Readers: A Burrito Is Not A Sandwich

A century ago retailers could lease or buy a storefront where they pleased, but with shopping centers/malls leases began to include clauses to exclude potential competition.A Boston-area franchisee of St. Louis-based Panera sued their landlord when it leased a space to a burrito place. The lease prohibited another sandwich place.

The burrito brouhaha began when Panera, one of the country’s biggest bakery cafes, argued that owners of the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury violated a 2001 lease agreement that restricted the mall from renting to another sandwich shop. When the center signed a lease this year with Qdoba, Panera balked, saying the Mexican chain’s burritos violate its sandwich exclusivity clause. 

Not so, Qdoba countered, submitting affidavits from high-profile experts in the restaurant and food industry. (Denver Post)

Interestingly, the White City Shopping Center directory lists Panera, but not Qdoba. So that settles it, right? Not quite.

From 5 Ways to Define a Sandwich, According to the Law:

1. CALIFORNIA: HOT DOGS ARE SANDWICHES
2. MASSACHUSETTS COURT: A BURRITO IS NOT A SANDWICH
3. USDA: A SANDWICH IS MEAT BETWEEN TWO SLICES OF BREAD
4. ALSO THE USDA: A BURRITO IS A “SANDWICH-LIKE PRODUCT”
5. NEW YORK: IF IT’S SERVED ON SOMETHING REMOTELY BREAD-LIKE, IT’S A SANDWICH

Sandwich-like?

The recent non-scientiofic Sunday Poll was one I’ve had ready for a while, saving it for the right time. Slow recovery from wrist surgery was the perfect time.

Q: Agree or disagree: a burrito is a sandwich

• Strongly agree 0 [0%]
• Agree 5 [14.29%]
• Somewhat agree 0 [0%]
• Neither agree or disagree 2 [5.71%]
• Somewhat disagree 0 [0%]
• Disagree 13 [37.14%]
• Strongly disagree 15 [42.86%]
• Unsure/No Answer 0 [0%]

Most of those who voted agree with the Massachusetts judge — a burrito is not a sandwich. Next Sunday the poll will be more serious and St. Louis specific.

— Steve Patterson

The LRA’s 10 Smallest Properties For Sale.

Last week I posted about the city’s Land Reutilization Authority, see Land Reutilization Authority Selling Vacant Lot That Is Less Than An Inch Wide. Today I want to highlight this property and nine others to make the 10 smallest properties for sale — out of 151 under 1,000 square feet.

The first nine are listed as vacant lots, the 10th is a house. The following links to the property page, followed by the lot size, date acquired, and value.

1. 2752 Wyoming St: 11 sq ft 08/30/1973 $21
2. 5137 Wabada Ave: 16 sq ft 02/26/1975 $16
3. 825 Canaan Ave: 17 sq ft 03/14/1975 $27
4. 4419 McPherson Ave: 35 sq ft 02/26/1975 $158
5. 3327 McPherson Ave: 35 sq ft 02/26/1975 $158
6. 4544 Manchester Ave; 35 sq ft no date listed $35
7. 4957 Lansdowne Ave; 37 sq ft 03/14/1975 $141
8. 5030 Claxton Ave: 40 sq ft 03/14/1975 $40
9. 3029 Lemp Ave: 41 sq ft 03/12/1974 $160
10. 4555 Lexington Ave: 50 sq ft 09/26/2013 $1,000

As the image caption indicates, the listing for 4555 Lexington is wrong — the lot isn’t 50 sq ft, but 5,275.68! The others appear accurate, but the question still exists — why does the city own an inch wide strip of land for several properties?Are these just recording errors? How have these been allowed to exist on the books for decades?

The LRA search lists 9,481 properties, including the 10 above. I’m going to keep looking int0 the listings and their marketing of these properties.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: What Qualifies As A Sandwich?

I’m still recovering from wrist surgery so this week’s poll is one I’ve been saving for a rainy day. Nothing too serious, yet highly controversial. Some have narrow definitions of s sandwich, while others have a more broad definition that includes hot dogs, tacos, and burritos.

From Merriam-Webster:

Definition of sandwich

1 a :two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between
b :one slice of bread covered with food

For the poll question I want to focus on one food item that is often part of the sandwich/non-sandwhich debate: the burrito.

This poll will close at 8pm, on Wednesday I’ll have my take on this debate, as well as some legal opinions from various lawsuits…yes, sandwich lawsuits…plural.

— Steve Patterson

Land Reutilization Authority Selling Vacant Lot That Is Less Than An Inch Wide

The city’s Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) was a critical tool in the era of massive land clearance for urban renewal projects, like Pruitt-Igoe. This tool, largely unchanged, has been in continuous use since thr failure of urban renewal decades ago. It needs to be rethought or ditched entirely. They don’t even know what they have, or how to market it.

Their property search lists thousands of properties for sale. It takes a lot of staff to handle that much property, but not all property is equal. Take 2752 Wyoming.

I thought perhaps they also have an adjacent lot…but no. It says the value is $21 — for a long time I’ve wanted to get the paperwork together along with a cashier’s check and make a form,sl offer to buy one of these “vacant lots.”  There are other examples of lots like this.

It’s no wonder they can’t market properties. I do think they can when it means drawing a red line around any acres and telling someone they can raze everything inside the line. Otherwise, they seem clueless.

The recent non-scientific Sunday Poll:

Q: Agree or disagree: Land-banking city-owned properties in low-density neighborhoods is the best strategy for redevelopment.

• Strongly agree 2 [11.11%]
• Agree 3 [16.67%]
• Somewhat agree 3 [16.67%]
• Neither agree or disagree 1 [5.56%]
• Somewhat disagree 3 [16.67%]
• Disagree 1 [5.56%]
• Strongly disagree 3 [16.67%]
• Unsure/No Answer 2 [11.11%]

Land banking is a great tool — but it’s not the best way to prevent thousands of properties from sitting around for decades. It can also prevent slow incremental change. Geez, no wonder North St. Louis is so vacant and thr population has dropped more than a 100k since I moved here in 1990; We do the wrong thing for years and continue because “that’s how things are done.” Board Bill 187 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.

— Steve Patterson

Urban Planning In An Era Of Terrorism

For the past few years I’ve been thinking about urban design/planning as it resounds to terrorism. On Halloween the truck attack we’d seen in London and other cities worldwide came to America, NYC.

I have no insights, no solutions. Each time a terrorist drives a truck down a bike path, shots into a crowd from his hotel window, or explodes fertilizer in a rental truck — my mind wonders if something could’ve been designed differently? Who could’ve anticipated these events? Should planners, designers, architects, etc think darker? They’ll have to now.

I wish I was able to work so I could tackle this problem, but, at the same time I find it very depressing.

The NYC Department of Transportation said it’s putting the blockers in 57 different spots along the path, which runs along the western side of Manhattan near the Hudson River. They’ll start at 59th Street and go all of the way down to the end of the path near the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. (ABC7)

Safe pedestrian space has long been very important to me, but I’m not sure if it can exist anywhere.

— Steve Patterson