Hah, this sounds very close to my neighborhood, but there's not much to romanticize about my neighborhood. It used to be known for antiques, but the only antique shops that remain are dust buckets. There's a used car lot and a barbershop or hair salon on almost every block. The latest trend is discount cell phone (pay all your bills here!) stores. Plus, tons of empty storefronts. I don't think you can make an argument for my neighborhood having any kind of character.
We had a yoga studio in my building that failed within a year (it's now a hair braiding salon). There was a graphic design/t-shirt shop that opened, but is now a cell phone store. The quirky hipster art gallery space (which opened in an antique/architectural salvage place that moved out of the neighborhood) is still going, but the vintage clothing shop and artisanal chili store next to it didn't last long. (Now they're opening an artisanal breakfast shop in the chili place... but it's being opened by a chef with 2 successful restaurants, so it might have a chance. I'm still not paying $8 for red velvet pancakes or whatever they come up with.) Oh, and a micro-brewpub, which I am actually excited about. And we do have some architects and graphic designers moving into the neighborhood.
In my neighborhood's case, when there are so many buildings and storefronts sitting empty, you can't complain about any tenant moving in, be it the next MetroPCS dealer or another yoga studio. I just wish there was some middle ground between blight and pretentiousness.