Concur with Endo, and a big plus-1 on the landlord issue. You have Don Bender's group (run currently by Scott Pendergast) which does a pretty good job at keeping reasonable rates and staying engaged in the Village (you can frequently see Scott puttering around in front of their storefronts, cleaning up and making even the public ROW look good). Most of the rest, on the other hand, are just holding for a revenue flow, with little interest in improvements or engagement.
That said, I think the saying what we want DOES make a difference, but only WHEN an entrepreneur is willing to listen. Holy Taco and the Midway are cases in point; I might toss the Graveyard in there too, and Urban Cannibals is very much tied into the community. The successful places seem to make a good bit of effort, one way or another, which I think reflects the fact that they are indeed listening.
