Michael So, owner of the Lakeside Cafe near Lake Kittamaqundi, hopes a developer's plan to extend a wide pathway from the Columbia mall to the lakefront will eventually bring more customers to his business and allow him to expand his evening hours.

So, 49, of Pikesville, who has owned the Lakeside Cafe for three years, said he hoped the proposed pathway -- a sloping walkway that zig-zags through gardens and is dubbed the "Spanish Steps" -- would cause his business to flourish by connecting the lakefront with shops at the mall.

"If there will be more shops, then it will be great," he said.

So was reacting to news that leaders of Columbia developer General Growth Properties Inc. had this week unveiled a 30-year master plan to redevelop downtown Columbia. That plan includes pathways linking the mall to the lakefront and Merriweather Post Pavilion and an extension of retail shopping at a "Market Square" outside the mall.

So said his coffee shop currently stays open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. but that he would consider expanding his business hours later into the evening if he had more customers late at night.

"Basically, I don't have much of evening traffic but hopefully (the new pathway) will bring people in the evening," he said.

When told that General Growth would consider adding shops along the "Spanish Steps," So said that the businesses could support one another with shared customer traffic.

So also expressed hope that if and when the "Spanish Steps" are developed for retail shopping that the area would not be inundated with coffee shops.

"Hopefully they won't be putting in more coffee shops, but that's out of my hands," he said.

E-mail Mike Santa Rita at msantarita@patuxent.com.

user comments (0)