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Downtown Raleigh retail updates


Beth Y

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Rumors now explained....this from Fireflys owner....

Hello Loyal Customers, I am sure that most of you have heard the rumors about Firefly, moving or closing or ???? Well, the time has come. Firefly is moving to.... the virtual world. At least for the time being, I'll be selling shoes on my website only. I may, at some point, decide to reopen the real store. But for now I will be closing the retail space on Glenwood.

So, I am going to be having a Huge Sale starting tomorrow. Shoes and clothes that are not on consignment will be reduced between 25 and 75%. Even the new merchandise will be marked down, for in-store purchases only. So you could get a really great deal on a brand new item. We just got some new Campers in on Friday!

Plus, I will be selling most of the furniture and fixtures. Chairs, tables, shelves, even our cool counter bar will all be on sale. So if there is something you have admired, it could be yours!

The last day of our sale will be Sunday so don't delay. Also, if you have a gift certificate or know someone who does, be sure to use it before Sunday.

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. Firefly was a huge success in many ways and I owe it all to my fabulous customers. Although I will miss seeing you all in the store, I am sure I will run into most of you out and about. Raleigh is, afterall, still a pretty small town.

Ciao for now. Ashley

Ashley Worley

owner

Firefly

605 Glenwood Ave

Raleigh, NC 27603

919-821-4536

I thought Firefly was a perfect piece regarding where downtown retail should be heading, but I am sure high rent and the speciality nature of the store and lack of many of the just right type of clientele finally buried it. If only say, Firefly, Father and Sons, the old Crooked Beat (was beneath Rockford), and the shoe place that was near where Mosaic is now were in a strip together then you would have a downtown shopping area of sorts. Downtown will struggle with this lack of clustered shopping....even Seaboard does not have a ton of different places....Firefly will be missed....

Edited by Jones133
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I'd add Wag, the dog store that is now somewhere in North Raleigh, the Tibet store that used to be near Hard Times but is now in Triangle Town Center's outdoor section, Cherry before they moved to Cameron Village (though they may have needed more space than a downtown location could provide?) and the Hallmark store on F Street.

There is an "alternative/casual" office furniture store in the old Cherry location now, but it is not the type of retail that draws shoppers. It is sad that Shaw's adjacent off-campus stores seems to begin and end with McDonalds, with a couple of barber shops thrown in for good measure.

It sounds like Firefly is doing ok as an etailer, but not in the Glenwood location. Maybe people even around here are buying more online than in person?

F Street was "malled" to create a shopping district -- there was a Radio Shack where F Street Tavern is now, a Hardees in the Big Easy's location, Briggs Hardware where the city museum is, etc.

There is some retail holding on in the Wilmington corridor, but some of it has a "fell off a truck" feel. Hopefully the Hargett/Wilmington intersection will start to attract retail to compliment the bar/restaurant base built by Morning Times, Times Bar, Riveara, Dos Taquitos Centro, etc. And/or Hamiltin Drugs and/or CVS will stay open past 6 on weekdays and 1 on Saturdays.

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Good adds to the list. I am not entirely sure of myself here but I keep thinking that a Walgreens and a Blockbuster in the Edison block would get that first real recognizable non-restaurant/bar movement started. Those two places work well in new buildings (prefer them even), would fit well near the new PE II spaces in atmosphere, would be in the middle of a lot of housing not well served by either type of store, both have late hours (normally), and are far enough from Cameron Vilage to be the best option for that housing. I think we are pretty well stocked on restaurants for the time being if they could only be marketed well to conventioners.

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I've heard a rumor of a small grocery store at the corner of Wilmington and Martin. EDIT: It's on the block between where Sonny's used to be and slims.

It will be run by the City Mart people and sell beer and wine along with staples, opening before November 1st. Like anything in downtown who knows - hell, it could turn out to be as ghetto as City Mart and just be a glorified convenience store, but who knows.

Edited by Captain Awesome
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I am surprised the upstairs does not have seating like Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen did....

The owners said they wanted to have more seating upstairs but regulations required an emergency exit upstairs, which they are apparently unable to provide.

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The owners said they wanted to have more seating upstairs but regulations required an emergency exit upstairs, which they are apparently unable to provide.

Really? :huh: Morning Times is pretty new and I don't recall an emergency exit upstairs. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

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I noticed the Lady's Shop (Empire) at the SW corner of Wilmington & Hargett is now apparently leased, and Heilig-Levine is looking better all the time... fresh coat of red paint and the barber pole is up at the Odd Fellows Bldg. By next year, that little intersection will be one of the better pedestrian-friendly retail nodes outside of Glenwood South, and the sort of historic heart of town.

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Saw this in the N&O today: http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/738619.html

Both the city and the Alliance are realizing you can't revitalize downtown on food & drink alone. Glad they're going to move their focus and try to get more retail. :thumbsup:

But, as we've said in this thread, you can't locate retail just anywhere downtown. A good restaurant or nightclub can survive on its own...it becomes a destination itself. But most shopping/retail establishments depend on browsing and window-shopping. If they're not clustered, they can't get that "walk through" foot traffic.

Let's just hope the Alliance and the city both realize this!

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I agree. More restaurants are nice but downtown needs a variety of places. I really think the Wilmington corridor from Davie to Morgan St. can be a retail strip (it has been mentioned before on this thread, I think). Let's hope more original shops come up rather then chains that are already at the mall.

There are already retail stores through that corridor.

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I went for a bike ride on Monday night and notice some changes, but nothing dramatic.

- The NE Hargett/Wilmington corner (and former Ladies Shop space) is fully leased, but there are no signs as to the future tenants.

- The downtown Warji space (SE Hargett/Salsibury) doesn't look too changed.

- Street level space above Alibi Bar has paper up on windows. Is it still used as the Martin Street events center? Could Kings be relocating there?

- The former China Court space (NE Martin/Salisbury) has paper up and some signs of work.

- The street level space in the Lawyer's Building (100 block of east side of F street ) is for lease. Can't tell if they are going to keep it as a lawyer's space or possibly retail.

- Bickett Gallery at the Hudson still has art work on display.

- Street level space is open/availble in PE I on the F Street side.

- The Poole's Diner space still has "on vacation" paper up. Looks like some work has been done, and the bar/counter is still intact.

- Deep South - The Bar is open in the old VIP space on the NW Dawson/Cabarrus corner.

- Hurricane is open on Monday nights, but the other three bars (ess, country bar, dance bar) are not.

- Catch 22 (SE Glenwood/North corner) isn't open but it had some pairs of jeans on a rack and other merchandise.

- Rush/Aura is closed, but another upstairs/downstairs bar pair is taking their place.

- Construction on Solas seems to still be working on the steel.

- "Globe" is in 510 Glenwood, just south of Red Room. It appears to serve food and have a large bar area.

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I think my friends and I are the only people giving The Hurricane business. They were there on Saturday and were the only people in there while they were there. I went there Tuesday night this week and I was the only person in the bar with 2 good looking bar girls. They told me that they have advertised a little, but could probably do better. I asked how late they were going to be open and they said until 2am but if it kept up like it was probably like 10pm or so.

I think their problem is that for a sports bar, it's "too perfect". My roommate and I were talking about it tonight as we're going to go up with some friends tomorrow night for some of their 25 cent wings. The Hurricane is clad with stainless, the tv's are all in perfect locations, the bathroom is almost too fancy if that's believable. The sink in there is one of those nice glass bowls sitting on the counter, something you'd expect in a "fancy" bar/club. I go to a sports bar and assume things to be a bit "manly".

All that said, they just need to advertise more and put up a bigger sign or something. You'd almost never know it was there if you weren't looking for it. Oh well, more 25 cent wings for me.

Anyone interested in having an UrbanPlanet themed sports night and go there and watch a game?

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^^good idea....jojo, can you take this to the meetup thread? I also think its hard for a place off to the side like West Davie is to absorb the opening of three bars all at once. I agree with the too nice part on all the spaces...I went in ess once and for a 100 year old brick building I was hoping for a truer character...I think 5-Star hit it better in there space, though some might think 5-star and Ess are about the same...

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I went in ess once and for a 100 year old brick building I was hoping for a truer character...I think 5-Star hit it better in there space, though some might think 5-star and Ess are about the same...

I agree 100% with you. I would like to see some history tied into these buildings a bit. I mean the old rail freight crane at the entrance is great and all, but carry that theme a bit more inside the buildings. I want someone to step up, take a cabose and put it inside of a building damnit, lol. Now that'd be different.

^_^

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I want someone to step up, take a cabose and put it inside of a building damnit, lol. Now that'd be different.

^_^

Heh...the old Darryl's off University Pkwy in Winston-Salem had that back in the 80s & early 90s. As well as an old double-decker London bus. Both had tables inside for eating in them. As kids, we thought it was a hoot! ^_^

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Heh...the old Darryl's off University Pkwy in Winston-Salem had that back in the 80s & early 90s. As well as an old double-decker London bus. Both had tables inside for eating in them. As kids, we thought it was a hoot! ^_^

See, now that's what I'm talking about. Now throw a plane in the mix and we have a transportation tri-fecta in the works.

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See, now that's what I'm talking about. Now throw a plane in the mix and we have a transportation tri-fecta in the works.

The Double Decker coffee bus in Asheville was for sale for a while......I dunno, rent it out for parties maybe...as for the Depot, This whole look that places like Rush/Aura, Mosquito, and to a degree Rocky Top five at 510 Glenwood have is already dated. Its just too dang clean, and especially so in an old building. I will also throw out the old "Old Bar" space (forgot the new name) as an example of doing it right. A little musty but still passes its health department inspections with an "A". Nanas and Humble Pie manage to keep their vibe intimate but have a cleaner feel than say a Berkley Cafe. Mosaic is very clean but has intimate spaces so it attracts people for that reason. Ess, and the other three don't get the intimate points either. Can a sports bar get that? Sure, I think Players Retreat does. Anyway, my personal opinions don't matter in the larger scheme most likely but I think that kind of gets to where the struggles are originating from anyway....

Edited by Jones133
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