Good News From The East Side

I took some stuff over to the recycling bins in the parking lot of what used to be the Eastgate Mall yesterday, and I discovered something that was good for the soul. Now, I know that the concept of the “east side” conjures up mostly images of pit bulls and drug shootings - among other evidence that civilization is giving itself one great big swirly - but it’s not all bad. It’s just that the diamonds in the rough in this part of town are fewer and farther between than in some other parts of town. But every now and then you do find one. (Sometimes two.)

First is the recycling thing at Eastgate. Used to be, back in the day, that there was a big metal bin, painted green, where you could dump your aluminum cans, glass bottles, and newspaper. Said bin was tucked away in part of the parking lot formed by the Bermuda Triangle of Ryan’s Steakhouse, Burlington Coat Factory, and the old Builders Square building.

Well, that bin is around on the other side of the parking lot now, facing Shortridge Road - and it’s got company. In addition to the green-painted bin where you can dump newspaper, glass, and metal cans (and now #1 and #2 plastic), there are two Abitibi Paper Retriever bins, a big blue bin for cardboard, and a light green container where you can dump used clothing.

That means that pretty much all of your recycling needs can be taken care of in one place (if you live near the Eastgate Mall, anyway). There are no bins there yet for #3-#7 plastic, and you don’t get paid for your aluminum cans, but other than that, it’s pretty much a one-stop drop for basic recycling.

Second, I was at Lazy Daze yesterday and saw that there was a rug hung up over a doorway-sized hole that had been cut in the wall on the right side of the shop. I had noticed the last time I was in there that the tables and chairs had been cleared from that part of the shop, but missing chairs and tables could have meant anything. However, when you add missing chairs and tables to a hole in the wall behind which construction work is clearly being done, you are left with only one conclusion (which the wife of the owner confirmed for me as she made my drink yesterday).

Lazy Daze is expanding. Yes, that’s correct. They are expanding - getting bigger - adding more space. On the one hand, this is all well and good, and should have been expected - Lazy Daze is the best coffee shop in the universe (not as well stocked as the Monon Coffee Company, perhaps, but it also does not have that Broad Ripple price markup). But on the other hand, the really neat thing about this is that Starbucks opened just down the street - less than a month ago - and it apparently has not hurt Lazy Daze. Granted, their plans to expand have probably been in the works for longer than the month that Starbucks has been open - but I imagine that it is unlikely that Lazy Daze would have gone ahead with those plans if Starbucks had put much of a dent in their business.

I don’t have anything against Starbucks, when Starbucks is the only option. But when there are good local places, how can anyone possibly choose Starbucks over a Lazy Daze or a Monon Coffee Company?