Giant’s North Baltimore Race Problem

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Most people do the great majority of their supermarket shopping in one store, and usually it’s the store that’s closest to home. We’re not much different, and we tend to stick to Giant for that very reason.

But Giant Food operates two stores in North Baltimore, and lately we’ve found that the one closest to home (on East 33rd Street) is not always the most convenient. If we’re going by bike it is often more convenient to stop by their other location (on West 41st St) while we’re on the way home from the gym. Likewise if we’re renting a car it can also be more convenient to go to 41st St because we probably also want to stop by the Wine Source.

So like a lot of people who live east of one store and west of the other we’ve been going to both stores regularly. And while the stores are mostly similar we couldn’t help notice one major, glaring difference.

41st St.

41st St.

41st St.

41st St.

33rd St.

33rd St.

33rd St.

33rd St.

Both Stores have an area near the front of the store which is essentially just extra space that needs to be filled. The 41st St location has done a really nice job of turning this area into a little pop-up health food shop featuring organic foods, specialty products, and fancy brands like Amy’s and Nature’s Promise.

On 33rd St though things couldn’t be more different. This area of the 33rd St store is stacked to the ceiling with the cheapest and most unhealthy products imaginable; generic sodas and sugary drinks and large-scale sizes of snack foods and condiments, mostly unbranded generics.

Besides drawing from a large pool of common customers, each store also serves neighborhoods to the east and west. In the case of 41st st these are historically white neighborhoods. For 33rd St- historically black. While both stores are fairly diverse in both customer base and staff, it’s no secret that on balance one is a lot blacker than the other.

We’re not sure why or how these two sections came to be stocked in this particular way. It could be a result of the individual decisions of in-store managers. But somewhere up the chain, at some level, someone in management must be aware that some stores are a lot nicer than others. (There are some other differences as well, like 41st St including a gourmet olive bar and an expanded produce section.) Giant operates lot of stores throughout Maryland, and we’re willing to bet that this pattern isn’t limited to these two particular stores.

Things to Do in Baltimore Tonight

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Well, last weekend we went to Nashville because we knew that aside from Scapescape there was going to be fuck-all going on in Baltimore. Now this weekend is here and it’s as if people are coming out of the woodwork to have some fun. There’s no shortage of great stuff happening in town tonight. Here are a few things that caught our attention.

Atomic Books hosts a release party for Book 2 of So Say the Waiters. We told you about book one of Justin Sirois’ So Say the Waiters in a previous post. Tonight marks the release of book 2 in the series, which now is also an actual paper book for those of you still down on e-readers.

The Waiters has been one of Atomic’s biggest sellers since the release of book 1, and the KidnApp phenomenon continues to grow all the time, now even including its own site at getkidnapped.com. Hell, we wouldn’t be surprised if someone got swiped from this event tonight. Perhaps even the author himself???

Plus it is First Fridays in Hampden, which is always a great excuse to do some shopping up and down the avenue and have a beer with some of your favorite local merchants. Speaking of which, Atomic Books’ new bar and bottle shop is officially open now, making this a great place to wind up your wanderings. 7-9 pm.

SoSaytheWaiters_Book2_PrintCover_1_JustinSirois_NEW_3

The BMA is presents a free opening of its newest exhibit, Morris Lewis Unveiled. From the BMA Website: “Morris Louis: Unveiled presents more than 25 works, including several large-scale paintings and a number of rarely seen drawings that comprise a recent gift to the BMA from the artist’s widow’s estate. Exhibition highlights include two unusual and exuberantly gestural paintings Silver III, 1953, and Untitled 5-76, 1956 as well as the iconic Dalet Beth ‘veil’ painting.

Born, raised, and educated in Baltimore, Louis became a celebrated originator of the Washington Color School. Related works on paper by Klee, Matisse, Miró, Picasso, and Pollock demonstrate his range of influences.”

Everyman Theater opens its second season in its new home on Fayette Street with Tenessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. From their site: “Amanda Wingfield, a faded Southern belle, holds tight to her two children: Tom, an aspiring poet, and Laura, his painfully shy sister. After receiving pressure from his mother, Tom brings home a gentleman caller to meet his sister. What follows is an encounter that becomes one of the most compelling and heartbreaking stories ever told.” 8 pm.

The Creative Alliance pulls together artists from some of Baltimore’s premiere tattoo shops along with the Glenmont Popes, CCRG, and more for INKED. From their site: “Experience a full night of entertainment highlighting the dynamic graphics, creativity, culture and spirit of tattoos in Baltimore. The Patterson will be inked from sidewalk to theater with collaborative art fusion, exterior projections, hot rods, and roller girls. Stripped-down, souped-up rock provided by the Glenmont Popes with front-man Rodney Henry. City Paper photographer Sam Holden opens with the heady, hook rock of his new band Imperial Tramp. 7:30pm Cocktails, 8pm Art Fusion. Adv reg: $12, $7 mbrs. Walk-in: $15, $10 mbrs.”

The Ottobar hosts a CD release party for Baltimore pop-rock group Jaabs featuring the Oranges Band’s Roman Kuebler and War on Women’s Shawna Potter. We had a chance to catch Jaabs when they played with Title Tracks and take it from us, they’re pretty good. Small Sur, Eureka Birds, and Golden Looks round out the bill. 9 pm all ages.

And finally The Holy Underground is the scene of tonight’s Wildhoney EP release party. We named them in our post about new music a while back, and we’re excited to see that new music actually hit the streets. Natural Velvet, Big Christ and Psychic Teens also play. 9 pm.

image via sosaythewaiters.com.

Scooter Squad: A Stroke of Genius

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During our recent stay in Nashville we had a pretty easy time getting around. Their bike share program was great, and we took several rides a day each day we were there and paid only $10 for the week. We also got our fill of the free Music City Circuit bus and even managed to save a cool $30 by taking an MTA bus to the airport on the way home.

But today we want to tell you about Nashville’s most clever transportation solution by far: the Scooter Squad.

scooter squad

Here’s how it works- You take your own car down to the bars some night and drink as much George Dickel as humanly possible. Then at 2 am when you’re totally shithoused and you realize it’s only Thursday and you need to get to work tomorrow in your car you call the Scooter Squad and they send a completely sober individual out to meet you on a small, foldable motor scooter.

This person arrives at the curb where you parked, spreads a large bag out on the sidewalk, puts their folded scooter inside it, puts it in your trunk and then drives you home from the bar in your own car! They’ll even drive your drunk ass through Taco Bell and stop at 7-11 if you want them to. Then when you arrive safely in your driveway they unfold their scooter and putter away.

We know! it’s like a miracle, right??? And not only are you not driving drunk, not stranding your car, and not liable for possible parking violations the next day, but the whole thing is actually cheaper than a cab.

That is to say… cheaper than a round-trip cab ride, which you would be paying either way. Cab it home at night and you’re probably cabbing it back in the morning to get your car. With a $12 pick-up fee and $3 per mile, a hypothetical trip from Cross Street Market to Hampden would cost about $27. Definitely cheaper than cabbing both ways.

Not only that, but according to their website they’re pretty flexible. You can hire a driver to chauffeur you around in your own car for the night, such as for a bachelor party, or for things like dropping your car off at the mechanic or even the airport. They even run a shuttle car to retrieve their drivers from long-distance drop offs, so it’s not just for city folks who live in scooter range.

Needless to say, whoever came up with this idea is a true genius and a friend to the drinking man everywhere. After all, the best way to end drunk driving is to get drunk drivers off the road, and the Squad is out there doing just that every night. If we had the startup capital we would actively pursue a Baltimore franchise. If you’re in Charm City and you’ve got the coin to open an office and buy a car and a few scooters and some insurance we hope you’ll make it happen. If these guys want to set up shop in Baltimore directly, we’d welcome them with open arms.

Take The Transit Challenge: An Invitation to Baltimore’s Elected Officials

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The Baltimore Sun yesterday published an article titled Redesigning Baltimore: Planners envision new development among mass transit stations.

In it the Sun’s Yvonne Wenger describes some of the finer points of a large overhaul of zoning regulations that the city is now considering. One of those finer points is transit-oriented development, which really made us sit up and take notice. The only problem is that when it comes to specifics, there isn’t much to notice.

Any shift in policy that puts more emphasis on transit is very welcome, of course. But what really got to us about the article is that when mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was reached for comment all she had to offer were her usual PR-flack talking points- at a total disconnect with reality. For example the mayor told the Sun:

“Any great city is a city that has high-quality, real transit, getting people from where they live to where they work, learn and play” and went on to say “With more transit-oriented development, I think it will take Baltimore to the next level in terms of being more vibrant and more of a 24/7 city.”

LR

This is just dead wrong. The truth is that it makes absolutely no sense at all to develop around transit until our transit is totally re-worked, from the bottom up, to be a viable alternative to the automobile. Baltimore’s bus lines have been in need of an overhaul for decades: combining and streamlining routes, removing some stops and keeping drivers more accountable to schedules would be a start.

While Baltimore’s light rail line does serve some crucial functions like airport transportation, stadium stops and park-and-rides, we’d hardly describe it as a “game changer” and while we believe the red line will eventually be a nice addition we don’t forsee it being a ‘game changer’ either.

As for this nonsense about Baltimore being ‘more of a 24/7 city’ it is laughable. Using transit for something like catching an early flight or having a post-game revel at Power Plant is impossible with a light rail that only runs from 5am- Midnight. Those buses that do run all night are few and far between and with a 9 pm stoppage time the Charm City Circulator would fit better in a sleepy town like Harrisburg PA than a bustling Metropolis like NYC.

The zoning changes now being considered are comprehensive and far reaching, and their impact will last for generations. It would behoove our city’s leaders to understand its transit system a little better than what can be gleaned by the anecdotal evidence of ‘public comment’ and the word of self-interested MTA management.

So in the spirit of the Food Stamp Challenge we are now calling on Mayor Rawlings-Blake, City Council President ‘Jack’ Young and all other city office holders, planners, and higher-level employees to give up their car keys and use public transit exclusively for a 30 day period.

Use our system to commute to work. Use it to come downtown to your favorite restaurants. Use it on a Sunday or a holiday to try to get to a relative’s house for a visit. Use it to get your groceries and do other errands. Use it to go through, and to, some neighborhoods or suburbs you rarely visit.

See what it’s like to pay two fares because you couldn’t get a transfer. See what it’s like to wait more than an hour for a bus. See what it’s like to watch two buses on the same line tailgate one another after that hour. See what it’s like to have a bus driver look you right in the eye and pass you by at the stop. See what it’s like to be late for work. Hey, maybe you can even see what it’s like to have your iPhone stolen right out of your hand.

We’re sure that this experiment would garner a lot of interest in the local press if anyone in elected office wants to take us up on it. If it can’t generate coverage from an outlet bigger than this blog then we promise we will cover it and report the results right here.

If at the end of 30 days of transit ridership you actually believe that our current system is worth developing around as-is then by all means do. But if, like us, you believe that the system can and should run more efficiently and be easier to understand then please take that into consideration when considering the implications of the zoning overhaul.

The Chop Escapes The Grand Prix of Baltimore

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We’ve only had the misfortune to experience one Grand Prix race weekend, as we were out of town working during last year’s race. We look forward to the day when our city can return to normalcy for Labor Day Weekend- when we can go see a ball game or go to a restaurant or even do something as simple as get to a friend’s house without having to fight crowds and traffic and take a miles-long detour around what looks like a demilitarized zone. And since the race is still without a title sponsor, has scheduling conflicts with other large events for the next several years and is still losing money, we hope that day comes soon.

BGP1

Speaking of losing money, we won’t be spending a dime in Baltimore this week. We’re getting the hell out of town and going to Nashville. We’ll be abandoning the city for Labor Day every year until it wises up and sends the Grand Prix away for good. This is not a case of a Summer vacation we were going to take anyway being cleverly scheduled around the Grand Prix. We’re taking a trip we otherwise probably wouldn’t have, explicitly to get away from the race and enjoy a quiet holiday in a city that’s not jammed full of concrete blocks and industrial fencing. We won’t be blogging again until some time next week.