Downtown Minneapolis Retail News

Downtown - North Loop - Mill District - Elliot Park - Loring Park
Unity77
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Unity77 » November 19th, 2012, 1:08 pm

I think the city needs to rethink shorter hours on weekdays/weekends/closed on Sunday - it just forces out of town visitors and residents to go to MOA or the suburbs to shop. Also agree with what someone said earlier - the city needs to make downtown more inviting/safe for teenagers and 20 year olds.
Our city leaders should also consider doing away with metered parking during weekend business hours.

nordeast homer
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby nordeast homer » November 19th, 2012, 2:12 pm

Since when does the city determine store hours?? It's all about being able to be profitable!! Who in their right mind would keep a store open for 1 customer per hour? Nobody shops downtown late anymore and if you want one on one service go after dinner on a weekend. Until people change their shopping habits the stores won't change their hours.

Didier
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Didier » November 19th, 2012, 6:15 pm

It feels like half of the discussion here is downtown retail shouldn't try to mimic the suburban shopping malls, and the other half is which shopping mall staple chain stores should go downtown.

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Nick
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Nick » November 19th, 2012, 7:08 pm

It feels like half of the discussion here is downtown retail shouldn't try to mimic the suburban shopping malls, and the other half is which shopping mall staple chain stores should go downtown.
And really, at the end of the day it's way too easy to hop in your car and drive to one of the what, seven Targets in or within a couple minutes of Minneapolis. Drive easy, park free and easy, buy everything you need for a month for cheap, and done. This idea of having streets lined with little stores doesn't mesh with the actual shopping habits of most people in the area.

Most of this conversation revolves around clothing, but that's kinda the same idea. I'd love to have a cool shopping street with lots of little stores but at the end of the day I'm still getting everything at Macy's.
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John
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby John » November 19th, 2012, 9:50 pm

What we really need downtown is a good hardware store. We used to have one on Hennepin Ave in Laurel Village in the 90's, but it closed after a few years. I think we have the population to support at least one now. Having it located near one of our new grocery stores would be ideal for convenience.

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FISHMANPET
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby FISHMANPET » November 19th, 2012, 10:15 pm

I like the downtown Macy's better than MOA or Rosedale for men's wear. And as far as stores downtown, I would, personally, like if more mall stores were downtown, because downtown is a shorter trip on the train, and I prefer walking through downtown from shop to shop versus walking through a mall. But that's a personal desire, and one I don't expect to happen.

Downtown can't compete with the suburbs by trying to beat them at their own game - mainly chain stores and cheap easy parking. So if you want a nationally recognized shopping district with chain stores, they have to be better chains than at the mall, or better versions of the mall stores. In the Chicago Michigan Ave example, look at Burberry. It's the difference between a four story Burberry store vs a small mall shop. Locally, look at chains like Allen Edmonds or Brooks Brothers. They're downtown but not at the mall. If you really want an amazing pair of shoes the best bet is downtown, not the mall. But trying to bring the mall chains downtown in a bigger form, or using stores like Allen Edmonds and Brooks Brothers to market downtown as a destination is zero sum game (or maybe even worse). I don't think Minneapolis can win at this game, having two tourist drawing shopping districts. Remember, we've got that pesky mall in Bloomington drawing people from all around to shop, that's our current nationally recognized shopping district. We don't need another.

So we (or mostly I) need to stop making comparisons to Michigan Ave, because we already have our Michigan Ave, it's the Mall of America. Since downtown can't compete directly with a mall, we can't compete for the customer that would prefer to drive and park. So then we have to look at serving residents of downtown and surrounding areas. Maybe it would take a few more clothing stores. An H&M would be nice, everybody seems to love those. I think a lot of us would love a Zara or UNIQLO. Maybe an Urban Outfitters since we're all hipsters here. Etc Etc. Except some of these stores are already in Uptown, and if others of them opened they're much more likely to end up in Uptown rather than Downtown. So maybe the best hope is to make it easier for downtown residents to get to Uptown, and leave places like Allen Edmonds and Brooks Brothers for the business people living downtown.

As (someone) above said, maybe our downtown just isn't cut out for retail.

Of course, this all applies to apparel, because that's pretty much all you'll find at a mall. It would be nice for downtown to have more amenities for its residents like a hardware store. Or maybe that should be in Uptown and just make it easier to get to Uptown?

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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Wedgeguy » November 19th, 2012, 11:07 pm

It feels like half of the discussion here is downtown retail shouldn't try to mimic the suburban shopping malls, and the other half is which shopping mall staple chain stores should go downtown.
I'm not sure about Mimicing the malls, But they definately need to bring in stores that can have some volume and cater to a large demographics. Too bad there is not a good large space for an Old NAvy store for downtown.

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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Didier » November 19th, 2012, 11:36 pm

Old Navy caters largely to high school students, though, few of whom have any reason to shop downtown.

Wedgeguy
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Wedgeguy » November 20th, 2012, 12:01 am

What we really need downtown is a good hardware store. We used to have one on Hennepin Ave in Laurel Village in the 90's, but it closed after a few years. I think we have the population to support at least one now. Having it located near one of our new grocery stores would be ideal for convenience.
There is a Hardware store in Downtown, it is in the north loop on Washington next to Cuzzy's. Gardners I believe is the name of it.

mnmike
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby mnmike » November 20th, 2012, 12:33 am

And there is a Frattallone's at 19th and Nic...but he probably means closer in to the core?

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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby mulad » November 20th, 2012, 3:46 am

Getting downtown retail humming really involves finding ways to get stores to stay open past 5-7 pm. Suburban stores tend to stay open until 8-10, and even later in November and December. Focus on the needs of folks who live downtown or in neighborhoods within a couple of miles who are currently driving elsewhere -- people live in Old St Anthony, Marcy-Holmes, University of Minnesota, West Bank, Stevens Square, Near North, North Loop, etc., plus there are transit-dependent folks coming through all the time from greater distances. The demographics of these neighborhoods and the transit riders are pretty different from those of the suburban office workers, so maybe there are some interesting niches to fill.

K&G Superstore comes to mind, since they're a black-oriented clothing store that is trying to provide an upscale antidote to the typical loose-fitting outfit with saggy pants that has been so prevalent in the past decade or so (which I halfway think might have been a reaction to the loss of access to good clothes decades ago due to the shuttering of urban department stores, but that's probably a leap).

Another goofy idea is a hat shop -- It's been noted that hats disappeared around the time that commuting by car really took over and there just wasn't any headroom. But there are plenty of people who commute by bus or train who could handle hats today or are simply sick of baseball caps.

Personally I don't do a whole lot of shopping for anything other than food. I'd be most excited by a computer/electronics shop of some sort, but that tends to be a low-margin business with heavy competition from the Internet and a ruthless cycle of change. An Apple store or a shop from some other manufacturer would probably do well, though.

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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby John » November 20th, 2012, 8:05 am

And there is a Frattallone's at 19th and Nic...but he probably means closer in to the core?
Yes, have a hardware store in the core closer to Whole Foods or Lunds. Creating a small cluster (or clusters) of service oriented retail for downtown residents within a few blocks of each other. Would be a nice amenity and convenience for people. I'm hoping this will happen with the population growth.

mnmike
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby mnmike » November 20th, 2012, 8:10 am

And there is a Frattallone's at 19th and Nic...but he probably means closer in to the core?
Yes, have a hardware store in the core closer to Whole Foods or Lunds. Creating a small cluster (or clusters) of service oriented retail for downtown residents within a few blocks of each other. Would be a nice amenity and convenience for people. I'm hoping this will happen with the population growth.
Well, Gardener's is really only 4 blocks from the Whole Foods site.

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FISHMANPET
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby FISHMANPET » November 20th, 2012, 9:15 am

I'm amazed there aren't more tailors downtown.

And there is a nice hat shop, Goorin Brothers that just opened... in Uptown.

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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby twincitizen » November 20th, 2012, 9:43 am

Sub-topic: Reducing total retail space downtown

What are some retail/restaurant spaces that could or should be converted to something else?

I feel that no matter how high the downtown population climbs, there will always be a surplus of retail space in the core. This will be exacerbated as old people die and the world is increasing made up of people who are comfortable buying more things online.

I see that "Nic on 5th" is adding 2 stories of retail, wowzers. That's right across the street from the soon to be vacant Neiman Marcus space in Gaviidae. Not far from City Center, which is actually doing OK with corner tenants but could really use a revamp. Wondrous Azian Kitchen just went out of bizness and Chevy's Fresh Mex has been vacant FOREVER. Then there's Block E, which never should have happened in the first place.

Agree/disagree? What spaces would you convert from vacant/struggling retail to something else?

mnmike
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby mnmike » November 20th, 2012, 10:02 am

As for Hennepin is actually more filled than it has been in some time...with the following relatively new additions:

Lunds
Dudley Riggs
Rosa Mexicana
Cowles Center
Union
The two retail spaces in The Stage Apts
Butcher and the Boar
Murasu...or whatever that place in the Skyway theater building is
Whole Foods soon!

During the time all those places have opened...I think there has only been one closing? So that is a better track record than recent years at least.

I really hope with the new Nicollet building being built, that the owner of Gaviidae will take it as an opportunity to reinvest in the building and the old Neiman Marcus space. This will(hopefully soon) connect them directly to a big new apartment building and all of the office workers in the 5th street towers. I won't get my hopes up, as they haven't really put much money into the building for a while. It would be a good chance to open that space up. For the Neiman's space the top floor could be an expanded food court with a big skylight to brighten it(think southdales new food court). Probably office on the 3rd floor, and then blow open the 1st and second floors to make a big passage way to the LRT and skyway connection...maybe create a few moderate size retail spaces on the Nicollet side. I feel like if they did that, within a few years (with the new construction at that end of the mall), they could probably snag a couple bigger stores like an H&M or Nordstrom rack...something like that, or even a popular restaurant like on the southern end of the mall. I don't see any huge retail additions coming downtown really, but I could see a few high profile smaller scale stores coming with all the new construction and possible re-do of Nicollet Mall. Also, I am sure we will see the continued conversion of some of the surplus space to more appropriate uses (doctors offices and such) to balance things out.

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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Wedgeguy » November 20th, 2012, 10:55 am

I have to say to those who keep looking at the glass half full, the glass is again filling up. Like MnMike has said, retail in the downtown area is expanding. It is, at present, not expanding in what we call the traditional retail mass area. How many new stores have opened in the north loop in the last few years. I'm quite amazed by the stores and restraunts that have opened in the north loop that are not on Washington Ave. As a building owner you have to plan for the future. You have to have your building connect with the fabric of the city. Without retail on the first and second floor you are basically building a building that will have lifeless walls like the 6th and 7th street sides of City Center.

I would hope that they put a restraunt on the Nicollet end of the building with a large area for outdoor seating in the summer. HAve their bar on the Skyway level to get people who are walking in the skyway to come in for lunch or dinner. Reconnecting the Nic with Gavidee would be a big pull to help to keep the retail flowing north. Unfortunately Xcel will become a road block of sorts to continued retail going north. There does not need to be anymore full blown retail malls like CityCenter and the Gavidees. But you will need to have retail and service office space in the skyways and on the ground floor to service the ever growing DT population. Men's Wearhouse is on the Ground floor at 8th and Nicollet. They are not part of any real retail area per say. It is the only retail store on that level, yet that store does very well in that location.

We are coming out of a recession, we lost alot of retail in the past to other recessions, but this time we have an ever growing population that will be nearer to the stores and people will continue to be working downtown in the future. When it comes to DT I am an optimist. I see the half full glass not draining, but filling up again!

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Nathan
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby Nathan » November 20th, 2012, 1:54 pm

I got my city of Minneapolis email last night, with some cool facts and figures. The number of Jobs in Minneapolis is at 99% of what it was towards the end of 2007 marking a near full recovery from 'the great recession' in mpls, which has recovered far faster than the rest of the metro/state. Cool news, and the apartment vacancy rate was still low, and residences growing, so a lot of numbers that are encouraging to retail and job growth for the area!

John
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby John » November 20th, 2012, 3:01 pm

I got my city of Minneapolis email last night, with some cool facts and figures. The number of Jobs in Minneapolis is at 99% of what it was towards the end of 2007 marking a near full recovery from 'the great recession' in mpls, which has recovered far faster than the rest of the metro/state. Cool news, and the apartment vacancy rate was still low, and residences growing, so a lot of numbers that are encouraging to retail and job growth for the area!
Yes, this is very positive. And with the downtown population approaching 40,000, retail can't help but do much better in the next few years, albeit different than what was downtown in the 1970's. I even think Nicollet Mall retail will improve, and I think MNMike has a good point about Neiman Marcus (aka "Needless Markup") closing. That will open up space for some smaller retailers to come into Gavidae.

widin007
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Re: Downtown Retail News

Postby widin007 » November 20th, 2012, 4:08 pm

Sub-topic: Reducing total retail space downtown

What are some retail/restaurant spaces that could or should be converted to something else?

I feel that no matter how high the downtown population climbs, there will always be a surplus of retail space in the core. This will be exacerbated as old people die and the world is increasing made up of people who are comfortable buying more things online.

I see that "Nic on 5th" is adding 2 stories of retail, wowzers. That's right across the street from the soon to be vacant Neiman Marcus space in Gaviidae. Not far from City Center, which is actually doing OK with corner tenants but could really use a revamp. Wondrous Azian Kitchen just went out of bizness and Chevy's Fresh Mex has been vacant FOREVER. Then there's Block E, which never should have happened in the first place.

Agree/disagree? What spaces would you convert from vacant/struggling retail to something else?

Well to point, Wondrous Kitchen is closing because Thom Pham is an embezzler and that sign cost about 20 grand, and even though that corner is where restaurants go to die, this one wasn't because of lack of interest or customers.


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