Downtown urbanistas were atwitter last week, literally as well as figuratively, with news that a new, urban grocery was planned for the area near Seventh and Main. Self-proclaimed "foodie" and urbanist bloggers chattered in giddy anticipation with news that
Mayberry mastermind Josh Campbell was planning
a new grocery in the street-level space on the southeast corner of the intersection.
Gathering a bit of perspective here, while a new "urban" grocery is all well and good, methinks we should tame the parades and cart wheeling clowns to welcome what is, in reality, a rather modest, 500 square foot operation. The store will sell basic necessities, as well as have a deli with prepared food from the
World Food Bar, but the key aspect is that they plan to stay open seven days a week until 10 p.m. Giddy anticipation is all well and good, but it should also be tempered with the realization that truly successful live/work downtowns, which Cincinnati aspires to be, shouldn't bat an eye upon news of this nature. And in that respect, it demonstrates how far we still have to go.
In assessing the state of retail downtown, at many times it truly is a hit and miss grab bag of seemingly disconnected clusters. There are currently about 9,000 residents downtown, a number which, according to
Downtown Cincinnati, Inc., is projected to grow to at least 12,500 by 2012. That said, downtown retail continues to sputter at times, searching for the correct mix of product, location and customer base in order to thrive. Wishful thinkers continually float trial rumors of a Whole Foods or Trader Joes opening a grocery store downtown, shaming reticent, hometown grocery goliath Kroger in the process, however, to date, nothing of that nature has materialized. Moreover, it's always been something of a red herring to trot out the old saw that "there's nowhere to get groceries downtown." While the hours at
Findlay Market are not accommodating for the downtown worker, supplementing weekend forays at Findlay with the Vine Street (or even Newport) Kroger, along with the (admittedly) hours-unfriendly
Avril Bleh & Sons mini-grocery and butcher, when coupled with the chain-drug "everything stores" scattered about the central business district, the average downtown dweller is certainly not without options.
While yes, you may have to get in your car or on your bike to access such options, let's be honest here. Absent a streetcar, the average downtown dweller who lives say, at 4th and Plum, would still get in a car to access a grocery store located at Walnut and Central Parkway. That aspect of the equation will never change. This isn't Manhattan, and it will be a while before the wire grocery carts are a standard pedestrian accessory for those traversing the downtown sidewalks.
But retail is more than just grocery stores. The question is how to find the right mix of retail that can exist and thrive in downtown. Tower Place Mall is in a seemingly perpetual death spiral, where even a Dollar Store failed to survive, while bedbug eradication operators and pop-up retailers currently dominate the scene. According to Kathleen Norris, VP/Director of Urban Retail for the
Brandt Retail Group, downtown needs to offer unique opportunities that can't be replicated in the suburbs. Norris sees Tower Place as still having a prime opportunity to be a part of the urban retail fabric. According to her, the downtown blocks of 4th and Race offer the "strongest potential downtown retail corridors, with a retail spine wrapping and incorporating Tower Place."
Recognizing this, your intrepid Soapdish columnist took a stroll downtown, on Race Street in particular, where, arguably, the most successful cluster of downtown retailers currently toil away on the block between 6th and 7th. In some respects, this area makes sense as a retail cluster, as the corner of Race and 7th is dominated by the former flagship and headquarters of Shillito's Department Store. Now retrofitted as loft apartments, the 1878 structure, sporting a 1936-era Art Moderne makeover, was located in this particular location because founder John Shillito found his prior location on 4th Street to be too congested and crowded. At the time of its opening, the John McLaughlin-designed structure housed the largest department store in the country under one roof. While many questioned this new location which was, at the time, outside of the city's principal retail district, other businessmen quickly followed. By the 1920's, the area around 6th, 7th and Race was an integral part of the downtown retail district.
The "Race Street Retail District" of today, however, has neither the colossus department stores of yesteryear nor the flashy, hip stores of the present, stores which send the chattering classes into frothy paroxysms of tittering glee. Rather, the district of today is a somewhat disparate urban mix in the most basic sense of the word. That said, no less than 13 small retailers exist in the Race Street Retail District, operating in the shadows of more traditional behemoths such as Saks and Macy's. One would be hard-pressed to find 13 stores operating in any other single block downtown.
The mix of stores has been, in a curious way, somewhat enduring. While I know of no one who has actually been inside of Saxony Imports, the emporium of gewgaws, figurines and knickknacks has been around seemingly forever, continually meeting the needs of Hummel and LLadro collectors everywhere. Across the street, Newberry's maintains a hair care and wig-providing presence, while CVS and Walgreen's coexist on opposite corners, providing the catch-all shopping presence for your quotidian necessities. Continuing on the block you will find Stop n'Style Urban Wear, a Cincinnati Bell Wireless shop, children's apparel outlet Youngtown, Tri-State Jewelers and footwear fetishists PayLess and McHahns.
Anchoring a large section of the west side is The Chong Inc., one of my personal favorites…if for nothing else but the name. Preparing to stroll inside the sprawling complex, the aroma wafting out the door indicates that, indeed, the sign out front proclaiming a "Fur Leather Super Sale" is most assuredly correct. Inside, one will find an odd assortment of clothing, accessories, outdated appliances and faded packaging…even tasers.
While many loyal readers may not have a need for the Chong, Inc., it, and its neighbors, provide a reminder that a successful retail district is more than just big names and hip new independents. A successful retail mix needs to include all of these elements and more. Diversity of people on the street, living
and working downtown, provides the catalyst for success.
Over-the-Rhine has also seen something of a renaissance in independently-owned retailers. With recent news of Park+Vine moving to Main Street, Main is now holding its own with the Gateway Quarter as far as retail is concerned. Park+Vine joins Iris Bookcafe, the record store Another Tree in the Forest, street wear merchant Original Thought Required, gift shop Urban Eden and a host of art galleries and relatively new bars (see, e.g. Jack Potts, Neons and MOTR). Meanwhile, the
Gateway Quarter, in addition to losing Park+Vine, is also losing gift/clothing shop Metronation, which, unfortunately will be closing in several weeks. While Vine Street's loss is, in one respect at least, Main Street's gain, all is not lost. Vine continues to see new restaurant and bar openings seemingly every few months, openings which will most assuredly be supplemented with new retailers as renovated apartments and condos continue to come online.
Be that as it may, however, it is clear that the health of retail downtown continues to be a mixed bag. As more and more new residents locate in the city, things can only get healthier. As the saying goes, "retail follows rooftops," and it would be difficult to argue that the rooftops are not multiplying. While not everyone may need a taser at the Chong, Inc. or a bib overall-clad-Dutch-boy-with-watering-can figurine from Saxony, their presence is a reminder that a market remains for the products being peddled on the block. The Race Street Retail District, coupled with 4th and Tower Place as its center, continues to have the greatest potential for an established and connected retail corridor downtown. The challenge is in finding and attracting the right mix.
Photography by Scott Beseler.
Mayberry
Avril-Bleh and Sons
Shillito's Department Store
The Chong Inc
McHahn's