I was talking to another merchant who asked me if I thought downtown Bend's Wall Street really gets so much more business than the rest of us.
Answer is: I don't know.
I'm guessing, however, that they do indeed get a lot more foot traffic. Linda and I walked around downtown this afternoon, and the flow was definitely heavier on Wall.
They also don't seem to have as much turnover as the rest of downtown.
My assumption is; the rents are at their peak on Wall Street, but so are the returns. Let's say 100%.
Go off the beaten track just a little, say Oregon and Minnesota streets, and maybe the rents drop slightly (if at all) but the return is probably more like 85%. So we're paying very close to full peak rent, say 95% but getting 85% the return. Go even further out, and the rents only drop a little more, say to 90%, while the return probably drops to more like 75% and so on.
In other words, in my opinion, the rents are a little off kilter. Landlords want the going rate, and the going rate is Wall Street or slightly below. But the returns aren't equal.
Which is why, I think, you see slightly more turnover the further away from Wall Street.
Like I said, I can't really prove any of this, it's just a sense I get.
So, yes, if I was starting a business from scratch, and there was a likely looking location on Wall Street, I'd take it.
It wouldn't make much sense for me to do it now. I've been in the same location for so long, and the store is so packed, that any improvement (the above 10% improvement) would be more than offset over the short and medium time-frame by the customers I'd lose and the costs of moving. Plus paying a higher rate right off the bat while I'm trying to re-establish myself.
Besides -- from my long-term perspective -- the amount of foot-traffic I'm now getting is a bit of a miracle -- considering for most of my career we didn't get much of any. So it's a vast improvement, from my perspective.
Ironically, Wall Street can seem almost too busy. The traffic is kind of heavy. But that smacks of the old Yogi Berra saying, "No one goes there anymore...it's too busy."
I'm sure they are slow plenty of times. If it was too busy, I'm sure I'd get over it by counting my money in the register at the end of the day.
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I know that finding a parking spot on Wall Street is typically tougher than finding one on Bond.
I think you've got it exactly right. While rents might be 10 cents or so less per sq. ft. as you venture off Wall, traffic drops more dramatically than the small drop in rent warrants. There's even a huge difference in where you are on Wall; talk to folks who've moved from the far east or west end to more central. They're happier now.
I witnessed it myself with friends who were visiting: they walked Wall St. and I tried to get them to go down the side streets: no, they said, I think we've seen it. But, but, but! You haven't!
On the other hand, as certain areas (or pods, as I think of it) grow, more and more people venture there. Look at the difference now at the end of Minnesota: it's all grown up. When we were there (dolo), we might as well have been in Siberia. Just couldn't hold on through all the construction, shaking walls, loss of restaurants, parking, etc.
"Look at the difference now at the end of Minnesota: it's all grown up. When we were there (dolo), we might as well have been in Siberia."
Exactly.
It was even worse 20 years ago: my neighbors were a shoe repair shop, a beauty salon, a hardware store, a mattress store, and an insurance building.
I used to see people looking down the street and turning around.
So, I ain't complaining about the foot traffic now!
(O.K. I'll complain about the rent being roughly the same as Wall St. but also know nothing is likely to change.)
I guess my definition of 'worse' is different. Shops selling hardware, bedding, a beauty shop, shoe repair and insurance -- those were all 'real' businesses providing services for people's 'real' lives. Now we have a whole lot of shops selling foofy stuff, just stuff, most of it soon to be relegated to overfull closets and thrift stores. Purses -- oh excuse me, handbags -- tiny-sized designer clothing for women without butts, and beyond that, I wouldn't know since I avoid such places. I guess I am the anti-stroller?
Of course there are exceptions, and books are one of them. Maybe even comic books (smile). I love the kitchen shop, think the Oxford Hotel is tres cool, and some of the restaurants are excellent. But I have little use for the boutiquey, touristy shops selling grot for people who live elsewhere. Yes, yes, yes, those of us who own retail shops have to make a living. I'm just sayin, Masterson St. Clair, for one, was a great hardware store, and I would prefer shops that sell items that have lasting value or utility. There is no doubt Bend has become a tourist town, but something is always lost in such a shift. Just call me a cranky lady geezer.......
I'm on record for missing the old downtown funkiness.
But I can't deny, the current shops generate better foot traffic than the old shops.
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