[sharkfood]

As a Philadelphian, I find this topic amusing. With its 15 foot wide row houses and shallow 50 foot deep lots, Philly simply does not have the floor plans necessary to attract chain retailers outside of Center City. As a result, you can walk down two of our trendiest corridors -- Frankford Ave and East Passyunk -- and it's one interesting independent retailer after another with no national chains in sight. Starbucks does not exist north of Vine Street, despite there being a number of trendy neighborhoods. Every coffee shop in Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Fairmount and Brewerytown is locally based.