Five years ago: Bistro New Albany closes.

I've never forgotten when Bistro New Albany closed, or how rotten I felt, although I had forgotten that it came just after Harvest Homecoming.

October 17, 2007: R.I.P.: Bistro New Albany.

It's remarkably easy for people who can do no better than "start up" the occasional rag picker's business or do contracting work without permits to understand how difficult a genuine paradigm shift is to achieve. All of downtown New Albany currently is engaged in that paradigm shift, and it's a work in progress that unfortunately will have its ups and downs. Bistro New Albany's demise is a downer, but within it are seeds of positive developments.

The Windsor was next in the space vacated by Bistro New Albany, to be followed by Habana Blues (in 2010). During the same period of time, there have been at least five occupants of the Bergman Building's retail space (Louis le Francais is the most recent). Connor's Place (at two locations), Studio's, Steinert's and Speakeasy have come and gone. As I've often suggested, combining the restaurant business with downtown revitalization is a wartime scenario, and we have an attrition rate to prove it. But the waves to follow have showed staying power.

And none of them, not one, has anything on David Clancy and what he achieved, facing tremendous obstacles, with bNA from early 2006 through late 2007. He was a pioneer. Thank him when you see him.