My wife and I went downtown yesterday to walk around, check out the progress on the stadium and other buildings, browse in some of the new furniture stores, and grab a late lunch on Washington Ave.
I didn't even think to look online for store hours, but I am glad I didn't. If I had I would have found almost everything closed, brushed it of and went back on another nice Saturday afternoon. Having gone down I personally felt disappointed and let down. I was also able to see how active the streets were with foot traffic, peering into dark storefronts. It was probably a little busier than normal due to the weather and the MVC BBall Tournament at Savvis. Still I find it in excusable that everything downtown is closed on Sunday.
We were also looking forward to browsing at the new Pyramid Lofts storefront showroom. We were also disappointed to find this space also closed and dark for the day, even though Sunday is generally Open House day. Wouldn't it make sense to have someone here to direct potential customers to the lofts that were open that day (there were a few). I thought this was in excusable, especially since there were a lot of college kids from the region roaming around with not a lot to do until the next game. If I were a college senior and went into a loft, my impression of St. Louis as a cool place to live after graduation would have gone up a lot.
I am researching urban retail for my master's thesis and one fact that jumped out is that 75% of retail sales occur on weekdays after 5:30 and on Sunday, EXACTLY when these downtown stores are closed.
Most of the restaurants were closed except Lucas Park Grill and Flannery's, where we had an afternoon snack. I think I saw Jack Patrick's and City Grocers open as well.
We still had a pleasant day exploring downtown, but it could have been much better. We had two thoughts:
If I were one of these bball fans down by the Renissance (were nothing appeared to be open), where would I get a coffee, soda or snack.
If we moved down to a Wash Ave loft to be part of a active urban environment, it would be pretty darn boring on Sunday.
We all talk about having an active vibrant downtown, and a few retailers are moving in. Now if they could just stay open when people actually shop we will be getting somewhere.
I didn't even think to look online for store hours, but I am glad I didn't. If I had I would have found almost everything closed, brushed it of and went back on another nice Saturday afternoon. Having gone down I personally felt disappointed and let down. I was also able to see how active the streets were with foot traffic, peering into dark storefronts. It was probably a little busier than normal due to the weather and the MVC BBall Tournament at Savvis. Still I find it in excusable that everything downtown is closed on Sunday.
We were also looking forward to browsing at the new Pyramid Lofts storefront showroom. We were also disappointed to find this space also closed and dark for the day, even though Sunday is generally Open House day. Wouldn't it make sense to have someone here to direct potential customers to the lofts that were open that day (there were a few). I thought this was in excusable, especially since there were a lot of college kids from the region roaming around with not a lot to do until the next game. If I were a college senior and went into a loft, my impression of St. Louis as a cool place to live after graduation would have gone up a lot.
I am researching urban retail for my master's thesis and one fact that jumped out is that 75% of retail sales occur on weekdays after 5:30 and on Sunday, EXACTLY when these downtown stores are closed.
Most of the restaurants were closed except Lucas Park Grill and Flannery's, where we had an afternoon snack. I think I saw Jack Patrick's and City Grocers open as well.
We still had a pleasant day exploring downtown, but it could have been much better. We had two thoughts:
If I were one of these bball fans down by the Renissance (were nothing appeared to be open), where would I get a coffee, soda or snack.
If we moved down to a Wash Ave loft to be part of a active urban environment, it would be pretty darn boring on Sunday.
We all talk about having an active vibrant downtown, and a few retailers are moving in. Now if they could just stay open when people actually shop we will be getting somewhere.
