Saturday, November 23, 2013
Construction Underway for New Chick Fil A
Construction is well underway for the new Chick Fil A going in on the corner of W. Virginia Ave. and S. Vance St.
As you can see in the photos, the restaurant building-- which is just 4600 square feet in size-- will occupy only a fraction of the total square footage of the property.
The rest of the site, unfortunately, will be dedicated to surface parking and a drive-through lane.
The site plan details substantial trees, plantings, and a wall to block neighbors' views of the worst of the drive-through lane. Nevertheless, it's a suburban-style development that really doesn't belong in downtown Lakewood.
The rest of the site, unfortunately, will be dedicated to surface parking and a drive-through lane.
The site plan details substantial trees, plantings, and a wall to block neighbors' views of the worst of the drive-through lane. Nevertheless, it's a suburban-style development that really doesn't belong in downtown Lakewood.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Belmar's Boutique Future
Belmar will see several new businesses opening in time for the holiday shopping season, including:
Hot Mama
Ame Bridal
See's Candies
Kismet Accessories
This continues the trend toward boutique shopping that we've been seeing in Belmar for a while. Gone are the big chains stores, like Gap and Banana Republic. In their place, we're seeing smaller, less ubiquitous chains, like Charming Charlie, Fusion Federation, and Remnant.
All in all, I think it's a good trend.
Employees at Belmar's former Gap used to tell me that customers would always call them, unable to find the store. The Gap's location on the plaza (and out of sight from major roadways) was apparently a major headache for their customer base. But a Gap is a Gap. If one's hard to find, there are a dozen others locations to choose from in the metro area, mostly inside the major malls found off the major highways.
The big chain retailers were never a good fit for Belmar-- possible because Belmar was never meant to be a mall!
So again, I think this new interest in Belmar by these relatively smaller, boutique retailers is a good thing. They compliment Belmar's steady evolution into a true downtown space.
Hot Mama
Ame Bridal
See's Candies
Kismet Accessories
This continues the trend toward boutique shopping that we've been seeing in Belmar for a while. Gone are the big chains stores, like Gap and Banana Republic. In their place, we're seeing smaller, less ubiquitous chains, like Charming Charlie, Fusion Federation, and Remnant.
All in all, I think it's a good trend.
Employees at Belmar's former Gap used to tell me that customers would always call them, unable to find the store. The Gap's location on the plaza (and out of sight from major roadways) was apparently a major headache for their customer base. But a Gap is a Gap. If one's hard to find, there are a dozen others locations to choose from in the metro area, mostly inside the major malls found off the major highways.
The big chain retailers were never a good fit for Belmar-- possible because Belmar was never meant to be a mall!
So again, I think this new interest in Belmar by these relatively smaller, boutique retailers is a good thing. They compliment Belmar's steady evolution into a true downtown space.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)