<p class="text">Nothing groundbreaking <a href="http://www.mlive.com/businessreview/western/index.ssf/2008/10/grand_rapids_bookstore_tries_f.html" target="_blank">here</a>:</p> <p class="quote">Fehsenfeld envisions adding beer and wine to his cafe's extensive coffee menu, so bookstore patrons could have a glass with dinner, browse the books, relax by the fireplace and maybe listen to a live concert. As downtown condominiums have developed, so has downtown retail traffic, he said. Although the depressed real estate market has slowed new downtown starts for now, Fehsenfeld is positioning Schuler's downtown location to move forward with it in the future.</p> <p class="text">Yes, businesses need to do what they can to stay competetive in this economy, and if that means hiring people who will put up with drunk <a href="/on-campus/pomp-and-happenstance" target="_self">"literary" assholes</a> so be it. This is culture packed tighter and tighter, turning a book store into a bar and a coffee shop and a music venue. There's nothing wrong with hybrid establishments, but ever since Starbucks starting selling Miles and Coltrane records we've come to expect a coffee shop or a book store to be everything we wish we could project ourselves to be.</p> <p class="text">Diversify yourselves. The rest will follow.</p> Andrew Sargus Klein culture coffee alcohol wars, 2.0 the-feed 2 2008-10-30T12:22:58-04:00 <p>We've mentioned before how important it is for local businesses to be <a href="/consume/the-death-of-sister-ray" target="_self">relevant to their demographic</a>. For the literature and coffee crowd, alcohol seems to be a sure-fire way to drum up business.</p> 11 2548 one-stop-culture-shop 2008-10-30T12:23:01-04:00 true false false false false 2008-10-30T12:26:41-04:00 http://www.mlive.com/businessreview/western/index.ssf/2008/10/grand_rapids_bookstore_tries_f.html 371 288