While you were reading the WashPost article today about the slow creep of chains into Dupont Circle, my mind was a little farther east and north.

First, Dupont Circle is not the poster child for suburbanization of DC that would be Chinatown, or what’s left of it anyway. I said bye bye Chinatown a little late, when Hooters moved in, but right after the MCI Verizon Center opened, the signs were clear.

Fuddruckers, Legal Sea Foods, with just a sign in Chinese, shame the neighborhood’s name. These are chain restaurants that cater to the Center’s outside the Beltway crowds and killed the neighborhood’s character.

Oh and before you try, don’t even think of using the remaining Chinese restaurants as an example of Asian hold outs. Those are as authentic as McDonalds.

So what’s the next neighbourhood to be sanitized? Well walking home last night I saw a sign, this sign, on the rebuilt Tivoli Theatre building: Ruby Tuesday’s.

This is the sign of the end. This sign of what I feared with the new Target, suburbia invading in 500,000 square foot stores.

Out goes color, out goes local ownership. In come the chains, in come standardization. In comes those who think Ruby Tuesday’s is a selling point. And out goes those who enjoy a little variety in their lives.

Variety that does not come in pieces of “flair”.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs