National restaurant chains moving into Philadelphia’s Center City are changing the character and landscape of the historic area.
"At the edge of every American city you will find the familiar shoulder of generic chainification - the Wendy's and Home Depots, the Old Country Buffets and Wal-Marts, and so on and on...And it is why the centers of great, old cities have remained so inordinately precious and such destinations. They're still chock-full of the oddball, the independent, the genuine, the family-run, the defiantly traditional, the funky and the organic - the very sorts of touchstones and eateries that have been erased so determinedly from the margins."
Thanks to Matt Baumann
FULL STORY: On the Side: Applebee's and the chainifying of the city

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