Fixing the Downtown Amherst Eating Scene

To all of our Minnesota and Connecticut readers I apologize, but this post will solely focus on Amherst. This post has to be made.

Currently, the best eatery in all of downtown Amherst is Subway. This is not to degrade Subway. It’s a fine restaurant with fair prices and filling meals. Yet, Amherst—an alleged “College Town”—can do better.

Before I continue, I must make an important note. I am writing this from the perspective of a college student. Maybe the sit-down, twenty dollar restaurants are great, but I couldn’t care less. Amherst houses over 20,000 college students, and the town should do more to support it—it could bring in a lot more money in the process.

The basic premise of my solution is that Amherst needs greater number of cheap, basic eateries.

For one, it needs a fast food restaurant with a grill. I know Amherst is opposed to chains (see- bookstores), and this restaurant does not have to be a chain. Set up some “mom and pop” shop that sell burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, and fries. Stick some soft served frozen yogurt in there along with fair prices, and business will boom. If such an eatery already exists, please tell me, because I’m dying to find one. Currently, the only place that I know which sells fast food hamburgers is Bart’s—a shop that primarily sells ice cream and has no business handling a grill.

Secondly, Amherst needs a deli. Not an overpriced, upscale one like the Black Sheep. And not an overpriced, chain one like Brueggers. In this case, I would even support a
“Mom and Pop” shop. It should have cheap, hot bagels baked on the premises. It should have a full slate of deli meats. And it should have a friendly feel.

This evening, as I was driving home from Wal-Mart, Miller was with me in the car, and he said that he saw a fellow Amherst student walking back to campus. We conjectured that he was walking back from McDonald’s. McDonald’s is at least a mile from campus, if not two.

This boy walked two miles to eat at McDonald’s.

I’ll say it again—this boy walked two miles to eat at McDonald’s.

This is pathetic. But it is not his fault. It is simply representative of the sad state of Amherst’s downtown eating options. They are simply too upscale and expensive for college students. Maybe townies like the expensive, sit-down restaurants; they can keep them if they want. However, there should be more eateries targeting college students.

When I told Miller what I was writing about, he told me the solution is for Amherst students to simply not eat. I suppose he may be right for now.

However, if my proposed improvements are implemented, this would not have to be the case. Amherst downtown has so much potential, it just needs a couple more mom and pops to open up some restaurants that cater to college students.