Veterans, Metairie developments

On this glorious Thursday, I had the pleasure of driving down scenic Veterans, the nascent sibling to Magazine St. Veterans continues to develop or regress, depending on how you want to view it. What was once a place of many independent restaurants and stores is being crowded and overrun by national chains. It's the way of the world we live in, the way of the national and international corporations. Local business struggles with the Goliaths of the world pushing for profit and profit alone.

Three developments in the restaurant world:

1) That abomination of chain restaurants that is being constructed across from Gambino's Bakery is moving along quickly. Jefferson Parish has already built an extension to the U-turn, with what looks like will be another light to allow cars to cut across Vets.

2) Applebees on Division and Vets had a face lift. In two weeks time, the cheap decor of late 1980s Edwardian brick has been covered by a cheap faux-stone Adobian plaster. They have also put out new awnings with apples on them. Do the corporate owners think its patrons are so stupid as to associate fresh apples or fresh fruit and vegetables of any variety with the frozen microwave crap they serve? Yes, they do, because only morons and misanthropes and psychopaths eat at Applebees.

3) The old Bennigan's on the corner of Vets and Severn has been torn down. Sadly, this space will probably be another national chain, just like the recently opened TSI Fridays (I refuse to use God's name in vain by saying their commercial name in its entirety) down the street. I'd rather a Chinese buffet open there than another national chain.