Aww, loved Arctic Squirrel ice cream!

Too many places to eat, not enough decent retail, not enough parking. This trend will continue. That whole area is a disaster. Watch how the parking garage does zero to help as well.

Parking is definitely a problem. Maybe the garage should have been built first, then the rest. Now Acorn Alley already has a bad reputation. I hope it can survive.

Hoping people lose money on opening a small business? Thats pretty cold. I feel bad for those involved. That said, The food at the Dog Squad was not all that great, and I suspect Fresco will fall down the same path. Prime/expensive real estate, great decor and design work, but ultimately very bland food compared to Taco Tontos or even Chipotle.

I hope whatever goes into the places occupied by the Dog Squad or the Arctic Squirrel achieves better success...and hope that whatever goes in provides something notable to the area.

Gloom and Doomer's pop up like Zoobies to celebrate the death of someones small
Business dream.....

Growing pains for the new development areas in Kent.....this will shake out eventually

The winter is too cold, the students leave in the summer. That only leaves about 5 prime months. Somehow this expansion got around the restrictions and lessons that the housing bubble gave us. I hope it isn't a sign of what's to come.

Whomever owns the parking lot where the movie theatre is should provide a cheap shuttle back and forth to downtown. Hardly anyone parks there and it might help with the parking problem. I never worry about the parking situation because I can walk to downtown, but I thought I would throw that idea out there.

amazing comments here by long-term residents of Kent who still exhibit the most irrational resentment about the university and its customer base (who, actually, have plenty of cash to spend). "No new businesses! No growth!" The same crowd who decried the opening of a - gasp! - Starbucks. Anything new smacks to some people as "outsider" intrusion - what an amazing navel-gazing. So two subpar establishments closed - that's the nature of supply-and-demand. The new development is badly needed in this town. The terrible sushi place that preceded the dog joint was an even worse catastrophe, by the way: doesn't mean the whole development idea was a bad one. Tell the owners of Tree City what a "mistake" the new development is.

Shannon, I'm sorry, but "rumor has it" is nothing more than your attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Admit it: you wish for the glory days of a decrepit Hardware store, a dusty comic book store, and everything else that spoke of a "genuine" Kent without all the "furners." You're quite right - Kent without the university is Ravenna. A ghost-town. And that's apparently what you want - the return of a ghost town. Because at least it will be *your* ghost town.

You want boring coffee? Remember Susan's? Terrible stuff - and yet locals were up in arms when it closed down. Good riddance. Remember Brady's? I was there the last day it was open - the couple who "ran" that place had no idea what they were doing. The only people who went there were the same five guys playing chess all day, helping themselves to a pot of coffee. That place was full of charm - I'm sure it felt very "right" to you. And how many people in Kent were outraged when Starbuck's moved in? They even started a myth that Starbuck's "kicked out" Brady's. Nonsense.

Let's face it - there are plenty of people in town who despise the university and everything it stands for. So you have to walk a few more minutes to get to your destination - big deal. So there are new places to eat, some of them - horrors! - doing well. Don't worry. You'll always have "Kentwood" - where the "real" people of Kent go.

No John, I just like places with character. People with passion. Too much dumbing down of this and the previous generation have allowed for what could have been a brilliant mecca of interest to all walks of life...into a food court as banal as anything in any mall in the country. The soup place is interesting. The noodle place looks interesting. That, is where it ends for new business. The rest, is all the crap you see on any miles long metro roadway that runs through every city. Box store formats. No character, no fun. No wonder zombies are trending so well these days. The market politics and formula treat the consumers as such. John, unless you see the numbers from businesses, do not state that they are "Doing well". You do understand that Business 101 is: "Never let them see you sweat".

It makes me sad to see places needing to close down, but I don't agree that many of the new places lack character. I work in an office located in Hudson and my department and I travel 15min to come to downtown Kent to eat. We've tried almost every place so far. Fresco is your typical mexican eatery, but the salsa bar is nice and the service is good. Insomnia Cookies makes fantastic cookies. Panini's is a great addition to the area, and Bar-145 (while somewhat overpriced) offers an eclectic menu and interesting atmosphere - I'm looking forward to warmer days there. Pita Pit is great for a quick meal. The Dog Squad (IMO) had sub-par food, but the idea was interesting. I did not get to try Arctic Squirrel, but I heard great things about it. I recently tried Newdle Bar and was underwhelmed and felt the food was overpriced as well. I'm sure many would disagree. Popped! is fantastic and I hope stays strong - we go once a week or so and get a large bag for the office to share. A great city treasure. Add Laziza, Tree City Coffee and others to the regular list of Taco Tonto's, Rays, Water Street Tavern, Cajun Dave's, BW3s, etc and downtown is a fantastic place to go for food. The main problem is the parking. It makes the whole process of going downtown a pain. I hope the parking garage fixes that. I do agree that downtown needs better shops. Trendy is great, but for us regular, boring folks, something standard would be great. I will always try to buy local over big box!

I will miss taking my toddler to Arctic Squirrel after children's programs at Kent Free library for Kid's cones :(

To all of those who left comments in support of these businesses, I thank you (as I am the former owner). Unless you have been in my position, you have no idea. I am proud I was able to offer employment to so many people as long as I did and those people became like family to me. We did the best we could, for as long as we could. I didn't want to leave. It breaks my heart dearly when I have to drive past. There were many tears shed the last few hours we were there. Those not even on the clock came racing up in support of us. It was my dream to pass these on to my children (all three of my daughters worked there). On a happier note, I'm not giving up on the thought of another business. You pick up the pieces and move on. Such is life.

Thank you for operating the Arctic Squirrel, Danielle. The ice cream was some of the best I've had. The store will be missed.

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Shannon you have real issues. I went to Kent State, graduated in 1998 and now call it my home. My husband and I purchased a century home and are restoring/remodeling it as time allows. We have one child who attends Davey Elementary School. We live in the Northeast River Section of Kent and in the summer often walk downtown for dinner. We have dealt with the Craine Avenue Bridge project and have seen Downtown Kent come alive. We eat downtown every week at least once if not twice for dinner. As homeowners and taxpayers we want Kent to continue to grow and thrive, the expansion of downtown is not simply geared towards the college students. Yes, parking is a pain, but that is a sign of progress and growing pains and eventually will be rectified. It is well known that the majority of small business's don't make it, it is not simply because of the location, it is a majority of factors. Unfortunately you have not lived long enough to understand the ins and outs of life, if you spent most of your college years drunk in a bar that explains a lot.

Retail supports materialism. Businesses that get people involved with service and productivity will be better. When the rents come down the artists can have a space for creativity and products for inspiration and motivation will result. The entire community needs consideration, not just what is profitable now. Few of the new businesses are involved in a sustainable culture. The old dusty hardware store facilitated repair and reuse. Now what?

Danielle Urban Arctic Squirrel was a treasure. So sorry to hear it closed and hope the future is bright for you.

John Oliver I applaud you.

Kent native here and some people seem to overly laid the good old days of Kent yore. The truth is that if we remove our nostalgic blinders the good old days weren't all that great. In my entire childhood and into adulthood the old hotel was condemned. A vast rotting tower natives scarcely noticed anymore. That's not something to be proud of.

I think some doom and gloomers are not so much concerned the project will fail - as worried it will succeed.

I wish all the businesses the very best and applaud those who had the dream - and guts - to TRY.

Well said Kymberly!

I was over on Erie this afternoon.

The conspiracy continues.... City and university probably paying and bussing in all the people I saw, walking, shopping and eating. I didn't get a chance to check but I'm sure all the shopping bags and coffee cups were empty-Like "Pleasantville" Kent style.