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248 articles

Café Dolci on Market Street: will defensive downscaling (and social distancing) pave the way for more microretail?

August 12, 2020 5 Comments

In the approximately eighteen months since I walked along the underachieving arterial of Market Street in downtown San Francisco, its character has changed far more than anyone might expect. For such a prime thoroughfare in such a densely populated city, it’s surprisingly mediocre in terms of the density of foot-traffic, which, not surprisingly, leads to

Regal Cinemas closes in Alexandria: a casualty of corona or a sign of bigger things to come?

August 7, 2020 16 Comments

As the American public attempts to reconcile a steadily rising COVID-19 caseload with increasingly diffuse reports on the means to combat the scourge—peppered by occasional reports that many other countries are now also reporting a rise in cases—it is clear that most businesses cannot sustain the draconian conditions imposed by the spring lockdowns.  And, with

Ann’s Beauty Supply: a serenade to small biz stubbornness.

July 31, 2020 10 Comments

On a relatively quiet block in the densely built, mixed-use Navy Yard neighborhood in Washington DC, a single structure stands out for its modest appearance.      But in the Navy Yard, which, according to some measurements, has metamorphosed from a sparse and unsafe industrial zone of the 2000s to what is or soon will be

Holiday season supermarket displays: colors, curios, and comestibles.

February 29, 2020 No Comments

When most Americans hear the phrase “holiday season” they tend to think of the end of the year—generally the time frame from Thanksgiving to Christmas (or Hanukkah), then to New Year’s Day  But our appetite for celebratory gestures—and the marketplace’s zeal to respond to it through commodification—has essentially expanded the holiday season to Halloween, given

Wegmans: the grocer whose Valentine’s offering has got some real meat on it.

February 9, 2020 10 Comments

I generally shy away from seasonal postings, but sometimes it’s hard to resist.  And since I’ve got several irons in the fire right now regarding bigger, weightier, more robust posts, I feel compelled to send out some Valentine’s Day wishes…in the form of some choice cuts of meat. While rib-eye steak isn’t everyone’s top pick

Forest Fair Village, Part II: a lesson in how not to create a regional mega attraction.

January 30, 2020 7 Comments

The previous half of this mega-blog post explored Forest Fair Village pictorially, showing what happens when an investment company is left wringing whatever remaining profit they can derive from an almost completely dead attraction.  This mall—98% vacant yet also 98% open to the public—is hardly unique, even by Cincinnati standards, which, like most metros of