How's Flamingo Bowl doing these days? Haven't been there in a while. Hope it's still a popular draw.
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Same. I live upstairs so it's a pretty reliable bar spot. It seems to do well drawing in people that probably would have ended up at Plagers.STLhistoryBuff wrote: ↑Mar 19, 2018I live Downtown and whenever I walk by, it's always got a good amount of people in there.
Sen had its soft opening at lunch today. I was not able to make it, but hope to soon.
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It appears Flamingo does fine. It’s a great asset on Wash Ave. Very consistent and welcoming.
Crushed Velvet opened in the old Side Bar space recently as well.
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Crushed Velvet opened in the old Side Bar space recently as well.
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Anyone know what's going on with Kinn (Fork & Stix) at M/X? Hopefully it's still a go,
^ FWIW, there is signage up and looks close to opening. It has been moving the past few months from what I can tell walking by.
Rascal Flatts bar opening at MX. Looks like this could be the 2nd location (others in the works). I am surprised we are getting one of the first expansions but it is nice to see. I think it should do well. The convention crowd I am sure will enjoy it.
https://nextstl.com/2018/03/rascal-flat ... -downtown/
https://nextstl.com/2018/03/rascal-flat ... -downtown/
To echo my own comments and others' comments on the article:
1: Anxious to know which retail space they'll use. 7th Street would be a step towards Amos Harris's 7th street corridor vision. There' some space left over down by Locust that the Y didn't use but the pedestrian traffic down there is sparse to say the least.
2: PBR and Tin Roof pull in a lot of the country music crowd. I have a feeling this will too. Between this and Hamburger Mary's, we could see some bar hopping going on on eastern Wash Ave. Yes, even in STL, gay bars and country music bars can attract the same clientele.
1: Anxious to know which retail space they'll use. 7th Street would be a step towards Amos Harris's 7th street corridor vision. There' some space left over down by Locust that the Y didn't use but the pedestrian traffic down there is sparse to say the least.
2: PBR and Tin Roof pull in a lot of the country music crowd. I have a feeling this will too. Between this and Hamburger Mary's, we could see some bar hopping going on on eastern Wash Ave. Yes, even in STL, gay bars and country music bars can attract the same clientele.
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^ i'm very curious about location, too, especially if Kinn is still a go. how much space did BMO Harris take up on the back side?
They’re taking the 10,000 sf of what’s left of the 2nd floor above Porano, Taze, and CBW.
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^ thanks! so do you know how much space might be left for commercial/retail space?
Whoa, wasn't expecting that. The staircase pretty much just leads straight into the movie theater. Maybe the direct access to the parking might help them. And wasn't there a mention of sidewalk seating somewhere?
EDIT: I guess I never realized that this was leasable space above Porano:
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Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 12.25.50 PM by Alex Price, on Flickr
I'm actually pretty excited about this now. That will be a really cool view down Washington. I'm going to have to eat here on occasion.
EDIT: I guess I never realized that this was leasable space above Porano:
Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 12.25.50 PM by Alex Price, on Flickr
I'm actually pretty excited about this now. That will be a really cool view down Washington. I'm going to have to eat here on occasion.
It's a block away from where I work, I'm really excited about this. It really is great to see that area so crowded with pedestrian traffic at friday dinner time.
Looking forward to trying it.
Hope we can get some more retail vs. the revolving door of restaurants.
Hope we can get some more retail vs. the revolving door of restaurants.
I've only been in STL for 3.5 years now. I know there was a restaurant in the Porano spot before but I don't know of any other closed restaurants at MX. There were two retail spots, one was basically a filler until they could find a tenant who would pay full price for the space and the other was a women's apparel business.
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^ Takaya Japanese was in the Porano spot; I think your're right there have been no other closures at least that I can think of.... in fact it seems to be a pretty solid place to plop your restaurant.
Trova Gifts is the retail spot that closed and where Kiin is now; the other retail spot was The Collective of a few small designers/artists, etc.... I think they were offered a spot out at one of the outlet malls in the beautiful Chesterfield Valley but didn't last long. Anyway, yeah it is frustrating we don't have more shops and think this is something Downtown STL should work on... I'd probably focus on the warehouse district for a bit of a cluster for boutiques/small biz types.
Trova Gifts is the retail spot that closed and where Kiin is now; the other retail spot was The Collective of a few small designers/artists, etc.... I think they were offered a spot out at one of the outlet malls in the beautiful Chesterfield Valley but didn't last long. Anyway, yeah it is frustrating we don't have more shops and think this is something Downtown STL should work on... I'd probably focus on the warehouse district for a bit of a cluster for boutiques/small biz types.
Yes, I guess we have a fashion incubator downtown now, right?
I still think it would have been really cool to do something with the first 2 floors of Arcade. Those would be small storefronts with affordable leasing rates and would be able to incubate a variety of retail startups. I guess what we have right now isn't bad though, just.. uninspired. Especially when so many WU students seem to just be taking online courses for graduate studies.
I still think it would have been really cool to do something with the first 2 floors of Arcade. Those would be small storefronts with affordable leasing rates and would be able to incubate a variety of retail startups. I guess what we have right now isn't bad though, just.. uninspired. Especially when so many WU students seem to just be taking online courses for graduate studies.
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MircoSun has had a 25% store closing sign for about 6 months now but also has "we are hiring" sign. 
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^ I noticed it was still open last time I was down that way... my memory is vague, but I think they may have said when the announced they were closing that they'd still be doing online sales but I assumed that meant they'd close the Wash Ave. location. Anyway, odd.
Elsewhere, I see downtown Detroit is going to be getting an H&M. Put that one down as a good candidate for opening in the city, but most likely in CWE.
Elsewhere, I see downtown Detroit is going to be getting an H&M. Put that one down as a good candidate for opening in the city, but most likely in CWE.
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^ is there even an available commercial space in the CWE large enough to hold an H&M?
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^ you may be right for existing space... there probably should be some decent space in the new Lindell building but not sure if enough for an H&M. But tbh I was thinking for the Foundry, tho I guess that's Midtown and not CWE.
An H&M would go a long way to revitalize retail Downtown. When I look at that corner with Porano, I see sleek modern two story retail.
I'd rather do that as opposed to continuing to add to the CWE. Obviously, I'm an idealist and don't get to make choices, but I think if leadership spent a little time courting high profile retail to fill Downtown vacancies, it would go a long way not only for residents, but tourists and regional visitors as well.
Malls aren't going to last forever, and peppering bigger retail amongst local food, drink, and bespoke retail would create a really vibrant downtown. I would say we are mostly there with food and drink. But even as a functional neighborhood, we are very, seemingly, deficient in real, usable retail that enhances quality of life in Downtown.
I'd rather do that as opposed to continuing to add to the CWE. Obviously, I'm an idealist and don't get to make choices, but I think if leadership spent a little time courting high profile retail to fill Downtown vacancies, it would go a long way not only for residents, but tourists and regional visitors as well.
Malls aren't going to last forever, and peppering bigger retail amongst local food, drink, and bespoke retail would create a really vibrant downtown. I would say we are mostly there with food and drink. But even as a functional neighborhood, we are very, seemingly, deficient in real, usable retail that enhances quality of life in Downtown.
Not sure if there's a separate Landing thread or not but I'll post it here. I walked around the Landing Sunday morning. It's much easier and nicer to get to now that the Arch Ground Wash Ave entrance is open. Not as visually direct as it should be but you don't have to go out of your way much. And really the point of the grounds reno was to get direct tourists to the arch, bt it still would have been nice to have a visually specific path to the Landing.
Anyway... "The Lou" took the place of Joey B's. Same vibe. There's a Mexican restaurant opening next door (to the South). They're currently building it. Kimchi guys (the old Drunken Fish spot, same owners) seems to be progressing. All the signage is up but I think they still have a lot of construction to go.
They're also building something at the corner of Memorial and Washington. Lots of vinyl plank flooring, wood plank walls, and black chainlink stalls set up. No idea what they're going for.
Anyway... "The Lou" took the place of Joey B's. Same vibe. There's a Mexican restaurant opening next door (to the South). They're currently building it. Kimchi guys (the old Drunken Fish spot, same owners) seems to be progressing. All the signage is up but I think they still have a lot of construction to go.
They're also building something at the corner of Memorial and Washington. Lots of vinyl plank flooring, wood plank walls, and black chainlink stalls set up. No idea what they're going for.