Broadway needs variety — not elitism

This attitude is myopic. The reason Reza Razavi, the owner of CK Check Cashing Corp., wants to bring the check cashing store to the area is because he said many of the customers at his San Mateo location are from Burlingame. Many people who visit check-cashing stores have jobs but not a bank account and use the store as a way to cash their payroll check. They may even spend their money on the street before they leave.

Now, Razavi said he is considering pulling his application with the city and moving his business elsewhere because of the public backlash. If that happens, some will cheer. But that speaks to a larger issue of - who decides what is best for Broadway?

Broadway was built on the concept of a neighborhood-serving retail street. So was Burlingame Avenue, which many point to as successful. However, Burlingame Avenue is turning into the equivalent of an outdoor shopping mall and restaurant row. Broadway has the potential to be truer to the original concept.

Check-cashing stores, though somewhat questionable for the high fees they charge, are a legitimate business that serve a legitimate need for a certain portion of the population. There is no evidence check cashing stores draw crime, it may be that sometimes they are placed in questionable areas because no one will allow them in nice ones.

And one look at the crime logs shows there are far more calls to bars and restaurants that serve alcohol than check-cashing stores.

Merchants on Broadway complain that the wrong kind of businesses are coming to the street. They want a high-end deli, a bakery or boutiques.

To get those types of businesses, some of the vacant storefronts needs to be addressed. Once that happens and the street is more vibrant, others may come. Businesses come when there is a need in an area. Not everyone in Burlingame is affluent. In fact, there are many people who take advantage of the city's rental housing on El Camino Real and near the rail line.

To become a thriving and vital neighborhood-serving retail street, Broadway needs a variety of services that will meet local residents' needs. Opposing a check-cashing store for the type of people it may draw stinks of elitism. Good businesses are ones that last, and regrettably, boutiques usually do not.

A check-cashing store might.