Mobee’s Music World, Pie in the Sky, EG Photography, Anime Crash. I’d bet most of these names are unfamiliar to you. Just a few decades ago, however, Brown students walked past these stores every day. In 2000, Thayer Street was filled with an eclectic mix of locally-owned businesses: vinyl and CD shops, jewelry boutiques, video game retailers and vintage accessory stores. It also was home to a few big name brands — Gap, CVS and Dunkin’, to name a few — but overall, Thayer was unique. You could only find this specific retail ecosystem in Providence, Rhode Island.
Thayer is different now. Only 11 stores that were there in 2000 exist today. The majority have been replaced by grab-and-go restaurants and large chains such as Chipotle, Shake Shack, Insomnia Cookies, Ben & Jerry’s and Caffe Nero. As a result, Thayer has more of a corporate vibe, making the street feel less connected to Brown’s institutional identity. Preserving what’s left requires intentional choices from the people who use the street every day. It’s on us to support Thayer’s longstanding local businesses before they disappear too.
On a global scale, local retailers have been driven out of business — and Thayer is no different. The rise of online shopping has hurt brick-and-mortar retailers who cannot compete with the ease and accessibility of online shopping. In fact, over the past decade, Americans now frequent in-person stores 62% less than they used to which is paired with a 111% rise in online shopping. The next time you buy something online, consider checking out Thayer Street first.
The shift away from locally-owned, independent retail stores is unusually pronounced in Providence. Rising rent has made it particularly difficult for local shops to survive. In just the last five years, the median rent in Providence has risen nearly 40%. While these numbers aren’t specific to commercial properties, they are indicative of a crisis of affordability. Only large chains with nationwide networks can withstand these prices. As a result, Thayer’s local stores have wilted and chains have flourished.
Thayer is, in many ways, an extension of Brown’s campus. It plays a defining role in the University’s culture and the experience of its students. Its central location means that traveling from one end of the campus to the other often involves walking on Thayer. A large portion of Brown’s campus is even located directly on the street — the Sciences Library, the Brown Bookstore, Vartan-Gregorian Quad and the New Pembroke dorms all are located on Thayer. The result is that Thayer functions as a common place where student life spills off campus into the city.
As Thayer has come to resemble any other street in America, we’ve lost the sense of community that comes from having a vibrant street that acts as such a common place. Chains are convenient, but they’re practically interchangeable. A street filled with unique businesses gives students a common culture: the “our spot” effect, the small rituals, the spontaneous conversations, the feeling that this place is specific to Brown. In this way, the quirkiness of Thayer has long been a sort of tradition for the University — one that’s been slowly fading.
Pie in the Sky, a jewelry store that was on Thayer for nearly 27 years, used to hang a sign that said “Keep Thayer Weird.” Unfortunately, some of Thayer’s weirdness faded when the business — and its funky counterparts — closed in 2020. We cannot time travel back to an era in which Thayer was filled with all types of independent shops and stores. However, we can do our part to support local businesses in the Providence community. As Brown students, we make up a large portion of Thayer’s most consistent customers. We should wield this leverage in a way that supports the small businesses that remain.
And maybe, just maybe, with our increased support, we’ll encourage more small businesses to provide Thayer with the color it deserves. It’s time to make Thayer weird again.
Max Mooney ’29 can be reached at max_mooney@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
