Reply to RIP Johnson's -- Now let's move on

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why do we need more retail? I find I have pretty easy access to everything I need, and I'm not particularly interested in browsing in shop after shop. Am I an outlier? I'm not opposed to more housing, but I don't really understand this preoccupation with a better retail mix.[/quote]

A lot of economists (and retailers) believe that the U.S., and this area in particular, is over-retailed already with the Internet displacing many brick and mortar stores for certain purchases.  Even restaurants, which can't be duplicated online, are under pressure nationally as competition has increased and customers have other options (some via the Web) to dispose of their food dollars (delivery of food, prepared or ready-to-cook meals, etc.).  Locally, developers are seeking rent top dollar because they are highly levered or their investors demand credit tenants.  The result is an intensified hunt for the same "vibrant," "upscale" fast-casual chains or retail/restaurant groups with deep balance sheets, even as the local serving businesses that aren't easily replicated on-line get caught in a rent squeeze:  Johnsons, a shoe-repair store, an independent restaurant with affordable prices, etc.  It would seem crazy to have to drive to the suburbs to buy a flat of plants or mulch, or get a pair of shoes repaired, but that is the direction that we are going in.[/quote]

Do you buy a lot of plants and get a lot of shoes repaired?

I do those things maybe a total of 2-3 times a year.

I eat out at least once a week.

So the best use of retail space in a neighborhood would be for the rare uses (how much mulch do you buy every year anyhow?) rather than the common ones?  And it would make more sense to make lots of trips out of the neighborhood to eat (which is ordinarily a trip one can and should do on foot when it is local) and do fewer trips to a garden center(which is a trip more often done in a car because of the mulch that everyone apparently needs) - you know that makes no sense?

Does vibrancy scare you?

You do realize DC in general and even our neighborhood specifically has a lot of independent restaurants?  And that there are multiple old school cobblers in DC?

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