Downtown Westfield is known for its delicious food places. Recently, in Westfield there have been many food places opening up. There are lots of new additions including Fizzy Pop, Cookies N’ Cream, Insomnia Cookies, and Broadway Hot Chicken. The most recent store closing has been Claire’s which has been there for over 5 years. Some of these stores stay for years and some fail before they even open.There are lots of mixed opinions on all the recents changes, and they are captured in this article.
Restaurants have been opening and closing so quickly that many people don’t even visit anymore. A 6th grader, Ellie Minno, stated, “Most places that are opening and closing are not good.” and “I don’t really try new places because I don’t think to try them. I enjoy eating what I know I like.” Blake Eastern, another 6th grader at RIS stated “There are too many food places opening and not enough places to shop anymore.” advocating for more diverse options, which seems to be a theme in opinions. 8th graders Maddie Cymbor, Ella Simms, and Emilia Rud stated one of the only new drink places they are excited to visit is Fizzy Pop because they “have never had anything like that in town.” Advocating for less basic restaurants that would constantly change ownership, and expressing the lack of creativity in Westfield downtown. Liam Manahan, an 8th grader said, “constant closing and opening is unnecessary.” Lots of students clearly are not very happy with all the changes and additions.
A town is so special because everyone gets the feeling of being so excited to go to your favorite place to grab food five minutes away. With all the changes, maybe someone’s favorite place was taken away. William Walker, an 8th grader at RIS seems to not be upset about the recent changes. William claimed “Constant opening and closing is no one’s fault! It is not like they control it.” This quote shows the diversity in opinion and the contrasting opinions of mindsets. However, overall results show people are sick and tired of the constant rotations of adding and getting rid of food places. It seems people would rather have more, and better options that are not made around hype of novelty but instead quality of the food.
Overall, lots of mixed emotions linger about the constant changes. Some believe it’s no one’s fault, while others remain bothered and annoyed by the changes. Westfield is working and trying to satisfy everyone, however sometimes peoples opinions are just too different.