Retail Rally: What's Next For Downtown St. Louis?

roger wyoming II · PostJan 20, 2015#5012015-01-20T22:49+00:00

^ I think if a drug store opened up near Culinaria it might give incentive for both to stay open a bit later... I vacillate a bit on where I think a drug store ideally would be located, but I might give preference to the Syndicate or Chemical if there is enough space. The Bogen or Park Pacific garage space would be good, too.

Or the M/X. By the way, the Marriott Ren Hotel is having a giant sale in the M/X space of its old furnishings as it is undergoing a big renovation.... peeking in it looks like there may be some good deals if your looking for a lamp, nightstand, desk, etc. and/or sink!

downtown2007 · PostJan 21, 2015#5022015-01-21T01:37+00:00

When did Culinaria start closing at 7?

jcity · PostJan 21, 2015#5032015-01-21T05:13+00:00

Have they always closed that early? That sucks. Why?

eee123 · PostJan 21, 2015#5042015-01-21T06:41+00:00

I went to Culinaria a few days ago at 8:55 pm. They closed at 9pm daily as far as I know. It's always busy at that hour. Someone made a comment on here that the homeless are the reason they close that early. Their website seems to indicate a 9pm close.

PostJan 21, 2015#5052015-01-21T06:52+00:00

bigmclargehuge · PostJan 21, 2015#5062015-01-21T12:59+00:00

I just Googled culinaria and their hours say 7-7. That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard. I always go there after 7 on a weekday. Please be wrong.

downtown2007 · PostJan 21, 2015#5072015-01-21T13:28+00:00

I think the Google hours are wrong. Website and phone message states they are open till 9. I would not pay attention to google.

robertn42 · PostJan 21, 2015#5082015-01-21T14:39+00:00

Culinaria is open from 6am to 9pm

stladvocate · PostJan 21, 2015#5092015-01-21T14:42+00:00

9 PM is still way too early to close!

Bart Harley Jarvis · PostJan 21, 2015#5102015-01-21T15:06+00:00

roger wyoming II wrote: Or the M/X. By the way, the Marriott Ren Hotel is having a giant sale in the M/X space of its old furnishings as it is undergoing a big renovation.... peeking in it looks like there may be some good deals if your looking for a lamp, nightstand, desk, etc. and/or sink!

I couldn't figure out what that was when I'd walk by for lunch somewhere. Just a bunch of random lamps and desks....looked weird without any context. Thank you for clarifying.

wabash · PostJan 21, 2015#5112015-01-21T16:39+00:00

My (and Google's) mistake. Glad to hear they're open to 9. That's much better.

jsbru · PostJan 21, 2015#5122015-01-21T19:23+00:00

stladvocate wrote:9 PM is still way too early to close!

I complained about that to their manager, and they said they used to be open until 10, but they moved it back to 9 because they had problems with homeless people. That seems like a pretty lame excuse.

arr1274 · PostJan 22, 2015#5132015-01-22T03:23+00:00

In regards to a drug store, a couple of months ago someone from Downtown STL told me that the parking garage at the ParkPacific has been looked at in the past. They want a drive thru, but there isn't enough traffic on Tucker. So maybe with a little more density it could happen. I think Tucker would need a diet around the same time.

downtown2007 · PostJan 22, 2015#5142015-01-22T04:19+00:00

jsbru wrote:
stladvocate wrote:9 PM is still way too early to close!
I complained about that to their manager, and they said they used to be open until 10, but they moved it back to 9 because they had problems with homeless people. That seems like a pretty lame excuse.

That's a garbage excuse. I would love to call them on that. But I wouldn't be surprised if some workers felt uncomfortable leaving at 10. Why I have no idea, but you know how people are.

jsbru · PostJan 22, 2015#5152015-01-22T05:10+00:00

Well, reading this Schnucks discussion now made me realize I meant to go there tonight to get bath soap. I ran out last night but forgot. So I had to use shampoo on my whole body this morning. And now I forgot again. It's now 11:08, and my best bet at this point is the 24-hour Schnucks in CWE. I can't think of anything closer that's open this late. I suppose I could walk to the shady Shell on Tucker. I would think they would have soap, but I'm not sure.

I am a hot mess today.

jcity · PostJan 22, 2015#5162015-01-22T05:37+00:00

Garbage excuse? Why would they say it if it wasn't the reason, just to go home an hour earlier?
This is exactly why Larry Rice needs to be moved and I'd even argue for the Mark Twain residents to be relocated. Sorry, I want downtown to thrive and these shelters impede it from happening faster. Carr School would make a GREAT shelter or what about buildings in east STL? Lots of abandoned buildings I'd love to see saved as shelters, certainly no developers are lining up to rehab them. This would be a way to save that entire downtown district or at least the Spivey!

pat · PostJan 22, 2015#5172015-01-22T14:28+00:00

^It is a garbage excuse. If homeless are a problem, kick them out. Hire a security guard if it feels unsafe.

jsbru · PostJan 22, 2015#5182015-01-22T16:11+00:00

pat wrote:^It is a garbage excuse. If homeless are a problem, kick them out. Hire a security guard if it feels unsafe.

They already have security guards. Which makes it an even more garbage excuse. I've never even felt close to unsafe out there. And it's always packed right at 9pm. Can't imagine it being not busy for another hour.

downtown2007 · PostJan 25, 2015#5192015-01-25T14:52+00:00

I heard about the concept of what may be going into the old Takaya spot. I like it a lot and should inject some confidence in Wash Ave.

kbshapiro · PostJan 25, 2015#5202015-01-25T15:56+00:00

DT2007 - agreed. Should be good for that end WashAve

terence d · PostJan 25, 2015#5212015-01-25T16:00+00:00

^Alright, between comments like this and the ones over on the State of DT thread, time to let the cat out the bag here before the anticipation kills even the most positive news we can hope for: What's in the works is a three way merger between Google, Apple and Tesla branded as "Gappla". The focus of Gappla will be to completely reinvent human transport: Self driving high speed electric cars with full ability to stream all iTunes content to pass the time between point A and point B. Gappla's world headquarters will be 634 Washington ( the old Takaya spot).

PostJan 25, 2015#5222015-01-25T16:01+00:00

roger wyoming II · PostJan 26, 2015#5232015-01-26T22:49+00:00

This is kind of cool... Aaron Perlut is partnering on the Tiny Bar, which will go into the lobby area of the old Bride's House building that was renovated for Elasticity offices last year.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... l?page=all

So this tiny spot will be next to the Bridge. Maybe the Left Bank Books spot can be subdivided into 3 or 4 small Locust store fronts and we can have Diminutive Row. Small's Teas closed on Cherokee, but maybe it could re-open here; if the state legislature didn't ban show rooms we could have had the Fiat place as well.

jsbru · PostJan 26, 2015#5242015-01-26T22:52+00:00

This makes three new towers and a new basketball arena in downtown Milwaukee...a city significantly smaller than St. Louis, but a city that also has racial, poverty, and suburbs/city issues, but figures out how to get stuff done nonetheless:

http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2015/01/26/pl ... king-news/

Goes to show you what regional cooperation between players will do if people actually believe in a vision.

FWIW, Milwaukee's done a great job rehabbing it's former historic/industrial district south of downtown, tearing down a freeway and building new construction north of downtown, and developing the lakefront east of downtown.

St. Louis should take the hint.

PostJan 26, 2015#5252015-01-26T22:58+00:00

Also, they have a streetcar in the works, but conservative nihilists on talk radio and in the state legislature are trying to put a wrench in its gears. But even though it's annoying, I think ultimately, all it will amount to is delay.

Retail Rally: What's Next For Downtown St. Louis?

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