New Hope is Still Cool???

I got two comments on my post about New Hope. Obviously some shop owners were a little disgruntled by my reviews.... Anyway, I'd like to post them, because these people do care about New Hope, and do care about retaining the old hipness of the little funky town. I hope that anyone traveling to New Hope will take these people's advice and maybe stop by their stores...
I still have to say, that despite the great efforts of people like this, New Hope is still being gentrified... I know there are still the funky shops in the "back allys," but the hip vibe and artsy appeal of New Hope should never be shoved into the back alleys.
Thanks for commenting!




Superkind has left a new comment on your post "Travel to New Hope, PA":

Night Owl Vintage clothing is now Night Bird Vintage clothing and is located at 12 West Mechanic St. New Hope. It is owned by the same great hippie dude that has had it for decades.
I own a business in New Hope, and let me tell you it is VERY hard to survive! People would rather buy things at the mall or online. Independently owned businesses everywhere are dying.

Love Saves the Day will refund you your 20 cents when you leave. They charge mostly as a joke because people treat the store as a museum, they want to look but have no interest in actually buying anything. Its pretty hard to make a profit that way!

The rents were too high for the used record store and the used book store. How many $5- alblums do you have to sell to make $2000 a month just for rent, never mind taxes, utilities, employees, etc.
The book store has moved to Trenton.

El Taco Loco has been in New Hope for over 20 years, and I find that it is typical for Tex Mex. Down the street there is an amazing Mexican place called the Blue Tortilla.

Next time ask a local shopkeeper to recommend you to their favorite restaurant! After all since we are here all the time we know the best places :-)

Oftentimes our memories of the past are made golden, and reality doesn't measure up.

New Hope still has funky back allys, and if you go up the side streets there are still cool shops filled with stuff you can't find at the mall. Clearly you missed the mortuary memoribilia and Victorian oddities shop, which is across the street from a funky punk rock shop, a vintage and retro shop, next to a hippie shop and above Night Bird Vintage.

You can thank wealthy developers for building condos and jacking property values. Unfortunately you cannot pass laws saying one kind of person is allowed to buy property or open businesses and another kind of person isn't.

If people want places like New Hope to flourish they have to support them! Otherwise we will all go away and be replaced by super wallmarts and such.

Don't be so quick to write New Hope off! Nothing stays the same after all!
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meshell has left a new comment on your post "Travel to New Hope, PA":

Well..I am sorry you didn't enjoy your visit to New Hope.The economy is hitting us hard here. Obviously, you didn't visit my shop on Mechanic Street called God save the Qweens. Perhaps if you would have walked up to it,you would have enjoyed picking through my shop, filled with awesome rock and roll clothes for infants to adults,vintage toys,collectibles,costuming,punk rock,even beautiful handblown glass by an incredible local glassblower.etc. There is something in my store for everyone. And then, you would have noticed that your famed "boarded up" vintage clothing store had moved to a bigger location right across the street.You also would have noticed an authentic old skool curio shop filled with interesting items from all the way back to the victorian age...also a newly added antique store...a mug shop,a beauty store, a corset shop and much more... so I hope you give New Hope one more chance...don't let 1 bad meal and a 20 cent entrance fee leave an additional bad taste in your mouth...you just need to take the time to shop the side streets...you just never know what you will find...enjoy...
meshell
owner of
god save the qweens
13 w mechanic st
new hope,pa 18938