R.I.P. Fry Street

As a student at North Texas, we all come to love the local flavor of our big but small town, Denton. It has its own local taste like no other. We have the Square, Jupiter House, Art Six, South Lakes Park (A.k.a. Eureka Park) and our beloved Fry Street. Fry Street is important to the University because it completes the northern boundary of our campus. It has a lot of great eateries and also contains many bars which serves as a right of passage for newly legal 21 year olds. This may not be attractive to some who view the University as a place for education, but for the students, it serves as a place where they can let go and enjoy their time at college. The old addage is true that you learn more outside of school than you do in school. And this is where a lot of students choose to do it.

Fry Street also adds culture to the city. Most of the buildings have been there since the 1920's and add to the Hickory-Oak Street Historical district. To bulldoze and rebuild this area and take away the history is horrible. In addition to being a historical area, the area that contains many small businesses. This is a great area for this because the student population is eager to support these businesses. And having said that, these businesses are always eager to support the students and the university. It is a reciprocal relationship and it really works out.

The property owners are wanting to put a CVS and possibly a chain bookstore.. The students of North Texas do not need these types of amenities. There are already 3 CVSs in Denton and we dont need a 4th. Plus, after the tear this businesses down, nobody will want to go back over there. It will not be the same and also, the business that they are bringing into "revitalize" the Fry Street area does not meet the clientale. I think that the property owners, who happen to be from a suburb of Houston (Bellaire for my Houstonians), obviously dont even have a clue about what they should do with that area. If they were smart about it and wanted their businesses to be successful in order to receive rent money, then they shouldnt f***up a good thing!