After last year’s WaPo Best Bet winners turned out to include an un-hip number of national chain stores and discount outlets, the organizers made some changes to the categories. The changes were designed to draw out the local spots and independent retailers that locals cherish. Categories like “Neighborhood Spot” and “Vintage/Thrift Store” were positively begging for an increased hipster presence in the poll.

The 2006 Bets are out, and while peppered with Washington-based establishments, many national chains dominate some categories. Even WaPo’s Going Out Gurus neatly distanced themselves from the Fuddruckers (#2 Burgers) and Chipotles (#3 Takeout) that tarnished the winners’ cool factor; they felt compelled to add a sidebar of “Guru’s Favorite Spots” chock full of locals.

This comes on the heels of the Post’s interesting analysis of the Dupont Circle retail corridor in yesterday’s paper. The imminent departure of the independent Third Day garden store prompted the paper to examine the area’s changed demographics. Once a hotbed of local boutiques and shops, with 61 independent retailers in 1991, chain stores are slowly infiltrating and driving out the smaller stores, which now number 39. Is this trend inevitable? Is the increased presence of a national chain in a neighborhood a sign of stability and economic success? Or a sign of retail stagnation and a lack of urbanity? It’s time again to ask the question: Do you buy Indie?