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The State of Downtown Retail


GvilleSC

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What? You didn't follow Izzy's (Grey's Anatomy) lead and pose half naked to pay your way through med school? hysterical.gif

Thanks for clarifying that Izzy is a Grey's Anatomy character. I am one of a handful of people in my class who DOESN'T watch it religiously. It is a good show, though!

Follow my thinking here...

Tea is holistic, good for the internal organs......you'll be Dr.Greenville (the internist)......you buy the spot and set up your practice in the space with a healthy teabar in front. I'd say that's a win/win. :thumbsup::thumbsup: Medical retail....it's a trend! :)

I like it! I think patients would appreciate the relaxing atmosphere. They could even enjoy tea while they wait in the waiting room!

How would you like to be an investor? ;)

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I was thinking something like a drug store would do well in the Bookends or along Washington Street somewhere. The place next to Sticky Finger's where Charles-Schwab is now would be a great location. Its near a parking garage and residential units, with more planned. Its in downtown, but not on Main Street, and I think that will be key for downtown's future. The city needs to start spreading out from Main Street and getting more street level retail shops/restuarants on perpendicular streets.

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I think a CVS or Walgreen's at the corner of Main and Washington would do quite well, if it could be included in whatever is developed there. Of course, you'll have just a short walk down McBee to Publix to the pharmacy there, once it's open. I'm sure it'll have a pharmacy. Anyone know for certain if the Publix plans call for one?

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I think a CVS or Walgreen's at the corner of Main and Washington would do quite well, if it could be included in whatever is developed there. Of course, you'll have just a short walk down McBee to Publix to the pharmacy there, once it's open. I'm sure it'll have a pharmacy. Anyone know for certain if the Publix plans call for one?

The only thing is a lot of drug stores today are designed with a drive-thru. That may or may not be a big deal in where a company decides to locate but often when we fill perscriptions they usually say it will be an hour so we will drop something off and go somewhere else like the grocery store which is probably why grocery stores and Wal-Marts have pharmacies in them. Not having a drive through may increase foot traffic into other stores downtown. I would like to see something move into the old Woolworth's. If they did a Walgreens it would keep the "W". I know that sounds silly but replace one W drugstore with a new W drugstore might connect well in people's minds especially the greenville old timers. I sure wish they would bring back a lunch counter in a drug store. The last drug store I remember with a lunch counter was the Eckerds at McAlistar Square.

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I defiantly like the idea of a downtown drugstore with a lunch counter. There is one still open in downtown Cary, NC (Suburb of Raleigh) and it still does quite well. There is no reason that one couldn't thrive in a good location downtown. Although, there is a good chance there will be a pharmacy in the Publix at McBee Station.

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With Poinsett Corners, the condos at Downtown Baptist, Riverplaces residences, and the new City Hall plaza development probably including residential, I think that an urban CVS or Walgreens would do well at the corner of River Street and Broad Street. Of course it would be a part of a larger building hopefully that would atleast be as tall as Poinsett Corners to offer a neat experience at that intersection... It seems like a good undeveloped piece of land for such use.

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I went into the new Carolina Chocolates the other day. My experience was, well, alright...that's all I can really say. They didn't even have an assortment of gourmet truffles, for crying out loud. It's definitely not up to snuff with some of the better chcolate shops that I've seen and the store itself is just akward.

I think it'd be better if the store front area were not so large and if the display counter faced the store front and closed off the patron from getting into the back....in other words, present your chocolates, not your store...but this place is 90% store and 10% chocolate. I guess DeBrand and the Chocolate Fetish and the like have spoiled me. I don't look for this shop to remain open for very long, but I hope they can improve and perhaps thrive, none the less.

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How is it 90% store and only 10% chocolate. You didn't walk into the wrong store did you? Maybe Mast General store by accident? :lol:

It's this big huge empty (for the most part) space with a counter displaying some chocolate. That's how. I'd rather walk in, see a counter displaying chocolate across the front of the place and a wall or curtain behind the counter and not see so much more, if any, of the store. That's just me. Instead, I kept getting distracted by how large, echoing, and empty the place was. Of course, I went in seeking truffles and there were none, so I was bummed. I had to settle for cashew bark, instead.

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So, their paying a ton of rent just to waste like 3/4 of space? That's odd. I like that chocolate shop down at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, even though I can't remember the name of it or if they're still open. They would have chocolates left and right. I also like the one in Haywood Mall near the foodcourt. I also don't know if that one is still open either.

Edited by g-man430
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So, their paying a ton of rent just to waste like 3/4 of space? That's odd. I like that chocolate shop down at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, even though I can't remember the name of it or if they're still open. They would have chocolates left and right. I also like the one in Haywood Mall near the foodcourt. I also don't know if that one is still open either.

Haywood Mall does have the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, up stairs on the Dillard's wing, for any fans of their stuff. It's pretty good.

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I was Eden yesterday and talked to the girl behind the counter. I thought they were just planning to remodel. Turns out they are closing the doors in two weeks. I also get the Feeling that Paris Cafe is struggling, and it that goes under then I could not blame it on the business model.

The amount of Vacant Retail on those two blocks of North Main is eye popping and depressing.

We got trouble, right here in River City!

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I was Eden yesterday and talked to the girl behind the counter. I thought they were just planning to remodel. Turns out they are closing the doors in two weeks. I also get the Feeling that Paris Cafe is struggling, and it that goes under then I could not blame it on the business model.

The amount of Vacant Retail on those two blocks of North Main is eye popping and depressing.

We got trouble, right here in River City!

Eden's signs said they were re-opening. That's a bummer that they're closing. :cry: I agree - I took a walk along North Main on Saturday and was floored by how many vacant store fronts there were. I had at least taken solace in the fact that Eden said they were going to re-open and now that's even gone. All the pedestrian traffic is heading to the West End.

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Everyone seems to be so shocked by the closings downtown in the last couple of month (or two). I am not. I think that there are a couple factors that contribute to this:

1. Everybody that has closed has been a "specialty retailer." Bentley's, Sunshine, Eden, O-Cha, Earshot. Each of these places caters to a very narrow segment of shoppers and tourists. A store like Mast General does not pigeonhole itself by just selling one specific group of products. Everyone wants to see a big bookstore or drugstore downtown, and I think that these places would thrive, as they are not limiting themselves to one very specific group that may or may not happen to stroll by while downtown. I would rather see an independent bookstore (the Open Book?) make a run at doing a really first class B&N/Borders type deal with coffee, etc., but I doubt that will happen.

2. It's less than a month after Christmas. It's the best time to get out of retail, as it's all uphill from here for the rest of the year.

Please add to this list. It should come as no surprise that every retailer cannot be successful downtown. Let's try to look at the reasons and figure out a pattern for the closings that makes sense. There must be quite a few common factors.

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I heard direct from the source that Eden's owner, owns the building and taxes have gone up to the point that, while there is a profit being made, it's a slim one. That said, the last I heard, about three weeks ago (and I made mention in this thread without naming Edens) was that they will leave North Main but stay in business and re-open in another area close to downtown.

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