I have fond childhood memories of walking to Pops’ B&K back when it was a root beer stand. The site’s later history was a sad one, and the city’s planned acquisition of the space may stimulate debate about possible future use.
There are still B&Ks in other Hoosier cities, and it would be wonderful to get one back, but absent that, another idea would be a “restaurant incubator” where home-based vendors not quite ready to step up to their own establishment could share a lease and a kitchen for limited offerings in a carryout-only format.
Done well, it might help stimulate the development of future family restaurants and maybe even add to the varieties of cuisine available in the area.
I’m not opposed to green space per se, but that location would then become a perpetual target for developers with other ideas.
— William Tilford, Lafayette
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Letter: Lafayette’s old Pops’ B&K site: What should it become?
Reporting by William Tilford, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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