^Yes. They're closing that branch.
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Culinaria opens and within a few short years Macy's closes. Coincidence? I think not.
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Once the Icelandic Krona got devalued in 2008, the days of a downtown Macy's here were numbered.moorlander wrote:Culinaria opens and within a few short years Macy's closes. Coincidence? I think not.
So two banks are closing. Thats crazy. I haven't read the article yet.bprop wrote:^Yes. They're closing that branch.
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I don't see the connection. I can't get an apple at Macy's, and I can't get a pair of socks at Culinaria.moorlander wrote:Culinaria opens and within a few short years Macy's closes. Coincidence? I think not.
In other words, I think Macy's upcoming departure is neither here nor there. Macy's didn't do enough to turn the store around. The city didn't do enough to turn the moribund blocks surrounding Macy's around. The lack of co-tenancy (nothing in St. Louis Centre for years, still nothing on the south side of MX, nothing in the Mercantile Library Building, a depressing south side of Olive Street, and surface lots and US Bank's urban plaza) adjacent to Macy's didn't really help either.
That said, I'm damn glad we have Culinaria, and the range of convenience items takes the sting out of the loss of Macy's a bit even if it doesn't begin to fill the void.
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Surely someone has already pointed out that PNC recently announced they were closing 200 branches.
http://ardmore.patch.com/articles/pnc-b ... es-unknown
http://ardmore.patch.com/articles/pnc-b ... es-unknown
Peoples National Bank is a joke.
When they opened downtown I wanted to support them by opening a business account. It happens that I am doing business in foreign(!) countries and I soon found out my clients were unable to wire money into my PNB account.
The people at the PNB branch downtown were (utterly) unqualified and unable to solve this problem so I left and went to US Bank. (Worked great from day one.)
I still did some local business with PNB but their employees were so incredibly unprofessional and numb I could not bear to set foot in there anymore and just left.
I walk by that branch almost everyday, never see a living soul in there and am surprised they held out as long as they did.
When they opened downtown I wanted to support them by opening a business account. It happens that I am doing business in foreign(!) countries and I soon found out my clients were unable to wire money into my PNB account.
The people at the PNB branch downtown were (utterly) unqualified and unable to solve this problem so I left and went to US Bank. (Worked great from day one.)
I still did some local business with PNB but their employees were so incredibly unprofessional and numb I could not bear to set foot in there anymore and just left.
I walk by that branch almost everyday, never see a living soul in there and am surprised they held out as long as they did.
Culinaria has been one of the best things (if not the best) that has happened to downtown. The closing of Macy's has nothing, zero, zilch to do with Culinaria being downtown. I feel guilty when I sometimes get groceries at bigger (don't get Schnucks'ed) stores elsewhere because Culinaria doesn't carry everything but I try to support the store as much as I can.
Yep. As a 1+ year resident of the neighborhood, I can easily say that having the Culinaria there almost singlehandedly legitimizes living downtown. The ability to roll out of bed and wind up in the dairy aisle in under five minutes is a convenience that really cannot be overstated. And is something I'm about to take advantage of right... now!the count wrote:Culinaria has been one of the best things (if not the best) that has happened to downtown. The closing of Macy's has nothing, zero, zilch to do with Culinaria being downtown. I feel guilty when I sometimes get groceries at bigger (don't get Schnucks'ed) stores elsewhere because Culinaria doesn't carry everything but I try to support the store as much as I can.
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Not to hate on my former home, but it doesn't surprise me. I mean, the bank is based in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Probably not a whole lot of companies dealing in foreign money where they're from. I mean, you can check all of their locations and they have about 4 in an urban area, and they're all here. Note that I am not excusing it, I am just saying they probably aren't all that ready to compete with the big boys in most aspects.the count wrote:Peoples National Bank is a joke.
When they opened downtown I wanted to support them by opening a business account. It happens that I am doing business in foreign(!) countries and I soon found out my clients were unable to wire money into my PNB account.
The people at the PNB branch downtown were (utterly) unqualified and unable to solve this problem so I left and went to US Bank. (Worked great from day one.)
I still did some local business with PNB but their employees were so incredibly unprofessional and numb I could not bear to set foot in there anymore and just left.
I walk by that branch almost everyday, never see a living soul in there and am surprised they held out as long as they did.
What I mainly want in a downtown/neighborhood market is produce (in line with the corner produce markets in NYC). The Culinaria their produce selection is severely lacking.
Disclaimer: I'm a recent transplant, and I've only been to Culinaria twice so far.
But how many chances can you give a grocery when they're out of the majority of the products you need most of the time you visit? Every extra chance is basically an hour of the day squandered (time spent getting the car and getting out to a real grocery store). They should clear out some of the dry goods space and give it to produce.
Disclaimer: I'm a recent transplant, and I've only been to Culinaria twice so far.
But how many chances can you give a grocery when they're out of the majority of the products you need most of the time you visit? Every extra chance is basically an hour of the day squandered (time spent getting the car and getting out to a real grocery store). They should clear out some of the dry goods space and give it to produce.
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Will the food roof sell food directly to the consumer or will it only go through grocery stores?
I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way. I agree that their produce selection isn't great, but I have lived downtown for a year and done all my shopping at Culinaria. Only one time have I not been able to find what I wanted (a few weeks ago they had some great corn in stock, but last week they had none... Luckily they had the best asparagus I've seen in months so that made up for it). Well, food at least, their liquor selection is terrible.eee123 wrote:What I mainly want in a downtown/neighborhood market is produce (in line with the corner produce markets in NYC). The Culinaria their produce selection is severely lacking.
Disclaimer: I'm a recent transplant, and I've only been to Culinaria twice so far.
But how many chances can you give a grocery when they're out of the majority of the products you need most of the time you visit? Every extra chance is basically an hour of the day squandered (time spent getting the car and getting out to a real grocery store). They should clear out some of the dry goods space and give it to produce.
^ What's terrible about their liquor selection? Just curious.
I'm curious about the same thing.innov8ion wrote:^ What's terrible about their liquor selection? Just curious.
We're very spoiled here in Missouri and Illinois as many other states don't allow grocery stores to sell liquor.
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^I was thinking the same thing. Either he/she was being facetious or is unaware of the second level.
I can't think of anything more I'd need liquor-wise than what's up there.
I can't think of anything more I'd need liquor-wise than what's up there.
And there's always Randall's if an even greater selection is needed. Culinaria will do the job more often than not, though.southsidepride wrote:^I was thinking the same thing. Either he/she was being facetious or is unaware of the second level.
I can't think of anything more I'd need liquor-wise than what's up there.
Either ealfotd hasn't been upstairs or he/she thinks that liquor departments should be 8,000 sq ft.innov8ion wrote:And there's always Randall's if an even greater selection is needed. Culinaria will do the job more often than not, though.southsidepride wrote:^I was thinking the same thing. Either he/she was being facetious or is unaware of the second level.
I can't think of anything more I'd need liquor-wise than what's up there.
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It looks like Culinaria expanded their beer selection recently too. They've got a separate chilled section for single 22oz & 750ml bottles now.
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And there's also the little market by Copia.innov8ion wrote:And there's always Randall's if an even greater selection is needed. Culinaria will do the job more often than not, though.southsidepride wrote:^I was thinking the same thing. Either he/she was being facetious or is unaware of the second level.
I can't think of anything more I'd need liquor-wise than what's up there.
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I can kind of relate to ealfotd, actually. Maybe we drink the same stuff. If you just want a bottle of gin and aren't looking for something specific, Culinaria is fine. But I've gone in there looking for a specific brand of gin -- or a size of bottle or a liqueur sold at other Schnucks -- and not found it. That's where Randalls comes in. Compared to a full grocery, the liquor selection at Culinaria is quite limited. For what it is, though -- a downtown grocer -- it's awesome.
^ What he said... I shop at Randall's religiously but since I can walk to Culinaria I usually will check for things there before driving to Randall's. Numerous times I have been looking for a certain liquor or mixer and not found it at Culinaria.