Five Businesses Doylestown Could Use

Doylestown has a lot to offer the consumer, both in terms of goods and food, from chains, franchises, and our beloved locals. But there’s always room for improvement and variety to add to what’s here. Here are a few places that would really help make Doylestown the best it can be.

1. Chipotle Grill or Taco Bell — If you want Mexican and want it quickly, you’d have to go to Montgomeryville, but that’s too far for take-out if you’d like to eat at home. Based on the restaurants I see wished for in my Tweetdeck Doylestown search column, these are numbers one and two in terms of most-requested eateries, and I agree. (Sonic is number three.)
2. Five Below — The dollar store, all grown up, a little classier, and without all the chintz. Art supplies for pre-schoolers? Check! Movie boxes of candy regularly priced at the “on sale” price of supermarkets? Check! A wide variety of clever/retro t-shirts, books, and small games? Check! It’s worth the drive to Airport Square to go there, and even the lofty King of Prussia mall now has one; surely we could, too.
3. KFC — We had one at the Acme shopping center (it's now the Starbucks), and before that you could get it at the old Gino’s (that became Roy Rogers, then Boston Market, and now a CVS stands there), but for now we have the holy trinity of burger franchises within a quarter-mile of Main and Old Dublin/East, but no quick chicken. Please, find a way to bring the Double Down and eleven herbs and spices to Doylestown.
4. Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s — Honestly, I couldn’t care less about either of these, but I feel like I’m the only one. Anytime a decently sized storefront becomes vacant, you can be sure a chorus of residents will pipe up, singing their praises and begging for one of these upscale grocery chains to come to town. (by the way, when people mocked Occupy Doylestown, it’s things like people asking for “Whole Paycheck” that was partly why).
5. Red Robin — It fits that little niche between fast food burger joints like McDonald’s and casual liquor-licensed eateries with no real specialty like T.G.I. Friday’s that you didn’t know was there until they came along. A superb selection of burgers, a fun setting, beer and cocktails for the adults, and great milkshakes for the kids make this a fantastic place to unwind, but the closest one is in Quakertown. Can we please fix that?

So that’s my take on some places town could use. And if an enterprising person can find a way to do a “small business” equivalent, that works, too  Happy shopping and eating!