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Eastown retail/restaurant changeups

suydam

By suydam
in Grand Rapids

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suydam Hamlet

suydam

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There are lots of problems, to be sure, and lots that could be done. But new or cleaner sidewalks aren't going to magically bring high-ticket, high-profit retail like Bill and Paul's Sporting Goods back to its former location on Wealthy Street. The older retail districts on the Southeast side, Eastown, Boston Square, etc. have simply lost the base of customers affluent enough to support the kind of retail that pays the rent month after month. The neighborhood between Boston Square and Eastown was once filled with families that had the disposable income to use Eastown for all kinds of spending on goods and services...shop for (new) furniture, buy paint and hardware, have your car serviced, get your groceries from a real grocery store, see a movie and visit the hobby shop. That money is gone. Got in its car and drove to Caledonia. No real money. No real retail.
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markrumsey Unincorporated Area

markrumsey

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There is some misperception on where the money is at. Disposable income is one thing but there are a great deal of expenditures that fall outside of that. People buy stuff regardless of income level. There is money right here that could be spent right here.

Comparing one neighborhood or business area to another is also not a very beneficial tactic. As far as a

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concretepoem Whistle-Stop

concretepoem

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Comparing one neighborhood or business area to another is also not a very beneficial tactic.

I'm pretty certain the people in charge of planning the retail expansion for companies like the Gap, Jamba Juice, Starbucks, Verizon, Kinkos, Apple Store, etc do exactly those kinds of comparisons, and find them very beneficial.

As far as a
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shopgirl Unincorporated Area

shopgirl

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Why then is East Hills thriving growing?

Same through street (Lake Dr.)...

Same urban challenges (suburban expansion)...

East Hills is actually further from plenty of disposable income in East GR (which is immediately adjacent to Eastown).

I think blaming Eastown's retail woes on subruban flight is a cop-out. My house (in East GR) is less than a mile from Wolfgang's. I drive through Eastown several times a day.

Oh, and my other idea for a store: Martha's Vineyard (or something like it) should open a second location in the old liquor shop adjacent to Eastown Ice Cream (it's been boarded up since I moved to GR 3 years ago). I detour to Martha's on my way home from work. I'd jump at the chance to just stop in Eastown and pick up the goods. Smitty's has a great beer selection but Martha's has everything else that Smitty's lacks (food, snacks, good wine, cheesecakes).

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NEEnder Unincorporated Area

NEEnder

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Toss out some ideas for those empty storefronts, Urban Planeteers: (no nail salons or cell phone stores, please!)

I lived in Eastown in the early 1980's when it was "the place to be" and reading all your comments made me remember how much I loved the Bijou Theater, and the old Intersection, and the Eastown Saloon, and the Eastown Deli, and .....ah sweet memory. But I digress, my suggestion for a great business in Eastown would be either Kingmas or a Trader Joe's. Kingma's once had a location on the more southern part of the city and there must be a lot of people who miss that. Kingmas now has an extensive beer section too. Horock's is nice but it's quite a drive for those who are trying to be energy minded. I have been to Trader Joes in Ann Arbor and would LOVE to have one of those accessible. They have a place on their website where you can vote to get one in your city so maybe if we all worked together??????

It would be nice if people had a place they could stop by on their way to and from the city to get some real food to take home.

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jas49503 Hamlet

jas49503

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High rents partially explain empty store fronts, but the bigger issue is that retailing simply ain't what it used to be. Look at what's inside a Meijer, WalMart, or Target, and you'll see why small-scale, locally-owned retail is all but gone.

We used to be a nation of shopkeepers. But the butcher shops, bike shops, hobby shops, camera shops, fabric shops, hardware stores, paint stores, luggage stores, shoe stores, music stores, book stores etc of 40 years ago have all been aggregated in the big box.

As a society of consumers, we've collectively made our choice: One stop shopping. Why pay more.

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grcitydog Whistle-Stop

grcitydog

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This has been mentioned a lot on here lately, and I have to say I disagree. Personally, I would like to see Spartan or Meijer tap into the Whole Foods-esque market and keep the money in West Michigan. Both stores have increased their focuses on organic and fresh foods lately, so I think it's a real possibility (the vendors are there). Have you been in the remodeled Cascade Meijer store lately? Great produce selection!
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PHTPL Unincorporated Area

PHTPL

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Easttown is what it is. Panhandling, filth, drugs, hippies, grunge, punks, goth, and college kids. For the 15 years I've known or lived in the area it hasn't changed, but I have. As I think most of the people commenting on this forum have.

Yes, pockets of town like Cherry St. and Fulton and Diamond are great because they're the types of places WE like to visit. Because we don't decorate our homes and apartments with hand me down couches, or tapestry that double as a windown curtain. It's probably been 10years plus, since many of us on the forum could show up at work in a tye die shirt. And let's face it. Our stomachs can't handle an Ultradog or Mexican food at 2a.m. like when we were younger.

Easttown is what it is....but we no longer are.

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suydam Hamlet

suydam

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Easttown is what it is. Panhandling, filth, drugs, hippies, grunge, punks, goth, and college kids. For the 15 years I've known or lived in the area it hasn't changed, but I have. As I think most of the people commenting on this forum have.

Yes, pockets of town like Cherry St. and Fulton and Diamond are great because they're the types of places WE like to visit. Because we don't decorate our homes and apartments with hand me down couches, or tapestry that double as a windown curtain. It's probably been 10years plus, since many of us on the forum could show up at work in a tye die shirt. And let's face it. Our stomachs can't handle an Ultradog or Mexican food at 2a.m. like when we were younger.

Easttown is what it is....but we no longer are.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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Easttown is what it is. Panhandling, filth, drugs, hippies, grunge, punks, goth, and college kids. For the 15 years I've known or lived in the area it hasn't changed, but I have. As I think most of the people commenting on this forum have.

Yes, pockets of town like Cherry St. and Fulton and Diamond are great because they're the types of places WE like to visit. Because we don't decorate our homes and apartments with hand me down couches, or tapestry that double as a windown curtain. It's probably been 10years plus, since many of us on the forum could show up at work in a tye die shirt. And let's face it. Our stomachs can't handle an Ultradog or Mexican food at 2a.m. like when we were younger.

Easttown is what it is....but we no longer are.

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PHTPL Unincorporated Area

PHTPL

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The funny thing is, nowhere in my reply did I mention race. A) because I believe race has nothing to do with the ills of Easttown and B) I'm not white. I'm educated, hard working, and understand the value of my dollar. Because of this, I choose to spend my dollars elsewhere....outside of Easttown. I love Easttown and would love to see it return to its former glory, but plane and simple, its current formula doesn't work. You can argue The Intersection needed a bigger venue, but that doesn't explain why the current decor went upscale.

For example, when I walk into Mulligan's, in my opinion WAS one of the best bars in Grand Rapids, I'm greeted with a wall of smoke, carpet that makes garbage smell good, and people full of attitudes (could party explain the fights there). 10 years ago (and longer but not wanting to date myself too much), you could walk into Mulligans and the scene would likely resemble what you now find downtown. Diversity. The business guy, sitting next to the college guy, sitting next to the out of towner, sitting next to an artist, etc.

Drive through Easttown in the middle of the day and what do you see? A bunch of loitering, people sitting on the curb smoking right outside a store front. As soon as you get out of your car, someone, coincindentally, happens to walk around the corner and needs a dollar because their wife is in labor and they need money to get back down to Kalamazoon. Which begs the question, how'd you plan on getting home even if she wasn't in labor? Now, if I am a business owner looking for retail space, tell me why I would want to set up shop in this environment?

I love Easttown and would love to see it return to its former glory, but its current formula doesn't work.

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