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Rozzie residents no longer have to drive all the way down to Cleary Square for their ceramic tchotchkes
By adamg on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 1:45pm
The recent opening of Jerusalem Trading on Poplar Street in Roslindale Square (where that African discount store used to be) ends the giant-ceramics drought that's plagued Roslindale ever since Nancy's on Belgrade Avenue shut down this past spring.
The store looks to carry a complete line of life-size and near-life-size ceramic animals, including a ceramic peacock for only $119.99, and, naturally, snarling ceramic tigers. Also in stock: Ceramic figures of 17th-century European nobility and, of course, ceramic-flower-bedecked ceramic pillars on which to display all your ceramics. Also available: Furniture, which appears to be made of non-ceramic materials, such as wood.
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Comments
Super-kitsch
Is it just me or am I the only one who's mind boggles at such artwork? Does anyone buy it? My first instinct was to think they are laundry fronts, but why would you pick something so conspicuous?
Ugh!! Bring back the dollar
Ugh!! Bring back the dollar store. blech.
Yes, Mondays buy it.
Yes, Mondays buy it.
There is a much better
There is a much better dollar store on Corinth St. So is this arts and crafts type ceramics for my kids to buy and paint, or chintzy finished "art" ceramics?
"Art"
It's exactly like the store that failed on Belgrade - stuff you would buy and, um, proudly put on display in your living room.
That's better than nothing I
That's better than nothing I suppose, but I'd really like to see an art and crats supply store. That and a candy shop -- we were so close on getting a candy shop!
Taiwan resto?
I have a new theory. Maybe the Taiwanese resto opening on Belgrade will need giant ceramic tigers?
What happened
to the candy shop? It was there one day and gone the next (more or less)- like a Halloween pop-up store that didn't make it to Halloween.
An arts & crafts store would be pretty good.
Not sure, but it appears
Not sure, but it appears that something else is coming into the space. My guess is that the candy store owner had something come up and was able to break the lease because the landlord had another tenant available. My kids were very disappointed, though.
Villiage
The candy store looked like it never got its theme down. At first it sounded like it was going to be a cross between a gourmet choclatier and a penny candy place but then it put all sorts of off the shelf candy bars in its window as if it were literally just going to sell what you can buy at any CVS. Unless you can draw in the food crowd to drop serious cash on chocolate, a candy store is never going to make it. The margins are just too slim. The cheese store next door has the right idea with high end chocolate bars and treats. Something foccusing solely on that might be able to pull it off if the rent was right. As for an arts and crafts store there will never be one with Staples around the corner. Better bet would be to write to the store manager there and ask them to stock more of what you are looking for. I'll be surprised (and intreagued) if the new "ceramics" place lasts any longer than the one on Belgrade (provided its not a front of some sort). Personally, I think a small kitchen gadgets/equipment store would do very well with the food/foodie theme going on in the Villiage.
I'd like a yarn shop, a
I'd like a yarn shop, a decent independent cafe (like Java Jos or similar), a Halfway Cafe where Robyn's is, and a place to get pho.
Thus ends my Roslindale pipe dream. So many empty storefronts. Have we stalled on the yuppie upswing?
Pho
You can get pretty good Pho at bangkok Bistro. Yarn would be a good add-on for the arts and crafts store, though I do like the cooking gadgets idea. One problem with that might be the similar store in JP.
I wish I liked the Bangkok,
I wish I liked the Bangkok, but it always smells like basement.
There's definitely an energy missing in the square. I was sad that Family Dollar came in, why something downmarket instead of something interesting and revitalizing? Is there really a larger market for Family Dollar/ceramic tiger shoppers than yarn/art supplies/gooking gadgets?
I feel like there's no place in the square I can really SHOP, you know? Like for gifts, we don't have something like Monroe Salt Works or Black Ink.
We need a Crate & Barrel.
Maybe because the majority
Maybe because the majority of Roslindale isn’t yuppie, and a Family Dollar, or someplace that caters to lower or working class families, stands more chance of thriving than a trendy shop that will go out of business the minute the clientele squirts out a kidlet or two, decides Boston schools aren’t safe, and moves out to Weston?
Don’t ignore local business because you don’t like the "unwashed masses" that visit them. In fact, to actually be a part of a community, you need to intermingle with all the people who live there, even the ignorant peasantry that drink dunkies, not $16.00 organic free trade espresso and are more concerned with paying their energy bills than pondering the location of their chakras.
Maybe you need to move to
Maybe you need to move to upmarket Jamaica Plain.
I left JP in favor of
I left JP in favor of Roslindale, but thanks for playing.
A little variety never hurt anyone. People with upmarket tastes live here, too. Why not cater to a broader spectrum? Roslindale doesn't have to go the way of Coolidge Corner, but look at the amount of new and interesting shops on Centre Street in West Roxbury. Surely that's a better alternative than empty and papered over storefronts?
And as a mother, strongly in favor of supporting local schools, I can assure you that I won't be leaving a community I feel invested in and want the best for.
But there aren't actually
But there aren't actually too many empty storefronts. Personally, I like Family Dollar. It brings people into the square, offers a bit of variety and is a big improvement over Jax. I also like the cheese shop. Having both is part of the appeal of Roslindale.
I'm also very excited about the soon to open Jazz Cafe, which should hopefully cater to many of Roslindale's diverse residents.
I have breakfast at the Blue
I have breakfast at the Blue Star two or three times a week. I'm always open to discussing ideas for our community. I am, conspicuously, the only Caucasian mum with an Asian toddler there, so feel free to say hello.
Give me a break
Notwhitey, aren't you the guy who hasn't lived in Roslindale in like 20 years? Stop pontificating on the neighborhood when you have no idea what it is like. Just get over the fact that Roslindale has become more soemwhat upscale and stop mumbling "what, you think your better than me?" between the lines of your posts. Things just change.
As for Family Dollar, I think that it is a good addition to the Villiage, although I would also have liked to see other things too. Lots of people come to shop there, even if I don't, and Roslindale is really economically diverse, so busineses like family dollar can live along side Birch Street Home and Garden. Welcome to the new Boston.