Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Thyme Square stays downtown

WE ARE EXCITED and happy for Cory and Erica Shupe, who are moving Thyme Square Cafe up the street this summer.

Thyme Square has been at Fifth and Hampshire for about seven years. The owners and staff are all about locally-produced food, and their breakfasts and lunches are delicious.

These tables are usually full at 5th and Hampshire.
But the space wasn't enough. Have you ever been in there on a busy Saturday morning? The servers do a ballet through the crowds and deliver food to tables at close quarters. In a way it is quaint, but Thyme Square is doing something right and obviously needed more room for a long time.

You really wonder what will go in at Fifth and Hampshire. Knowing the owners of the building, it won't take long for something else to take over the 500 Hampshire - it's way too cool of a space.

A few weeks ago Talayna's in the 600 block of Hampshire closed. Of course the gloom and doomers flooded social media with the bad news about how Quincy is dying and downtown is dead and there are no good places to eat anymore. Blah blah blah double blah.

Turns out there was a plan all along. The Shupes have purchased the historic building and hope to be up and running at their new location by August. It's ideal for their business and now they'll have room to grow and serve even more of their amazing dishes.

We don't need a Red Lobster or another greasy fast food chain in Quincy. Today we learned Ruby Tuesday's is closing, and it's a shame because people are losing their jobs, but really, another chain on Broadway closing hardly makes me weep. And aren't you super excited about another McDonald's being built on Broadway? Right. Me neither. Three McDonald's on Broadway seems to be a bit of overkill ("kill" being the operative word according to Sheryl, who is very hateful about a third McDonald's. This town couldn't support a Sonic, three Sonics at one point, but they can support a third McDonald's?)

What we need are hard-working people like the Shupes who have vision and commitment, both to customers and downtown Quincy. We will both warn them and rejoice with them when it comes to buying an old building.

Owning your own business in a competitive environment isn't easy. We are thankful for Cory and Erica, and we'll continue to enjoy Thyme Square in downtown Quincy.

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