5/5 Bob R. 1 year ago on Google
I
briefly
visited
the
Golden
Bear
Center
yesterday
[8-13-2022]
[for
three
minutes
or
so]
so
that
I
would
be
able
to
confirm
that
the
Basil
Thai
Cafe
restaurant
in
that
shopping
center
has
indeed
closed.
I
looked
at
3706
Riverside
Dr.
[at
the
back
of
the
courtyard
of
that
shopping
center]
for
several
seconds,
saw
brown
paper
completely
blocking
the
windows,
and
then
prepared
to
travel
to
my
next
destination.
For
the
past
several
years
[since
having
become
a
"Google
Maps
Local
Guide"],
I
had
been
planning
to
visit
Basil
Thai
Cafe
"during
the
lunch
hour"
because
they
had
reportedly
served
a
lunch
buffet,
Tuesday-Friday,
11:30
a.m.
to
2:00
p.m.;
now,
they
are
permanently
closed.
During
the
1960s
and
the
1970s,
I
would
regularly
visit
the
Golden
Bear
Center;
I
would
often
ride
my
bicycle
there
and
back.
I
recall
that
my
barber
shop
during
that
period
of
time
had
been
in
the
same
location
as
where
Basil
Thai
Cafe
had
been
located
until
they
had
closed.
There
used
to
be
a
Big
Bear
grocery
store
[Big
Bear
later
became
Giant
Eagle]
at
the
south
end
of
the
Golden
Bear
Center.
That
Big
Bear
store
closed
and
then
the
43221
Post
Office
moved
into
that
location
and
had
been
there
for
many
years.
The
43221
Post
Office
closed
earlier
this
year
[2022];
right
now,
all
"43221"
people
are
being
instructed
to
use
the
43220
Post
Office
[which
is
3½
miles
away
from
the
now-closed
43221
Post
Office]
if
they
actually
need
to
visit
a
Post
Office.
I
also
remember
Helen
Hutchley's
Ice
Cream
at
the
northwest
corner
of
that
shopping
center
but
they
have
been
closed
for
several
decades.
The
Golden
Bear
Center
is
reportedly
scheduled
[in
the
near
future]
for
"redevelopment"
[which
means
complete
destruction
of
the
current
buildings
followed
by
the
construction
of
replacement
buildings].
I
wonder
what
will
happen
to
the
large
"Golden
Bear"
statue
that
is
currently
installed
at
that
shopping
center
and
is
clearly
visible
from
Riverside
Drive.
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