Kress Building

[Towntalk]

That Rite-Aid closed back in the 1990's. It was a great loss for a whole lot of people.

[northside lurker]

There used to be a Rite-Aid in the pink building on the north side of Federal, between Phelps and Hazel. I think it closed at least 10 years ago.

Also, isn't that same space supposed to be where the Rosetta Stone is supposed to open?

I heard there are flyers on campus advertising for employees, so maybe it will open soon.

I've been working downtown for 7 years, and I've never seen that Rit-Aid open.  And yes, I think that is where the Rosetta Stone is supposed to be.

[Janko]

There used to be a Rite-Aid in the pink building on the north side of Federal, between Phelps and Hazel. I think it closed at least 10 years ago.

Also, isn't that same space supposed to be where the Rossetta Stone is supposed to open?

I heard there are flyers on campus advertising for employees, so maybe it will open soon.

[northside lurker]

I couldn't agree with you more about a better mix of businesses.That's been the idea from the start. Now the question is, how do you convince a business man to open up a store downtown in light of the fact that others tried and had to close. A drugstore opened up in the old Phar-mor building as did an office supply. Are they still there?

I could have missed the office supply store in the Phar-Mor building, but when was the drug store in there?  I remember a place across from the elevators that might have sold aspirin, some candy, and maybe a dozen greeting cards.  Was that the place?  I think downtown has changed quite a bit within the last 3-4 years.  That's why there was the sudden uproar about the trees.

Given the number of folks who already live downtown you would think that a Save-A-Lot and Family Dollar would move in to serve the Senior Citizens there since there are three large high rise buildings where they live.

I'm familiar with 2, the YMHA and the International tower, but what/where is the third?  Additionally, Save-A-Lot and Family Dollar are not the type of stores that should be locating downtown.

"Let the market decide.." OK, lets say that we end up with 8 restaurants on every block of the West End which would amount to 24 in the three block area with 4 on each side of the street. How would that help given the fact that judging from the menu's they would all be serving the same variety of food. A sandwitch is a sandwitch ... there's nothing complicated about throwing together a sandwitch.

Why would all these restaurants have the same menu?  If they did, then only the best would stay open, and the rest would leave a usable space behind, ready for the next tenant, when they closed.

Almost all of the restaurants that are already there are little more than classic grills.

Cafe Cimmento, and Overture, fall into this category?

What would be better than for a family to be able to come downtown have a fantastic dinner then take in a show at Powers, Oakland, or the Chevy Center. Now that would be a real draw.

I think a family restaurant downtown would be a great idea.

[Towntalk]

I couldn't agree with you more about a better mix of businesses.That's been the idea from the start. Now the question is, how do you convince a business man to open up a store downtown in light of the fact that others tried and had to close. A drugstore opened up in the old Phar-mor building as did an office supply. Are they still there?

Given the number of folks who already live downtown you would think that a Save-A-Lot and Family Dollar would move in to serve the Senior Citizens there since there are three large high rise buildings where they live.

"Let the market decide.." OK, lets say that we end up with 8 restaurants on every block of the West End which would amount to 24 in the three block area with 4 on each side of the street. How would that help given the fact that judging from the menu's they would all be serving the same variety of food. A sandwitch is a sandwitch ... there's nothing complicated about throwing together a sandwitch.

Almost all of the restaurants that are already there are little more than classic grills. Now if a real restaurant were to open up that put out a good product like a full course dinner put together by a Master Chef then that would be a whole new matter that would be welcomed with open arms. Fry Chef's are a dime a dozen.

What would be better than for a family to be able to come downtown have a fantastic dinner then take in a show at Powers, Oakland, or the Chevy Center. Now that would be a real draw.

When I go out to eat, I want a meal that I couldn't prepare at home.

[Janko]

why not let the market decide?

I for one am happy that all of these people are taking chances. While I hope that they all succeed, if one or two fail, at least the property will be renovated for the next person.

Also, one line of thought in this thread says that there isn't enough patrons to go around. point taken.

But another theory that needs to be considered by all of you is agglomeration. Having multiple eateries in one places incourages more people to come, thus increasing the benefits for everyone. I think this is the basic permise behind route 224 and the mall. You go to one place, and you have various choices.

Now we need other services such as grocery stores, dry cleaners, a wine shop, a drug store, etc, to complement what is already there.

[Mary]

A side note here is that the more money a person/family makes the more they eat out. This has been shown again and again with market research. And if your buying an 80,000 condo you are not hurting. However i agree that downtown may have enough eateries.

[Towntalk]

Using hard numbers, just how many people would these "new" apartments hold? As Jay has said, the restaurants that are already downtown are not exactly drawing in large crowds on a consistent basis. Where do you reach the saturation point? Do you seriously think that a person buying an $80,000 condo downtown is going to eat out as opposed to eating in on a regular basis? If these folks are going to eat out even twice a day, why then have a kitchen in the condos?

Eating out is certainly not a necessity for anyone who buys a downtown condo. Even if they can't cook up their own meals from scratch, there are plenty of choices of good frozen foods that can be popped into a microwave to make up a very good meal that are available. We've come a long way from the days of the TV dinner that offered few varieties.

I know that in my own case I can throw together a full  5 course dinner that would rival anything that I could get at most restaurants from my freezer and frig and I'm no chef.

With all the restaurants in the suburbs what percentage are take outs such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and how many are there that offer a wide variety of meals such as Blackstone Gourmet or Alberini's?

[northside lurker]

To me, it seems as if the eatery aspect of the projects seem like afterthoughts.  It sounds like they want to turn the first floor of the Kress building into a place to hold meetings/gatherings, not a restaurant.  The first floor of Silver's would be turned into a gallery first.

If any of the residential projects would ever move forward, I think there would be plenty of business for existing and new restaurants/eateries downtown.

[jay]

Do we really need another downtown eatery at this time?  In my opinion, the existing restaurants need more customers.

[Towntalk]

According to today's Vindicator, we might be seeing something done with the old Kress building, but I'm taking a wait and see on this project remembering what didn't happen with the old Paramount theater. There are too many ifs for my taste.

http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/290128556505359.php

Also in that same article is news that a long time Men's clothing store is looking at going out of business.

Pretty soon all we will have along Federal Street is restaurants a couple of banks court houses and a theater.