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Occupy Carbondale makes plans inside SARAH SCHNEIDER Daily Egyptian As part of their non-violent action, almost 40 supporters associated with Occupy Carbondale held a demonstration Thursday outside of the Senator Paul Simon Federal Building in Carbondale. To mark the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street — a movement to end the corruption of democracy — groups across the country held demonstrations, many of which shut down rush-hour traffic in major cities. People of the Occupy Wall Street movement have protested in New York City's financial district since Sept. 17. The Carbondale demonstration at the federal building was the first since the group ended the roundthe-clock occupation of the area outside Quigley Hall. Supporters were at the site for a month before they moved inside to the Big Muddy Independent Media Center on Washington Street Saturday because of colder weather. Chris Klarer, a Carbondale
STEVE MATZKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Chris Malroy of Marion listens to a proposal Wednesday at the Occupy Carbondale headquarters at the Big Muddy Independent resident, said he wants to make sure the movement continues and demonstrations are used progressively rather than as a free
Media Center. Supporters moved the protest inside after a month at the previous site outside Quigley Hall on Highway 51 because of cold weather.
forum where people speak their minds. He said the concerns voiced during the demonstration should have direction and result in action.
When the group was outside it met twice a day for general assembly, but since the move they have met twice weekly.
A general assembly meeting Wednesday was held in a small room with a wet cement floor, a leaking ceiling and blankets and mattresses strewn throughout the room. As some supporters painted signs for Thursday’s demonstration, others discussed proposals for the future of the group. Nick Smaligo, a graduate student in philosophy from Trumbull, Conn., said the space will work well for different people to get together. He said one of the group's objectives is to support other community activist groups. Occupy supporters were in solidarity with the faculty who went on strike for a week and have also marched with members of the Peace Coalition of southern Illinois — a group that has stood at Town Square every Saturday for an hour since 2001 to advocate peace and solutions to end war. According to the Occupy Carbondale website, the group wants to bring democracy to Carbondale and southern Illinois. Please see OCCUPY | 3
New restaurants eat up downtown vacancies Eating is a recession-proof pastime ELI MILEUR Daily Egyptian Restaurants remain a growing business in downtown Carbondale despite hard economic times. Recently-opened eateries along and near the Strip include Cristaudo’s Bakery & Catering, Kelly’s Irish Boxty House, Blend Tea & Crepe, and Mo Wallace BBQ and More. Evelyn’s, a soul food restaurant, is also on the way. “We get new businesses every year in downtown and throughout Carbondale, but right now we have an infusion of a lot of restaurants,� said Meghan Cole, executive director of Carbondale Main Street. Main Street now has 41 restaurants under its umbrella, she said. The food industry offers fairly cheap entertainment, which is especially attractive during a recession, she said. With recent business openings, downtown has few vacancies, said Kevin Baity, director of development services for the city. He said it’s good to have a few open spots because people frequently inquire about available space. “I could point to you times
when we had eight or 10 vacant spaces, and it was a matter of ‘Man, everybody’s leaving, what can we do to get them back in?’ but the fact that we have very few vacancies right now is a very positive thing and people are seeing the downtown area as a very viable place to do business,� he said. Cole said there’s a popular perception of an empty downtown despite few vacancies, which she said is because small, independent businesses take up small spaces. With the reopening of the Varsity Theater and the relocation of Pagliai’s Pizza, two large vacancies were filled, she said, and the trend continued with the recent opening of new restaurants. However, she said the new restaurants didn’t come out of nowhere. “It’s not like these things pop up overnight,� she said. “These things are in the works for a long time.� Kelly Conover, owner of Kelly’s Irish Boxty House, said he spent two months remodeling his location, formerly the site of Gumby’s Pizza. He said he opened his doors Saturday.
PAT SUTPHIN | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Ming Wei Huang prepares crepes Tuesday at his serves customers daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. restaurant, Blend Tea and Crepe, in Carbondale. Four new restaurants have opened on the strip The restaurant has been open for two weeks and recently, with a fifth one on the way. The boxty is a traditional including everything from Greek He said so far he’s relied on word of mouth to bring in Irish dish, also known as a potato to Chinese. customers, but is working on pancake. The pancake is then “What doesn’t taste good advertising, and hopes to make folded over with an inside filling inside a big, old, buttery French a splash next summer with a like a crepe. fry?� he said. Guinness World Record attempt Conover said he offers for the biggest boxty ever. many ethnic twists on the dish, Please see MAIN STREET | 3