BSO

BSO

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Strictly Commercial

 

A placid place at UMass. 

 


 

An abandoned UMass pumpkin. 



Leaves strewn upon the woodland way into downtown Northampton. 




Things are pretty quiet on the streets of Northampton in the early morn. 

 


 

 I'm shocked to see that this longtime King Street business has closed!




They used to have the best $5 lunch in Hamp before inflation made that price unsustainable. Here's another downtown business that closed this week. 


 

That joint was only open for a matter of months. The truth is that downtown Hamp has not fully recovered from the so-called pandemic. Northampton's absurdly strict Covid restrictions, which were kept in place longer in Hamp than in surrounding towns, maximized the damage.  

Still, there are rays of recovery, such as this hip shop Assemble which opened recently in the former photography place.  



Some of their merchandise has a local flavor. 



 Nearby in Thornes, is a popular health food store. 



 Also in Thornes is this beloved candy store. 



Thornes has the best polished wooden floor in the city. But for real old school shopping, you have to go check out the Florence Hardware



Or Bird's



 

 Mike Wiseman took this pic in downtown Springfield this weekend. 

 


 

This gone but not forgotten Springfield deli lasted from 1958 until 2013. 



Words of wisdom from Springfield's Dr. Seuss. 



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Northampton likes putting small businesses out of business. At the same time, there's a growing homeless population in Noho, as reported by WWLP. I would suggest there's a correlation here between unfriendly business policy and a rise in homelessness.