Blending In and Cashing Out

The secret of Karen Carrier, a successful restaurant entrepreneur, is to blend her talent of fine arts and culinary experience in her business. As shown in this CNN News video, she turned several old historic buildings into “theme” restaurants and made the best out of the places.

In the old times, business developers might have chosen to tear down a site and make everything new. If the site had been chosen for a hotel or a restaurant, probably the place would have been turned into a brand new establishment, with identical settings as a franchised business. What a waste if it is a historical site! Thanks to the boutique hotel concept (or boutique restaurant concept in this case), developers no longer need to cookie-cut their products.

I still feel very upset on the fact that the City of Syracuse changed the canals that used to be running through the downtown area into streets. Otherwise, we could probably have the best “River Walk” in the world. I know that the history cannot be changed, but looking forward, I believe that developers or business owners can learn a good lesson from the past. Nobody should destroy what may seem “old” or “outdated.” Rather, I suggest developers to twist their strengths with what is available and make the best out of it. Cash will follow with the right concept. What ideas do you have to help vitalize the places like Upstate New York?

Relevant discussion:
May the Innovative Spirit Win: An Interview with Ian Schrager

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