Back in my younger days, I remember talking to a local law enforcement officer who spent time at West Virginia University during the “Flower Power” era of the 1960s. As he talked, he said he certainly understood that there was power when people were involved at certain levels, but even as a child of that era he didn’t get it.

 

“They would look at me on campus and say ‘power to the people.’ I would look back and say, ‘what power, what people?’ Just seemed like a waste of time because it didn’t seem to me they were channeling it correctly,” said the cop, which I’m paraphrasing due to the conversation taking place in the early 1990s.

 

We had a good laugh about that late one night. While this isn’t a political commentary and whether those folks in Morgantown had an impact back decades ago is unknown. What I do know today is that if you say nothing, few things change. If you say something, chances are better something will change.

 

Why am I bringing this up? Well, it goes back to the one thing that everyone – or at least a large portion of folks that read Connect-Bridgeport – love, and that’s new restaurants, expansions of existing one or the possibility of one locating in our area.

 

For purposes of the Web site, stories on new restaurants whether they’re a national chain or local always generate interest. And there is one other thing they generate – comments and plenty of them.

 

Most are usually happy, some complain because it’s not their preferred restaurant and some believe it’s the city’s fault or the developer’s fault for not bringing in a Red Lobster or a Sonic or a Joe’s Crab Shack. Again, there is a perception that someone involved with a city department or who is developing local property simply picks up the phone, and says, “Hey, we’re ready for you. Come on down?”

 

That’s not how it works. That’s never how it works. It’s why there isn’t a grocery store currently open right now and – despite writing just what I wrote – the odds are 100 percent that someone will complain in the comment section below, on Twitter or Facebook that they can’t believe our local developers and city hasn’t gotten a grocery store.

 

Trust me, the effort has been made and there are no takers. For those that believe it’s that easy, those same developers will be glad to sell you the acreage needed and I’d think it would be great to see those who think it’s that easy to get the ball rolling.

 

I digress.

 

The whole purpose of this article is to allow, once again, for those who have voiced their love of a certain restaurant a chance to provide feedback to them asking them to come to Bridgeport. While we’ve done this in the past with a few grocery store chains and haven’t had any results, that doesn’t mean it may not work this time.

 

Besides, this one is a little bit different. Recently, the developers of the new “Marketplace at Bridgeport” announced that they were not only in negotiations with several restaurants, but that they were talking with Chipotle. That doesn’t mean they’re coming and that doesn’t mean that it’s imminent, it just means that the developers of that property along Jerry Dove Drive – Metro Property Management out of Morgantown – is working with them.

 

“We’ll have a Mexican place for sure. We’ve talked to Chipotle (Mexican Grill), but there’s nothing for sure,” said Metro’s Dave Biafora at a recent Bridgeport Planning Commission meeting.

 

For those that think Biafora is just blowing smoke, think about what his company has developed in the past several years in his home location of Morgantown and the clients that area in those developments. To get an idea of what this company has been involved in, all one needs to do is take a look at the restaurants alone that occupy some of their properties. Eateries such as Sonic, Tilted Kilt, Pies and Pints, Jimmy John’s, Five Guys Burgers and more are part of their portfolio. They also have Gander Mountain, Coldwater Creek, Jos. A. Bank, PNC Bank, Mylan Pharmaceuticals and many other familiar names who they’ve done business with.

 

Many of those businesses are located in their Suncrest Towne Centre and Pierpont Landings projects in Morgantown. And if you’re familiar with those areas, you know the development was lightning fast. Of course, I’m also aware that Bridgeport and Morgantown aren’t apples to apples, but the company knows development.

 

So what can you do to help? You can let Chipotle know that you want them here. Flood them with comments.

 

Will it help? Will it assure that Chipotle is coming?

 

Absolutely not. What I can assure you is that it can’t hurt. So instead of complaining about what is and isn’t coming, do what many of you did with past requests for grocery stores, put your social media typing fingers where your mouth is and let them know why they should come here.

 

Yours truly has already done so. I’d certainly like to have some company.

 

Click HERE for a general comment page for Chipotle. Hopefully they hear us.