Subway will replace Fisher's Bakery in Ellicott City, Maryland.

February 25, 2010

Ellicott City is getting a new business and not everyone is happy about it. The Baltimore Sun reports that a Subway franchise will open soon in the space that once housed Fisher's Bakery. The debate is one that has played out many times before in other historic Main Streets around the country.

On one side are those against the Subway opening. They want to keep Ellicott City unique and feel that a Subway is a cookie-cutter store that can be found in any typical strip shopping center in suburbia. There are also concerns about the historic authenticity of a fast food chain opening on Ellicott City's Main Street.

On the other side of the argument are those that are more concerned about having too many vacant store fronts on Main Street. A quick, inexpensive, casual restaurant may be a good fit in the area and actually serve a need for visitors, residents, and those working in town.

It does make for a tricky situation. Most people are not going to go out of their way to visit a town just to eat at a Subway, a restaurant so ubiquitous that it can be found in almost every strip shopping center in the country. But a storefront that serves a small niche in town may be better for Main Street than an empty storefront. And as seen in other Main Streets, one Subway does not necessarily lead to a proliferation of fast food chains.

People who work and live in Ellicott City are proud of their town. They want to keep it a unique and historically quaint destination. But restricting the kinds of businesses that can open is a slippery slope that could lead to more vacant store fronts. Just ask the people in New Market what happened when they restricted the kinds of businesses that could open in their town many years ago.