Sue, I bought a Cowboy Jazz album at The Beat when I was in high school. Just sayin'. What about business owners banding together to form some kind of rogue city planning committee? The Bookworm is a really wonderful small chain (if I remember correctly), so what if they joined forces with Aric's (if they're still around) and made sure they leased spaces next to each other? And same with little lunch places. Take over the stripmalls! Make them tiny little "downtown" areas!