The Night Hawk, a Walgreens?

Oh, sad and freaky times we are in, children. The Man has just informed me that the block that The Frisco and KidsActing is on is in danger of becoming a Walgreens.

The Frisco has been in business over 50 years, and is the last of a chain that was huge in Austin through most of the last century. There was a time that famous chefs came out of these restaurants, and locally famous luminaries worked there.

It is a really cool, unironically retro place to take your family. There's vinyl booths, pie in glass cases, and loads and loads of coffee. It's where your kids get called "hon." Nothing even remotely vegetarian, except maybe a grilled cheese sandwich and some of the pies. We are often the youngest folks in the restaurant by a good 15 years, and that is saying something in Austin, where lots of young hot people live.

Older girl has been there a few times, and dug it...hey, as long as there's a plain, dry burger patty, white milk, a few french fries, and the promise of a huge dessert to be had, she's good. However, we are usually a) poor and b)dieting, so admittedly, it's not someplace we go all the time, or even very often. (There is NO getting out of there without pie. That is practically unthinkable. Oh, sure, you can pretend you're sharing a piece with the man, but you are GOING TO EAT PIE.) But, really, a Walgreens wants to buy up this block, and it is still up in the air.

Now, realize that within about 3 miles of my house in all directions, there are ALREADY two Walgreens, two CVS's, an HEB, a Target, and a small, neighborhood pharmacy. We HAVE OUR DRUGS OVER HERE, people! Nobody has to do much more than spit across their lawn to have multiple options for filling prescriptions and buying pregnancy tests.

It is absolutely absurd to think that this is a good idea, for anyone. The market is saturated, first of all, but most of all...what the fuck? It's the Night Hawk! It's Austin history! It's one of the last parts of Austin that are not filled with Chili's and Lowes, and it's part of the character that keeps tourists coming here and keeps the quality of life here so good. Plus, there's KidsActing, a fantastic little drama school that's also been around forever. Cool folks over there, great classes.

I e-mailed The Man in outrage to see if there's anything that can be done, or anyone I can bitch to about this. He basically told me that I could contact Walgreens, but they won't care one whit, as increasing profit for their shareholders is the only concern for them.

I am bummed out. And now the diet will be disrupted, as The Man has stated an express desire to go eat pie there a few more times, in case it's gone. (Damn you Walgreens! I was just back into almost all my jeans.)

Shop locally...while you can!