Those Empty Westwood Stores

Despite efforts to revitalize Westwood, there remain all of those empty storefronts up and down Westwood Boulevard between campus and Wilshire. Yet there is lots of foot traffic related to the university in Westwood and the proximity of a large student community.

So why the empty stores despite all of those students? The LA Weekly thinks it has the answer:

Living in Westwood is like being trapped in Footloose's Bomont, Georgia.* There are no clubs, no open mics, no student centers, no anything. It's bad. They're even shutting down one of the only two bars students go to with much frequency -- Westwood Brewing Company -- to replace it with the chain The Boiling Crab. The campus tries as it might to offer some sort of relief, but there aren't many opportunities to get too crazy. As a recently-graduated student, I can attest: Our only respite on Thursdays and Fridays was trying desperately to convince the frat kingdom gatekeepers to let us in...

Full story at http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2013/05/ucla_music_scene_westwood_sucks.php

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*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087277/ and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068242/