structures.

Assuming that there won't be gas stations coming in to replace #2 and #3, the process of clearing/cleaning those properties will be lengthy.

There's a new eatery going in where Okoboji Grill used to be (just south of Butch's). They demolished the old structure and are building new.

 

[alarson]

Everything else has a business, so I suppose the true primary complaint is the exterior appearance of the structures.

Appearance and general low-quality of a good number of the businesses there. It all seems rather haphazard as well, there wasnt much cohesive planning as a lot of this built out it seems.

However, redevelopment would also be about larger parcels and bringing the properties to higher usages than they are now. Mixed use, more than single story structures that make more efficient use of this potentially valuable area.

 

[NWICY]

Lincoln Way and the corner of LW/Duff looked like a **** hole; that's what I'm talking about. I thought that was pretty clear when I said Lincoln Way and the corner of Lincoln Way/Duff.

The service station closed sometime in the last yr. But don't you go knocking that fine institution of the Tip Top Lounge. Them's fighting words Tx.

 

[NWICY]

Tempe is in one of the biggest metros areas in the country, so to compare it to ames is a little unfair. One school is in Arizona and well, the other is in Iowa...

As for empty store fronts on welch, not sure which store fronts you're referring to. Most of them are all bars and were probably just closed at the time while you were there. There's also some tattoo shops, clothing stores, and random other things in those shops. Head to welch around 11:30 on a Friday night and it won't seem so dead.

Well that will be awkward when he runs into the drunken daughter stumbling out of the bar as he's going in.

 

[Frak]

Tempe is not the same as Phoenix. It's a college town and the bars restaurants are supported by the students primarily. ISU could support more than is currently available.

But the businesses I'm referencing around Cy's weren't closed for summer. They were empty, others had the windows covered, etc. We'll see next weekend if they've sprung back to life.

If the money and potential customers are there, which they are, those places will be renovated or reopened. It just takes time. The amount of construction done in Ames over the last 10 years is crazy.

 

[DFWClone]

Tempe is not the same as Phoenix. It's a college town and the bars restaurants are supported by the students primarily. ISU could support more than is currently available.

But the businesses I'm referencing around Cy's weren't closed for summer. They were empty, others had the windows covered, etc. We'll see next weekend if they've sprung back to life.

Ehh, while they have a different name and there are mostly college kids there, you still wouldn't be able to tell it was a college town if you just drove through it other than the campus and athletic stuff. All the retail blends in with the rest of the greater phoenix area. My family has lived in the valley for 4 years and you can go from Scottsdale to Tempe to Phoenix and not really know you crossed 3 different cities.