  Pythonmaster Member Username: Pythonmaster Post Number: 236 Registered: 12-2006 |
Lotus Imports in Royal Oak is closing after over 20 years in business. | ||
Thefishwrap Member Username: Thefishwrap Post Number: 11 Registered: 11-2008 |
It's not just Detroit that's losing businesses -- Small Plates in Royal Oak went belly up last week as well. | ||
Pythonmaster Member Username: Pythonmaster Post Number: 237 Registered: 12-2006 |
Empty storefronts everywhere-a nightmare with no borders. | ||
Andylinn Member Username: Andylinn Post Number: 1069 Registered: 04-2006 |
this is all true, i'm not being a pollyanna here, but there's no need to dwell on all this crap. think of the new french restaurant in corktown, the new good girls go to paris in the park shelton, and the new produce spot in brush park. turn that frown upside down. | ||
Hans57 Member Username: Hans57 Post Number: 366 Registered: 05-2006 |
Also, the renovation of the block on woodward at alexandrine. We're just starting an early and very thorough spring cleaning (Message edited by hans57 on February 10, 2009) | ||
Hamtramike Member Username: Hamtramike Post Number: 100 Registered: 12-2003 |
I hear there is also going to be another good girls place in Grosse Pointe Park. BTW, the next bubble is commercial realestate...or what's left of it. | ||
Eric_c Member Username: Eric_c Post Number: 718 Registered: 11-2003 |
Where's the French joint in Corktown? | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 482 Registered: 10-2006 |
Yep, keep rationalizing things, folks... The fact is that basically half the new stores that opened downtown in recent months/years have closed or will close. This is not happening in the suburbs. If you go to Somerset or downtown Bham, half the stores aren't closing. What this probably means is that most of these retailers are making overly ambitious bets on Detroit at this time. Who knows, maybe they're a few years too early. | ||
Lodgedodger Member Username: Lodgedodger Post Number: 1418 Registered: 05-2008 |
I disagree, Crawford. There are many empty store fronts in the suburbs. There may not be as many, but there are quite a few. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 6128 Registered: 08-2004 |
Have you ever known Crawford to have an optimistic spin on any thread? On the thread mentioning that the older lower part of the Penobscot Building was going residential, he immediately implied that it spelled doom and gloom for the Guardian and Buhl Buildings nearby. He's become our new Livernoisyard... "the glass is always half empty"... | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 1778 Registered: 12-2006 |
Shoot, man, go to just about any of the regional malls and the number of vacancies is staggering. Drive down M-59 in the afternoon and count the number of guys standing on the sidewalk wearing a sign that says "Final Days!" or "Going Out of Business!" The difference is that in the 'burbs there has always been plenty of retail, whereas downtown, the retail hiatus began just about the time we sold the streetcars to Mexico City. Essentially, the retail in most American cities was overbuilt while everyone was trying to grab his share during the boom times. How many drugstores in a single square mile do we need? Just for instance. Now the ones that were overloaded with debt (such as Circuit City) can do nothing but fail. Look for more such this year, and possibly some big and venerable old names. Will there be any Sears or KMart stores in 2010? Maybe, but maybe not. And of course none of those stores will close in downtown Detroit, since they left downtown Detroit ages ago. (Actually there never was a Sears downtown so far as I can tell, but I think there was a Kresge.) | ||
Rooms222 Member Username: Rooms222 Post Number: 171 Registered: 04-2005 |
The vacancy rate in all of Metro Detroit is amazing. Look in Westland, the Service Mechandise has remained closed (with signage intact) for over 10 years now, with no new tenant. There has been a slow drain of businesses region-wide for the last 5 years at least......Look at the vacancies at Maple and Orchard Lake- Big Boy Closed, Joe's Crab Shack- Closed........Plum Market is coming soon, however.... | ||
Eastsideal Member Username: Eastsideal Post Number: 293 Registered: 10-2007 |
Kresge started in downtown Detroit. Their store was at Woodward and State for 80+ years. Ironically, it eventually begat the K-Mart empire that had a role in killing off American center city retail. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 3751 Registered: 04-2006 |
quote: Stores are going belly up across the country. There are no Circuit City or Linens N Things in the city of Detroit. This is not people making "ambitious bets" on Detroit. | ||
Birdie Member Username: Birdie Post Number: 82 Registered: 04-2007 |
yeah andylinn, i'm with you! i'm not blind to the truth, and i'm really sorry to hear about any local business closing, but positive news should get at least equal time. the new frech place is called le petit zinc: http://www.modeldmedia.com/dev elopmentnews/lepetitzinc17809. aspx there is already a thread about it. i stopped in this morning and it is fantastic! | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 1088 Registered: 11-2005 |
The girls at lotus were great. I worked next door at Raupps for 4 years from 2000-2003 It is sad to see so many businesses go belly up in these tough times... | ||
Spitcoff Member Username: Spitcoff Post Number: 117 Registered: 03-2004 |
I figured small plates Royal Oak would not last. Why would I go to the one in Royal Joke when I could go downtown and enjoy the city we live in | ||
Daddeeo Member Username: Daddeeo Post Number: 450 Registered: 09-2008 |
There's not much left in downtown. I remember when Lotus Imports first started on 5th (or 6th) street in Royal Oak. I never figured they would last but they did. They actually moved to Washington Street and expanded. The retail scene really hasn't been the same since Patti Smith left town. She was a tireless promoter of Detroit and Royal Oak. | ||
Lowell Moderator Username: Lowell Post Number: 2190 Registered: 09-2003 |
Office Max in downtown Farmington closing. So is the longtime Deb's gifts. The retail implosion is widespread. Some of this is normal for after the holidays. The last good month extracted, they shut down. The rest is the overall economy and the ravages of the internet. Amazon.com, BTW, is doing very well and had a great holiday season. Overall 'bricks and mortar' retail will continue to diminish regardless of boom or bust. They are in a similar position that the newspapers are. | ||
Retroit Member Username: Retroit Post Number: 944 Registered: 04-2008 |
This is not a Detroit phenomenon, it's nation-wide. Crawford is correct, though, in pointing out that downtown has taken a harder hit than the suburbs. I don't think his post was an anti-Detroit barb, merely an observation. The "Audacity of Hope" has turned into Doom & Gloom, and "Courage to Change" has turned into Status Quo. | ||
Samiam Member Username: Samiam Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2009 |
This is too bad, but a sign of the times. They were a great source for hard to find, one of a kind items | ||
Pythonmaster Member Username: Pythonmaster Post Number: 239 Registered: 12-2006 |
I don't like seeing anybody close, but when a super store closes, another one gets bigger. When a specialty store closes, it's a loss for the community. | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 5927 Registered: 02-2004 |
I am so depressed to hear that news. They have been barely hanging on the last couple of years. Very very sad. | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 928 Registered: 11-2007 |
I keep thinking about "It's a Wonderful Life" The banks stopped lending, all the homes are in foreclosure and the shops are replaced with bars, strip joints and casinos. Welcome to Pottersville aka Detroit. | ||
Whittier70 Member Username: Whittier70 Post Number: 211 Registered: 02-2008 |
never hear about liquor stores closing up though ? ? ? | ||
Bearinabox Member Username: Bearinabox Post Number: 1224 Registered: 04-2006 |
^Maybe because it's not newsworthy? There's a party store on every other corner, but there's only one Lotus Imports. Surely you can see why the latter would be a bigger deal. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 6630 Registered: 11-2004 |
I really did miss the good ol' days of that little stretch of Washington Ave. in Royal Oak. I remember when Lotus was actually around the block on Fifth with Raupp Campfitters (thanks for all the great Patagonia gear that's still wearing like iron to this day) was on the street corner. Down the block there was Patti Smith and Dave's Comics. It seems as though Gayle's Chocolates is about the last hold out on that stretch. It truly is a shame when seriously unique retail like that has to leave the area. I wish them well. | ||
Bearinabox Member Username: Bearinabox Post Number: 1225 Registered: 04-2006 |
^Yeah, I miss Raupp's. That was a cool store. Now I've got to navigate the 16 and Rochester clusterfuck every time I want some decent outdoor gear. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4100 Registered: 10-2003 |
Crawford's wrong on this one, too, but more wrong than usual, in fact. The vacancy rates for retail and office space in the entire metro are staggering. The entire economy is contracting, and its coming home to roost in just about every area of the metro. Go look at the market reports. | ||
Daddeeo Member Username: Daddeeo Post Number: 452 Registered: 09-2008 |
I delivered mail to all those folks for thirty years on Washington in Royal Oak. Gayle's is one of the few oldies. Prontos is the name of the game on Washington now. They control the whole block between 6th and 7th street. The art gallery next to the beauty shop on 6th and Wash. is the oldest business from the 70's that is still around. They used to be on the corner with an antique shop before the record store. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 3753 Registered: 04-2006 |
Check out what's happening in Denver: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DO C-210904 | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 929 Registered: 11-2007 |
That report just pointed out the few retail chains that closed all of their stores nationwide. It wasn't exactly a "things sure are tough in Denver" report. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4472 Registered: 02-2004 |
Captialism can be a flawed system is people become GREEDY. Months ago some GREEDY folks took 7 billion dollars out of Wall Street and put it in their pockets leaving millions of global inverstors BAMBOOZLED, pointing blaming fingers at each other saying WHERE IS MY MONEY! More retail stores are closing down and dissapearing then ever before. Now our U.S. Gov't is bailing out the banks, mortage corps, GM and Chrysler. President Obama wants $819 billion dollars pour out to the poor but the republicans say HELL NO! This nation is under a GREAT recession and its going to worse before it gets better. So start praying for a miracle and hopefully your jobs and your homes don't get taken away. |
