Just had lunch down on Mainstreet and as I was walking around, I noticed that 3-4 stores have just closed shop. Now, I know that at the same time, about 3-4 stores are just about to open. I think the stores that are closing / have closed probably were not the right fit for the evolving mainstreet

Closed

The Oak furniture store
Mainly Shoes
and I saw that 2-3 places are still empty (great store fronts / location though)

I would imagine that landlords are still trying to get excessive rents and that is why they have not been gobbled up.

You got it...the tur over has been pretty bad, but some people just don't understand some basics of business...I saw places selling everything from rims to glass balls, just doesn't seem like the right biz model for a place with such high rents.

I knew someone who wanted to open a video rental store on main, but the rents were so high she looked at cresson, and I lost touch with her after that.

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The Oak furniture store was around for a year or so. I love oak but their stuff didn't cut it for me.

Mainly Shoes (run by the Neducsin family) was around for several years. High end shoes. I only went in there once or twice.

As I've said before, the street hasn't defined itself yet. They don't realize there are close to 10,000 people within walking distance. It's a gold mine but they've got to get the right stores and market the residents. They are still shooting for the Main Line though.

After checking out 105 Social the other night, I was a bit disappointed that they don't open till 5pm. The place is really nice and would make a great lunch place. I didn't check out the food but got the impression it's only going to be a bar and not much of a restaurant.

Diversity is the key to the success of the community. Im afraid too many late night bars will deter strong retail. What will it evolve to?

what's 105 social like?

I didn't go upstairs put heard there's a pool table & dart board. The downstairs is nice, wood & stone, with booths. Decent beer, Magic Hat 9, Blue Moon hefe, and Victory Hop Devil. It was empty at 9:30 Wed. night. They said it gets packed on weekends.

yea, 105 social is nothing more than a bar. Their menu was very minimal.

I was pondering what would be a good fit for down on mainstreet (other than a bar)?

A bookstore really won't fly, my father owns a bookstore, and what has been happening is that people will window shop then buy online. The margin on books is pretty small to begin with as well.

I'm thinking out loud here, but what is it that will attract both tourists and residents to come back multiple times.

I really like the idea of a trader joes type place if there was just a bit more parking availability.

I have this vision of a lower end or rather just starting out artist gallery featuring all sorts of mediums.

any other thoughts or ideas?

Also closed is Mainly Desserts.

Why do stores only have one type of item? Why only books, or cd's, or coffee? Why not have a variety to cater to more people. A store that had small selection of books, magazines, cd's, and dvd's would probably be a hit. They could also have computers to order stuff on-line or order stuff on-line for customers.

Another thing might be to extend the price range of items carried. Have high and low end clothing, housewares, etc. I guess a lot of the stores on Main Street don't want the 'locals' shopping there though. But they obviously aren't making a killing on the rich and famous.

What ever happened to the good old Variety Store? (I guess they're Dollar Stores now, geez) :what_is_:

Rich and famous on Ridge. There's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

And thank goodness.

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Chris,

We're down on Main Street now.