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Eastown retail/restaurant changeups

suydam

By suydam
in Grand Rapids

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PHTPL Unincorporated Area

PHTPL

Posted
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Well, my apologies for thinking it was a racial reply.

I do think some things that could help retail is refreshing many of the building facades. Many of the buildings have little or tinted windows. As you drive by or sit at the light and look at the store fronts, it gives you the feeling that the business is up to no good.

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Eridony Hamlet

Eridony

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Well, my apologies for thinking it was a racial reply.

I do think some things that could help retail is refreshing many of the building facades. Many of the buildings have little or tinted windows. As you drive by or sit at the light and look at the store fronts, it gives you the feeling that the business is up to no good.

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zenstyle Hamlet

zenstyle

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"what is with the clothing store that covers all of their windows with bars? I would bet their business would improve if people didn't feel like they were walking into a jail cell."

Ah, yes, the newly-expanded New Yorker. While I'm glad that business is so good that they needed a larger store, the bars on the windows are appalling. What a turn-off to pedestrians or drivers passing through that intersection! Someone needs to take the owner aside...

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twoshort Town

twoshort

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Ah, yes, the newly-expanded New Yorker. While I'm glad that business is so good that they needed a larger store, the bars on the windows are appalling. What a turn-off to pedestrians or drivers passing through that intersection! Someone needs to take the owner aside...
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suydam Hamlet

suydam

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"what is with the clothing store that covers all of their windows with bars? I would bet their business would improve if people didn't feel like they were walking into a jail cell."

Ah, yes, the newly-expanded New Yorker. While I'm glad that business is so good that they needed a larger store, the bars on the windows are appalling. What a turn-off to pedestrians or drivers passing through that intersection! Someone needs to take the owner aside...

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pr sc Whistle-Stop

pr sc

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I've got a spot for Trader Joe's . . .

The old D&W on Plainfield near 3 Mile -- where the Secretary of State office is. Trader Joe's is a place people will go out of their way for and TJ's usually doesn't go for high rent areas. Over time it would likely attract other business to the Plainfield strip. I'd prefer it to be nearer to the heart of town, but from what I've seen that's not the usual for Trader Joe's.

A few years ago I asked a Detroit area store manager when they'd come to Grand Rapids and was told that the warehouse that serves Detroit couldn't keep up with the stores it already supplies, so it wouldn't likely happen soon. I wonder if they've expanded warehouse capacity since then.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Rhino6885 Hamlet

Rhino6885

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A new Ethiopian restaurant is in the works for the old Clothing Matters spot--at least I think that's where they're talking about. Looks like Little Africa will have some competition...not that he necessarily needed it. However, the new restaurants' owners perceive GR to be a "cultural Mecca," so maybe I'm wrong...

By the way--they will provide silverware and rice or noodles instead of Injera.

GR Press Article

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  • 1 month later...
PHTPL Unincorporated Area

PHTPL

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That's too bad, I really liked that place. They were an authorized Cannon dealer...they should have started offering digital models to stay competitive like Norman Camera. An example of how much the retail landscape has changed, I brought my Cannon digital camera in here to be sent out for warranty work. Well, supposed warranty work. I had had a few too many drinks and dropped my camera. The lens, which Cannon cameras are notorious for doing, became stuck in the open position. The shop was going to charge $100 to send it in to Cannon just to have looked at, plus $50 for them to send it in (box, paperwork, etc.) which I was more than happy to pay. The only thing they needed was the receipt that I lost.

So I went to Office Max with the camera and its accoutrements to have a copy of my receipt printed up and what do they tell me? If I buy an extended warranty for my camera for $29.00 they'll replace it....he camera I just brought in that was less than a year old. I honestly asked the help person 3 different times to repeat this because it just didn't seem right. But sure enough, it was true. I paid the $29, he comes back with a brand new camera in the box, we exchange it, and I walk away as the happiest customer in the world since I just saved over $100. How can the little guy compete with that? Or why isn't the little guy doing that since they're both authorised dealers?

It'll be interesting to see what happens at the property as I can imagine it's one of the prime realestate spots in Eastown. I'll have to check on the property again to see it's size, but I think a bakery would be great there or something like a Schnitz Deli.

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starrfish Whistle-Stop

starrfish

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The Camera Center closing is a surprise - maybe even to them? Their windows were decorated for Christmas with film reel Christmas trees and such...seems like you wouldn't even bother if you knew you were closing this close to Christmas. On a camera related note - just got my digital Nikon fixed by (local) Peter's Camera Repair at Leonard and Plainfield, next to the fish fry place. He's been around, probably in the exact location for a loong time and he knows his stuff.

*fish

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Eridony Hamlet

Eridony

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Is this really a shock?

The place just has no reason to exist. Few people need the services they offer as camera users aren't using film and are not in need of repair services.

That being said, I will miss this place. They were the only ones, when I was still using a SLR film camera, that actually could develop my film the right way. I also used to spend many days as a kid looking at their telescopes wishing that I could afford the hefty price tag on them.

I wonder if they ever got annoyed with me doing that? :P

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suydam Hamlet

suydam

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It's sad to have an empty storefront, but I could never understand how or why that camera shop was actually in business. It felt more like a museum than a store. Granted, I loved it, but compared to Norman Camera (which appears to be having no trouble competing) it was never even worth stopping in to buy stuff (great for looking though).

Norman routinely beats the price on Best Buy for DSLR stuff, sells that same type of extended warranty that was described above, also stocks used cameras, and does digital and film which is the only way a camera shop is going to survive. Film will be around, yes. So will vinyl records (and for many of the same reasons...there are things the "real" media does you just cannot duplicate digitally). But in GR, we aren't going to have (m)any vinyl-only record shops, or film-only camera shops. Fact-of-life.

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  • 3 weeks later...
PHTPL Unincorporated Area

PHTPL

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I can understand making it by Fat Tuesday, but February is an extremely aggressive time frame to open. From my experience hiring people in the service business, it usually takes about a month for a new server to get into the groove of things and be top notch servers. And that's with help from other tenured servers to emulate, not an all new staff.

With a 120 seat restaurant and bar, she's going to need a minimum 9 servers and 6 bartenders to be open 7 days/nights per week. Any less and that staff will get burned out, quit, and or service will really suffer.

Take your time, don't rush it, and open when you properly ready to open. There's a lot of options in this town, and it'd be great if every place (locally owned) could get a piece of the action.

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mgreven Hamlet

mgreven

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I can understand making it by Fat Tuesday, but February is an extremely aggressive time frame to open. From my experience hiring people in the service business, it usually takes about a month for a new server to get into the groove of things and be top notch servers. And that's with help from other tenured servers to emulate, not an all new staff.

With a 120 seat restaurant and bar, she's going to need a minimum 9 servers and 6 bartenders to be open 7 days/nights per week. Any less and that staff will get burned out, quit, and or service will really suffer.

Take your time, don't rush it, and open when you properly ready to open. There's a lot of options in this town, and it'd be great if every place (locally owned) could get a piece of the action.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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Yeah, I was a little concerned about how well she researched this business (and therefore the chances of success) when I read this quote in the article.

"She told me she didn't think Grand Rapids had a Cajun/Creole restaurant, though she hasn't tried downtown's River City Slim's, which has such a menu."

Ready, shoot, aim! :huh:

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