A few things revisited
a grocery store in neOn the Eckington listserv there is all this back and forth about the old Safeway and hoped for replacement. Please take the Harris Teeter off the list. According to an old press release HT is scheduled to open Winter 2010/2011. According to a recent DCMUD post (hat tip eckington blog), that date could be November 2010.
Honestly Eckington/Edgewood area, I don't see what that area has to attract the kind of store y'all think you deserve. The two favorites according to Debbie Smith's poll were Trader Joe's (which tends to like small spaces with hidden parking) and Wegmans. What no Balducci's? I left the Logan Circle are a few months after the Whole Foods opened, and from what I remember the civic authorities of that area showed how the population of Logan/Shaw (and Dupont) could support a Whole Foods. The Soviet Safeway, the O Street Giant, and the no-name grocery in the area were no competition for the kind of shopper that would support WF. If y'all can prove that a national or regional grocery chain can thrive there despite a Giant nearby that happens to be very convenient to a metro station with many buses, go for it.
and regarding sidewalks and the problems for those in wheelchairs (from Scott Roberts list)
See this 2/17/2010 message from ANC 5C04 Commissioner John Salatti:
Bloomingdale does it again: another resident is helped!
Once again, Bloomingdale residents have shown their concern for their neighbors and done it with more than just words. This past weekend I heard from Angela xxxxxxx who uses a motorized wheelchair to get to and from college in Rockville, MD. She makes that daily trip using Metro. That trip is long and difficult on the best of days (Angela has some hairy stories of having to drive her wheelchair down Michigan Avenue from the Brookland Metro Station when the buses have not run), her trip became impossible after the snow storm because she could travel barely 20 feet from her property before the sidewalk became impassable for her wheelchair.
After meeting with Angela and hearing her situation and what she needs to go back to school, I called on a number of residents for a major operation: get Angela from her home in the xxxx block of Flagler Place to the bus stop at North Capitol and W Street, about a third of mile. And once again Bloomingdale responded. Many, many thanks to Sara Kaufman and Mike McNeil of the Unit block of W Street, and Dodd Naiser, Alastair Pakiam, and Brandon Skall of Flagler Place for joining me to widen the path on the sidewalk and for chopping out a lot of ice so that Angela could make her way safely to the bus stop and back. We went with her on a test drive back and forth. She couldn't believe that people would do so much to help her.
Thanks everyone!
Please clear the sidewalks.
Labels: ADA, Bloomingdale/Eckington, development, weather
posted by Mari @ 18.2.10
2 Comments:
There is no question this area could support another Whole Foods. Have you ever been in the one on P St? It is always a zoo! It is amazing to think the area had to convince Whole Foods to move in. If that store isn't turning a fat profit, then someone is stealing money.
I really should just delete your comment because 1- it is anonymous which means it wasn't worth enough to even put a fake name behind it and 2- it's stupid.
But I'm keeping it because it illustrates an attitude that doesn't help.
"There is no question"? Heck it isn't supporting the closing Safeway, so there is a question. Fancy chain supermarkets are not a human right, nor are they city service that residents are entitled to have.
Also don't mistake gross for net. Yes, I have been to Whole Foods on P where the civic leaders had worked and proved that the surrounding area had the disposable income to support "overpriced" lettuce. However, grocery stores tend to run on thin margins, but the P Street numbers are probably enough to cover utilities, maintenance, labor, spoilage, loss, insurance taxes, and other costs you aren't observing because you're just looking at the cash register.
Lastly, location, location, location. How many times should I mention that the Safeway is a bit of a slog from the RI metro. That skinny little sidewalk under the bridge isn't a happy place and the hill just to get up to the store, bah. That area isn't pedestrian friendly. Well not as friendly as the 1400 block of P. Heck the O Street Giant is in a more pedestrian friendly area than that Safeway. Also the P Street Whole Foods has a population in walking and biking distance with the disposable income to support such a place.
So there is a question and unless someone has some data that says the population in a 1 mile radius is likely to go to that location (as opposed to somewhere else) on a regular basis and will spend X amount of dollars a month there, it's just BSing.
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