In February, we told you about the new Odd Fellows Cafe, located at 1201 Spruce St., in the Odd Fellows Building. So you can imagine our surprise when we walked by the cafe over the weekend, and noticed that the name was changed to YOLO, or ”You Only Live Once.” It seems that Betty Ortiz, formerly of Spruce Street Espresso and one of the original partners in Odd Fellows, is no longer involved in the business  and had nothing to do with the name change. Regardless of how the name represents the business, one can’t help but wonder if part of the branding effort was an attempt to appear similar to the Love Park sculpture.

Back in Feb.

Oy

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YOLO sits on the corner of 12th and Spruce Street, directly across…

Last week, we teased about the upcoming development at the vast lot on the southeast corner of 17th and Carpenter Sts., promising an update after the SOSNA meeting. We go to lots of community meetings all over town and there’s a pretty regular pattern to presentations for large projects like this one. Developer presents, community grills, developer sweats, architect swoops in, community grills, lawyer interjects, near neighbors shout, police arrive, riot ensues, etc etc etc. While last night was only an informational session and the developers won’t actually be seeking community support for variances for several months, it was easily one of the most pleasant presentations we’ve ever experienced.

Current view of the site

Gushing Zoning Committee members. Stoked neighbors. Other developers heaping praise on the project. A couple of jokes. A typically unsatisfied neighbor who seemed…