Lower Downtown District, Inc.

Do we move here for the restaurants-or in spite of them?

May 12, 2000

The Impact of Restaurants on Lower Downtown
We know we like restaurants. After all, according to the National Restaurant Association, 44 percent of every food dollar is spent of meals, snacks, and drinks purchased away from home. Considering that in 1950, that figure was only 25 percent-and by 2010, it's estimated to be 53 percent-it's clear we're happier in a booth than in our kitchen.
But although we like to go to them, do we like to live near them? The City, for one, likes them here in Lower Downtown. According to statistics compiled by the Downtown Denver partnership, food and beverage sales tax collections increased 651 percent from 1991 to 1998. Add that to the fact that over 70 percent of LoDo sales tax is made up of food and beverage collections ant it's easy to see why, at least for the government, more is more.
And "more" is one of the primary reasons residents move to Lower Downtown?…more entertainment, more energy, more excitement. "I think many people move to Lower Downtown because of the restaurants," says Lee Goodfriend of Dixons. "They just open the front door and walk-and if they want t o have a few drinks, they don't have to worry about driving home."
But, says restaurant consultant John Imbergamo, "People who move here like all the advantages of the restaurants, including LoDo's eclectic variety, but they often don't completely realize that living near a restaurant means living near noise, smells, trash and lots of people."
And perhaps the influx of people and all they bring with them-from the drunks to the trash-is why residents and restaurateurs search for middle ground.
But is middle ground possible? LoDo residents must think so. Before new restaurants open in the area, neighborhood groups like St. Charles distribute Good Neighbor Handbooks that offer tips for a successful stay in Lower Downtown. But John Imbergamo says, maybe that's not enough. "I would hope that someone would write a plan that tells residents how to be good neighbors, instead of placing it on all the restaurants."
Perhaps restaurants have more of an inventive to appease residents than the other way around. "We have people who live above us who come in everyday," says Clark Mandigo of Sullivans. "We love them?…in fact, I'd say residents make up more than 10 percent of our business."
Not all restaurants may agree. "I think the majority of our customers come from the suburbs," says John Halpin of Dick's Last Resort," even though we actively pursue residents as well as downtown businesses."
But what does "actively pursue" mean? For many restaurants it's more than marketing. It's community involvement and it's not a concept unique to Lower Downtown. According to National Restaurant News, roughly nine out of ten tableservice restaurants participate in at least one community-involvement activity and many pitch in for several causes.
In Lower Downtown, that statistic seems sound. "We partner with local restaurants for many fundraising activities," says Dan du Bois, Executive Director of LDDI, "and I believe both the restaurants and the organization benefit."
The main benefit to the restaurants, Dan du Bois says, is the support of the community. "In a neighborhood like Lower Downtown, if you're not actively involved in the community, your chances for success are greatly reduced."
Whatever the motivation, a partnership between restaurants and residents that gives and takes and searches for the middle ground may be the best-and only-solution for everyone who shares the space of Lower Downtown.