Posts tagged Retail
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Supermarket chains blind to walkable urban business opportunities
Many of DC’s supermarkets turn long, blank walls toward the sidewalk. This space represents an enormous missed opportunity for retailing. Supermarkets like Manhattan’s Fairway line their sidewalk frontage with produce stands. This draws customers into the store who see an appealing mango as they walk by, go inside, and end up buying a few items. Clearly, they’ve… Keep reading…
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Dinner links: cheap, plentiful parking spaces are like clean coal
I got a new way to park: WebUrbanist finds “15 Creative, Innovative & Hilarious Parking Solutions”, from the giant VW factory cavern to falling into quicksand. Via Planetizen. Keep reading…
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Fort Totten development plans pedestrian street
Earlier this month, DC officials announced another economic development deal to sell an unused parcel of public land for development. This parcel is very close to the Fort Totten Metro station, an area that has seen very little transit-oriented development despite its location on three Metro lines. Based on the publicly-released drawings, the project is working hard to create… Keep reading…
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Weekend reading I: Maryland transportation watch
Parking min blocking new restaurant: Former Colorado Kitchen chef Gillian Clark is ready to open a restaurant, The General Store, in Silver Spring (at Forest Glen and Seminary Roads). The only problem is, county parking rules require 30 spaces, and they only have 7. Instead, they can only serve carryout customers. Dual tip from David and Becca. In other parking minimum news, Ithaca,… Keep reading…
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Drive-thru solution?
Perhaps this solves the drive-thru dilemma of food establishments whose drive-thrus stay open much later than their dining rooms, forcing pedestrians to get in a taxi to buy a late-night snack? Keep reading…
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Grocery stores scarce for many DC residents
Please welcome Lynda Laughlin, a family demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau and a resident of Petworth. (Lynda’s posts are, of course, her own opinions and not official U.S. Census statements.) Welcome Lynda! Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Unexpected consequences
Save the trail, prevent other trails: Creators of the Capital Crescent Trail always intended it to run along with transit. A bike trail was a good immediate use of a temporarily unused transit ROW. Now that Montgomery residents opposed to transit are opposing the Purple Line because of the trail, one original trail planner regrets creating it in the first place. And, WashCycle explains,… Keep reading…
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Back to the future in commercial real estate
Newsweek economics columnist Robert J. Samuelson declared in his December 29, 2008 column that 2008 was “the end of an era.” He wrote, “We know 2008, much like 1932 or 1980[?], marks a dividing line for the American economy and society.” The economic trends in the commercial real estate market bear out Samuelson’s claim. On Friday,… Keep reading…
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24-hour service that isn’t: the drive-thru dilemma
To expats from Western Europe, one of the most visible and convenient displays of American capitalism is the array of services available every day of every week, late into the evening, and in select cases, absolutely whenever one’s heart fancies (like a pair of tube socks from a Super Wal-Mart at three in the morning). Keep reading…
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Just propose a Federal style store already, Apple
Georgetown’s ANC and the Old Georgetown Board, the special historic preservation review body for Georgetown, recently rejected Apple’s proposed design for a store on Wisconsin Avenue. The Current reported on it last week, and yesterday City Paper exposed the story to the Web, prompting more coverage in the tech press. Keep reading…