Across the street from Chipotle, 658 State St., and a block away from Qdoba, 548 State St., a large, bright goldenrod sign heralds the coming of another restaurant on State Street that claims to know burritos: Moe's Southwest Grill.
Tens of thousands of pedestrians stroll down the seven paved blocks of State Street every day, armed with hungry stomachs and full wallets. With a large student population joining the civilians on the street, Moe's seeks to establish itself as a permanent fixture and boost its reputation.
\State Street seems to be the best spot in Madison to get our name out there,"" said Moe's manager Angie Mills.
Moe's will take over the building vacated by Rocky Rococo at 641 State St. She immediately dispelled claims that adding another chain to the street will threaten its diversity; rather, Mills said, it will add to it.
""When you buy your clothes from Abercrombie and Gap, everyone has them and no one notices you,"" said Iris Brey, UW-Madison sophomore. ""But if you buy clothes that are unique you have your own taste, your own personality. Restaurants are the same way.""
Susan Schmitz, president of Downtown Madison, Inc., refuted claims that State Street has become populated solely with chain restaurants and retail stores. ""We took a survey at the end of last year, and it demonstrated that the ratio of chains versus local was exactly the same since 1998,"" she said.
However, although the ratio between locally owned stores and restaurants and nationally owned chains has remained stable, there has been a slight increase of restaurants over retail stores.
The declining amount of retail stores has resulted in a lack of variety downtown, according to Marika Lang, manager of Wasabi Japanese Restaurant, 449 State St.
""It's becoming a food court on State Street,"" Lang said. Wasabi's business has deteriorated over the past five years due to the influx of Japanese and Asian restaurants. ""Five years go we had lines out the door to get sushi. Now, if there's a line, people leave and go somewhere else.""
Some restaurant workers, such as Sabri of the Mediterranean Caf??, 625 State St., regard the chains as good competition.
""The chains have a tendency to open up and close down,"" he said. ""Even with all this competition and cheaper food, people come back to their roots.""
""State Street still really has that unique feel it always has,"" Schmitz said. ""State Street has always experienced change and it always will because it adapts.\
