As a Chipotle fan who lives within smelling distance of the unit, I promise to keep their lights on if they open there.
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Was this the place that was charging $10 for yogurt with fruit? Agree with others that it probably needs someone who can afford the rent while the local tenants within walking distance figure out there’s a business there! I assume take-away at Publix is also competition for whoever ends up here.
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The owner of the Tobacco Road restaurants was charged with embezzling $1.6 million in sales tax withholding. Not sure if this will impact the Glenwood South location. Same guy that owned now-defunct Amra’s.
I kind of missed their 222 Glenwood location when they moved into the bigger space on Jones. I know it was always pretty packed but I like that in a weekend sports bar (London Bridge, nee, The Bridge) and the current location feels too big for that. The building they’re in now feels better suited for multiple uses, office upstairs, etc, unless Angus Barn wants to open up a downtown location. As long as it doesn’t turn in to another boring wedding venue.
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Yep, same place lol. The $10 yogurt cups was something they did during one of those downtown 5k run events Smoky Hollow was hosting right before they fully opened. That surely that didn’t help set the tone for them.
Do most chains spread out costs of rent, labor, utilities? I always thought that fell to the franchisee.
Need one with multiple locations. Some of franchise operators have dozens of restaurants.
I see, I thought you were saying the chain covered some of those expenses. Makes sense if you have multiple locations you can absorb some of the costs, clearly J Lights 2 locations weren’t enough to cover that.
Too many places trying to cater to these yuppies. Get burned on a couple of subpar expensive meals means return to the old consistent chain standbys.
Cava and Chipotle ARE consistent chain standbys to anyone under 40.
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Yafo Kitchen. Better version and same owner as Midwood
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Never said they were not.
A build-a-bowl location here would be ideal. Lots of people WFH in that building are just looking to walk down and grab something for lunch or dinner without needing to schedule it or choose from a menu. Chipotle, CAVA, etc. are all great options.
A company going out of business so quickly here won’t be a great look though. Might be empty for a while.
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Looks good, never heard of them or seen one when I’ve been in Charlotte. Maybe the Midwood owner will hopefully see another potential expansion here. I agree with @xdavidj 's idea, something like this or one of the one’s they’re describing would be perfect here.
Just realized I think there’s a CAVA in the Village District so maybe that’s too close for another one.
hmmmmmmm maybe if retail rents downtown weren’t SO DAMN EXPENSIVE MORE LOCALLY OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES WOULD HAVE A BETTER CHANCE TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE??? Sorry but that’s reason #1 why most retail spaces remain vacant in this city.
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A lot of it is also greed. Strong Towns did a synopsis on the empty storefronts:
Essentially, they’re trying to get large companies that want to pay high rent. Problem is, if those large companies don’t like the location, then they’re just going to stay vacant. The big developers have deep pockets and can afford to let these units stay vacant for years.
“Less tenants means less operating costs and less people to deal with.” Another member of the group added, “The cost of separately metering utilities, fire separation protection and the greater cost of build-out are all issues.”
If they were focused on trying to build a real community that suited the renters and local businesses, they would focus on building at least a decent number of smaller units that would provide a much lower risk threshold for a local business.
We absolutely need developers to give people places to live, but, in my extremely uneducated opinion, developers are really shooting themselves in the foot when they don’t focus on trying to build organic growth over going exclusively after chains.
Some chains will drive growth, and they should definitely be considered. They just shouldn’t be the only type of tenant in your business units.
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Like the corner spot in the L building on Davie and Dawson. Has never even been occupied. Maybe with the hotel opening up across the street they’ll put a coffee shop in there or something.
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I completely agree, The Hollow desperately needs smaller retail spaces in order to attract small and local businesses. I hope Kane decides to split most of these vacant units.
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I vote for Guasaca at the old J Lights.
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I’d love to see a good coffee shop at the J Lights spot.
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A bit more info about the challenges J Lights faced, for those who know how to get around their annoying paywall.
https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2023/03/14/j-lights-restaurants-raleigh-durham-close.html