Where in Madison can you find a stretch of stores that includes Chin's and Qdoba within walking distance of each other?
Old Sauk Road, of course.
If you're ever on the West Side of Madison, past the Beltline, and want to take in a site that is eerily familiar to State Street, but shouldn't be, check out the 8400 block of Old Sauk Road. Out there you can find some places like those around downtown. There's the aforementioned Qdoba and Chin's along with a Cousin's Subs and an Ancora Coffeehouse. More than being eerie, that block is indicative of the greater disease of uniformity that's overtaking this city.
I will concede that those types of establishments have a place out in the endless sprawl that's rapidly diluting Madison's character. It's of little concern to me, and most of the student body, what goes on beyond Midvale Boulevard. Strip malls and chain stores may dominate the edges of town, but they should not threaten the center. Downtown should not in any manner reflect its suburban boundaries.
Whenever I'm out in the morass of the Madison-in-name-only locales, I don't think of the 500 block of State Street as it is right now. Instead I think of State Street as it was impressed on my mind about eight years ago, as I was first being introduced to Madison, as a high schooler.
That version of State Street seems somehow more vibrant and more mixed. It didn't seem to have the dust of construction or the looming shadows of cranes over Overture. There was no talk of a redesign. And all the restaurants seemed a little bit foreign but certainly welcoming.
I don't know if I'm retroactively remembering Dotty's in its old location or wishing that Starbucks didn't plant itself so near to campus. Either way, the nostalgic version is my ideal version.
As I make the rounds through the City of Madison and its outlying burbs, I'm always looking for the neighborhood diners and cozy, independent eateries.
Schenks Corners on the near East Side has them. Willy Street does too. Monroe Street can boast of its fair share as well.
But State Street is supposed to be ground zero for the eclectic blend of shops. The ethnic restaurants closer to campus should be the rule, not the exception. If a few more generic shops open up on or near State Street, the balance between authentic and hardly-adequate will tip to the latter.
It's my hope to never again have to do a double take when I'm away from downtown, thinking that I'm near West Gilman Street. It's places like Amy's Caf?? and Nick's Restaurant that drew me to Madison. It's my hope they won't be forgotten in the rush to the door for another Xeroxed chain store.
State Street survives because of the peculiar attraction of restaurants that you can't find anywhere else. It won't be the dynamic core of this city if its pieces can be picked up and flung to the far reaches of town.
blschultz@wisc.edu.
