Pita Pit, Subway Open in Tribe Square

Pita Pit, Subway Open in Tribe Square

By Amber Lester Kennedy Saturday, December 17, 2011

Two more businesses have opened their doors in Tribe Square, the mixed-use student housing and retail development on Richmond Road.

Pita Pit and Subway Café both opened for business this week. They join The Crust, which opened earlier this fall, in offering new eating options for students at The College of William and Mary and people in downtown Williamsburg.

The fourth retail space, still unopened, will be occupied by Mooyah, a burger, fries and shakes restaurant that will open in January.

Subway Café offers the same menu as that national Subway chain, but with a coffeehouse feel. Customers will find a selection of baked goods and through its collaboration with Seattle’s Best Coffee, the restaurant offers espresso items.

The Pita Pit offers pita bread sandwiches, soups and salads. The restaurant’s Lebanese-inspired cuisine includes pocket pitas with vegan, vegetarian and traditional options. It also offers self-serve frozen yogurt.

Tribe Square opened this fall with four retail spaces on the ground floor and 14 student apartments on the second and third floors. Nancy Buchanan, executive director of the William and Mary Real Estate Foundation, told the Williamsburg Planning Commission that the foundation would like to open similar properties in the future, but must first identify possible locations close to campus.

Comments

0 #10 JavaJava 2011-12-19 18:44

Horray ! Williamsburg gets another garbage coffee offering. Seattles Best......(BTW Starbucks bought the brand a while ago so you can't get more corporate than this !), so now we have marginal coffee in town, THRICE over. Well done !

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+4 #9 Support 2011-12-18 20:39

If you look at the William and Mary Endowment Fund you will find they are heavily invested in Newtown, and other entities that compete with the small business owners of the area. The same is true with the for profit arm of Colonial Williamsburg, again, competitor's of the local small business people. The most telling thing is both institutions have huge non-profit, tax exempt holdings (of course), some are government owned, both funded by tax dollars, and they compete with me and others. A very nice arrangement.

I was also put off by the money local governments throw towards big retail and chains. The County of York, and The City of Williamsburg have gone out of their way to give tax relief to chain retail. In small business the competition is the government.

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+4 #8 nonameplease 2011-12-18 12:53

We are a local business who approached this project as well and only heard a proposal and numbers that COULD be supported by a large company. That is to say SUPPORT is correct.....whi le W&M real estate SAYS one thing their actions effectively shut out the locals. We saw it directly. We could have installed a proper small business, as apparetnly support could have too ! The community could have had a 'cooperative' feel. Instead ONCE AGAIN williamsburg, this time in the heart of the school, has corporate america and frankly, marginal products too. You can't have it both ways. At some point all the locations that allow for prospertiy will be unavailable to locals. This is a shame. Tribe square's requirements were such that only the chains could agree. In this case W&M real estate could have CHOSEN to be different that everyone else. Instead the community 'GETS' not what it wants or what the developers say in their 'purpose' documents but what will only work in one sided selfish grab.

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+2 #7 annon 2011-12-18 08:29

I just wish we could find a constitutional way to tax larger chain businesses at a higher/appropri ate rate, relative to what we tax local businesses... any thoughts anyone? Perhaps a sliding scale bases on the number of locations/amoun t of property held?

(How could something like this work with a franchise? In a sense subway is "local", but I'm hardly sold on the idea that franchises should be considered "local" for those who would shop and buy local and desire to keep money in their community.)

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0 #6 annon 2011-12-18 08:25

Quoting jdm:

Is there any parking for Tribe Square?

Yep. Right behind the building, off Scotland street. Though, as someone who actually lives in the city, the beauty of the place is that it's easy walking/biking/ bus/trolley distance

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+6 #5 Hopley Yeaton 2011-12-17 15:30

The ties between W&M, CW, and the City of Williamsburg go well beyond supportive and border on monopolistic. I would encourage the small business owners to bring their complaints to the City of Williamsburg Economic Development Authority. The EDA should help them in situations described by "Support".

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+14 #4 jimwesson 2011-12-17 11:23

Unbelievable,no t even a reply to "Support"!The W&M Real Estate foundation(if they are the guilty party)
had best learn some good manners.Soon

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+4 #3 jdm 2011-12-17 11:14

Is there any parking for Tribe Square?

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+20 #2 SocraticThinker 2011-12-17 09:36

THANKS, "Support", for sharing with us the TRUTH about what has and is occuring around OUR town in the way of "FAIRNESS." For too long, the "rest of the story" about local persons and local businesses have either been ignored or pushed aside!! And thanks, too, for WYDaily in giving us the opportunity, here, to express our sincere concerns and truths....

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+25 #1 Support 2011-12-17 07:50

I own a small business, a restaurant, one that has donated to William and Mary activities for years. The new Tribe Square was approached by me and my partners, a place for our local small business to expand, they never even had the courtesy to reject us, no reply at all. Why, we asked? Well they wanted chains, national chains, not local folks.

This is the same protocol our school system uses, solicit free from the local shops, and let the chains feed the kids. It really is quite disappointing, and makes it hard to continue to donate the thousands of dollars in free food and services we do each year. Think local, buy local and our money stays local.

I wish local charities that get donations from us would remember us as well. If you ask the small local shop, the answer is usually yes to a donation, but remember them when you go out to eat, or to purchase what ever item, they support you and the community.

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