Squeezed out?

That's the theme of this Tribune-Review article:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_537826.html

There has to be a place for the small and quirky businesses in the new downtown.

Light-Up Night

It's one of the few times that suburbanites renew the tradition of shopping downtown. Well, at least they walk around downtown for a few hours after dark, and that's something.

Macy's has continued the Kaufmann's tradition of elaborately-decorated display windows. After Light-Up Night, I often see families driving slowly along Smithfield Street so the kids can get a look at them. Sometimes they'll hastily park and dash out of the SUV long enough to take a picture or shoot some video. Then it's back into the vehicle and back to the mall.

A Sour Deal

No Candy Rama downtown?

This is appalling news, outlined in this Post-Gazette story by Mark Belko:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07304/829842-85.stm

They're being booted from their building in the name of downtown progress after 55 years in business.

Candy Rama used to have another location at the corner of Fifth and Wood. They closed that when kids waiting at a nearby bus stop would swarm in and steal. They had a nice, large location in the Clark Building on Liberty, but that closed earlier this year.

When former mayor Tom Murphy was preaching a scorched earth approach to downtown development via the doomed Nordstrom project, he sneered, "Do we want Candy Rama to define downtown?" Maybe not, but we certainly want Candy Rama to be downtown. It's one of those uniquely Pittsburgh experiences that has survived for generations. People comb speciality websites to find rare treats that are in regular stock at Candy Rama.

The owners have apparently been unable to find a location that makes economic sense. If I ran the Union Trust Building -- in one of the few areas that gets regular foot traffic, thanks to Macy's -- I'd be on the phone to the Candy Rama people and putting out a red carpet for them to rent some of the vacant space at street level.

With any luck at all, the front page publicity will lead to some sort of deal that will allow Candy Rama to keep a presence downtown. How can we lose a first-class candy store when we have a kid mayor?

That smell

If you've been anywhere around 7th and Liberty lately, you've smelled the grease pit in the new Moby Fish take-out place. Whew.

According to the menu they put in a City Paper ad, the place is big on catfish and also offers chicken gizzards.

This doesn't seem like a positive addition to the "new" downtown. Wonder what Morton's thinks of the new neighbor?

Paper or Plastic

The downtown grocery store will finally open in October according to this article in the Post-Gazette. The location should be fine for downtown residents -- it's an easy walk from most of the new buildings that are opening, and manageable from the residential buildings in Gateway Center as well. I can't imagine this will do much business with workers picking up something on the way home. This just won't be on the way for most people who work downtown. The issue will be whether downtown residents can provide enough business to make this venture viable. One thing that's encouraging is that Robin Fernandez is backing this venture. Fernandez is the one who saw the potential for the Strip District as an entertainment destination, then was smart enough to get out before it came crashing down.

One problem solved

The problem parking lot at Liberty and Smithfield is no longer a problem. The entire lot has been fenced in, presumably so they can start construction on the African American Cultural Museum. Also gone are the planters, which had been serving as de facto park benches.

So the guys who have been running drugs and hookers out of that lot will have to find a new spot.

Do Boutiques fit in Downtown retail?

Read this story in the Tribune about boutique stores and how they fit into the Downtown retail scene. That's obviously worked in other places like Walnut Street in Shadyside and Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Would it work Downtown?

Obviously the parking issue is big. Then there's the matter of whether stores would be clustered to create a zone of boutiques. I don't think it works if there's one boutique amid the usual clutter of fast food places and office buildings.

The obvious market for Downtown business is people who work in the area, and those who live Downtown, once that gets up and running. Is it enough to sustain a business? We know that Downtown can't simply duplicate what people get in malls that offer free parking and a multitude of stores under one roof.