Downtown openings/closing

[dogbo]

^ bummer! I really liked their pizza but yes, I think the probably could never do the volume you they wanted/needed to do because their process wasn't fast enough.

[Mastermind]

I didn't like the table arrangement.

[tyrgyzistan]

I didn't like the table arrangement.

Something wasn't quite right from the beginning. Only open 15 hours a week, across the street from the sculpture garden with people visiting every weekend. Long wood tables that forced groups to eat close to each other. Adding Calzones and breadsticks after having just pizza and salads for so long. Its almost a year to the day since the place opened.

[bbnskb]

According to the sign posted, Corigliano's Pizza is going into the Kaleidoscope food court.

[DMRyan]

Are they closing their Fleur Drive @ Wakonda location?

[dogbo]

^....and haven't they opened and closed two different downtown locations (4th St and Partnership Bldg) in a matter of weeks/months within the last few years?

[wmjindsm]

^....and haven't they opened and closed two different downtown locations (4th St and Partnership Bldg) in a matter of weeks/months within the last few years?

yes, from Joanne Boeckman's column last year...

Corigliano’s Pizza existed for a few years at 2619 S.W. Ninth St., across from Lincoln High School. Most recently, it had a very short run on the skywalk. Corigliano’s Pizza was locked up and the matter is in litigation. Before that, it had another short run as Corigliano’s Underground at 207 Fourth St. in the Court Avenue district.

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/ ... nos-pizza/

[dsmspence]

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/03/02/finders-creepers-preparing-to-close-18th-street-store/

Looks like Jeepers Creepers is closing which I can't say I care about one way or another... I can't wait for someone to come along and clean this building up. It reminds of of a small version of what the Temple looked like before it got taken care of. A renovation of this building along with a cool rotary for the 18/Locust/Grand/Fluer intersectionwould be such a great "Gateway into The Gateway"...

[Mastermind]

Anyone know whats going on at Centro? Everything is covered in platic. Probably just a coat of paint....

[wmjindsm]

Anyone know whats going on at Centro? Everything is covered in platic. Probably just a coat of paint....

from their Facebook page...

Centro will be closed Monday, March 19 for two days for a spring refresh! We will re-open for lunch on Wednesday, March 21.

[dogbo]

Short note in Register today that Azetca (sp?) is closing. This is the Mexican restaurant that took over the space in Capital Square when Stella's Blue Sky Diner closed.

[Mastermind]

HOST to open in former Flour space. Interesting concept, but i cant help but think this is better suited for the EV or Court Ave
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/ ... es-moines/

[DMRyan]

I think the Western Gateway is fine, just not in this tiny space. Hopefully they'll choose to be open for more than three hours a day like Flour was.

Des Moines needs more restaurants like this and it's been an awfully quiet period for good new local places opening up. Thanks grease interceptor requirements!

[AnotherDMer]

Not that anyone will notice, but the salon that was next to Happy Sushi in the Kaleidescope closed last week. Add this to the closing of Christopher and Banks, the two eyeglasses stores, and previous closures that left vacant spaces, and you have one empty Kaleidescope.

In addition, the News Depot in Capitol Square is going to be closing. El Azteca has already closed.

What can Des Moines really do with the skywalks at this point? Overall, downtown is doing better than it has in a long, long time obviously. But, the skywalks are doing AWFUL. I cringe when out-of-towners are in town for NCAA events, etc and walk around the skywalks. There are vacancies everywhere. The skywalks were previously considered a perk for downtown. Are they anymore? I guess what really needs to happen is that they start getting some of that office space in the east part of downtown filled up again. There just isn't the traffic there used to be.

[dogbo]

^ IMO, this isn't really a "skywalk problem". It is actually pretty simple. You have three large downtown employers - Wellmark, Nationwide/Allied, and Aviva that used to have several thousand employees located in two buildings in the north part of the core, in Capital Square, and Ruan. They are all gone. They used to all roam the skywalks and now have no real reason to do so. No surprise that you take 3,000+ employees and move them out of the core and to the western edge of downtown (and in the case of Avia, to W DM), you're going to have issues.

As mentioned, the solution is to find ways to get employers/employees back in those buildings.

[casbern]

As mentioned, the solution is to find ways to get employers/employees back in those buildings.

I'm curious if there will be any interest to even fill those buildings from larger employers. If you are that large, you'd build your own facility to fit your own needs. If anything, they'd need to be regional hubs IMO.But I'm still wondering if they'd garner any interest.

[econboy]

As mentioned, the solution is to find ways to get employers/employees back in those buildings.

I'm curious if there will be any interest to even fill those buildings from larger employers. If you are that large, you'd build your own facility to fit your own needs. If anything, they'd need to be regional hubs IMO.But I'm still wondering if they'd garner any interest.

Will all depend more on how the company is growing. If it's a mega-multi national corporate conglomerate already, these spaces probably aren't going to fit the bill. However, if there is a portion of even those big ones that is growing fast and needs quick available space, parts of these buildings would work well.

The best fits will be the startups and mid-sized companies in their prime growth period looking to make a footprint for themselves. Admitedly, either way you look at it these spaces will be a harder fill in the near term.

[casbern]

I just thought of this:

How cool would it be if some heavy hitters could contact Ben Silbermann of Pinterest to have a regional office, or heck, even move his corporate office here to DSM, and fulfill some of these vacancies and help Silicon 6th even more?

Long shot, but it'd be really interesting to see the ramifications.

[wmjindsm]

Proof is changing owners. Here is a story on what is up for the restaurant:

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/ ... t-changes/

[4th&Court]

In addition, the News Depot in Capitol Square is going to be closing.

From the Register (4/13/12): "Owner Jung Hee Kim said traffic declined when large businesses such as Wellmark and Aviva moved out of walking distance of her shop. Demand for print magazines and newspapers has also declined, she said."

I have no sympathy for this woman. She, along with the proprietors of The Marketplace in the Kaleidoscope and the Hawkeye Pantry in the skywalk are very rude, unskilled business owners. I would say the biggest mistake all 3 have made is REFUSING to accept debit cards for any purchases under $6. Like it or not, debit is the main form of payment for nearly all of us these days, and people rarely carry cash. We, as customers, are not willing to buy $6 worth of crap from your convenience store for the privilege of using our debit cards, especially when we stop in only wanting to grab a drink or a candy bar. We're also not willing to hunt down an ATM just for the privilege of visiting your store, and the ATM with the universal $3.50 fee outside the Hawkeye Pantry is really no help. I know of many people who go out of their way to run by Walgreens when they want a convenience item specifically because they don't carry cash, despite the fact that they will be walking past the News Depot, Marketplace, or Hawkeye Pantry minutes later. The policy is stupid and arbitrary, and definitely loses all 3 businesses far more than they think it is saving them.

Also, all 3 proprietors just tend to be very rude. The guy at the Marketplace has been known to tell customers they are taking too long to find their change, and they need to come back when they have their money ready. He also has a habit of overzealously following customers--even those in business attire--to "prevent theft." The woman at the News Depot is often on the phone when a customer comes in, and it can be very hard to get her attention as she tells some "hilarious" story in her native language.

These stores would all do well if they were run the way larger chain stores are, and I highly doubt that such changes would be somehow impossible for them because of their size.

[dogbo]

^^ ^
Some valid points. Most notably for the gal at the place in Capital Square that is closing. I don’t have a lot of reason to purchase items there, but I can recall the few times feeling like I wasn’t exactly appreciated as a customer. i.e….like I was bothering her to have to stop what she was doing to ring me up. I’ve never had any issues with the Hawkeye Pantry staff though.

Anyway, on the debit card issue – this is the reason Dwolla could be a big thing. It is easy to criticize the business, but ask any small business owner about the fees and you’d better understand why they refuse to accept under as certain dollar amount. The fees eat up their already meager margins. The big chains can absorb some of these losses as a cost of doing business. That is a bit tougher for the mom and pop’s. As I said, this is where Dwolla might be able to fill the gaps (if I understand the “product” correctly).

[4th&Court]

^^ ^
It is easy to criticize the business, but ask any small business owner about the fees and you’d better understand why they refuse to accept under as certain dollar amount. The fees eat up their already meager margins. The big chains can absorb some of these losses as a cost of doing business.

It appears the costs are really more of a cultural myth than a reality. It strikes me that throughout the skywalk and even in businesses elsewhere in the Des Moines area, it is really only businesses owned by people from a couple of cultural backgrounds that practice these debit card policies. It really doesn't matter if that fact makes certain people uncomfortable, it's a reality.

So the question really comes down to, are they really saving (or gaining) any profit or revenue if I skip their business entirely in favor of a place like Walgreens, where I can use my debit card?

[conquistador2]

I don't think it's quite as simple as saying this is a "cultural" issue. I've been to plenty of coffee shops and other stores that have minimum requirements for credit/debit cards.

The fact of the matter is that up until 2010, it was actually a violation against the merchant agreements to have such a policy. The laws were changed a couple of years ago, and now any business can require up to a $10 minimum.

I do understand both sides of it. In my own shop, I've had some ridiculous cases where somebody's total comes out to 43 cents, and they'll whip out a credit card to pay for the transaction. I usually just hand the card back and tell him/her nicely to take the item and I won't charge him/her anything. It doesn't make sense to run the card if I'm going to have a net loss.

I would guess that there are certain banks/processors that would be able to offer a better deal for businesses that do a lot of smaller transactions. It seems like that would be a smarter way to operate.

[4th&Court]

Are there any businesses in the skywalk, other than the handful of food court tenants owned by proprietors of similar background to the aforementioned convenience stores, that have similar debit card policies?

[wildbill]

Are there any businesses in the skywalk, other than the handful of food court tenants owned by proprietors of similar background to the aforementioned convenience stores, that have similar debit card policies?

It's not a race issue. conquistador2 explained it. It's a fact that some stores, like newsstands, probably do much more business selling <$2 transactions several times a day, so it's not worth paying the debit fees. I'm not sure why you're pressing such an issue on this forum?

[Ingersoll1978]

I know Java Joe's had that rule in place.

[casbern]

I know Java Joe's had that rule in place.

Still does.

[wmjindsm]

Not sure yet if this will be a downtown or outside downtown opening, but Tacopocalypse, the mobile food stand will be opening at a permanent location (they will still have the mobile unit). They haven't announce where yet, that will next week. I just tried them for the first time two weeks ago and they're really good.

from their Facebook page:

Okay, here is the big announcement: This is the moment some of you have been waiting for! Tacopocalypse has an official home. We have nicknamed the assembling of the Kitchen "Project Bullhorn" (you will see why soon) and will be posting pictures and updates as we go. Opening date and location to be announced sometime next week. This is for real, so get excited. But not too excited, I don't want anyone soiling themselves.

https://www.facebook.com/Tacopocalypse/ ... 2260616590

[4th&Court]

Are there any businesses in the skywalk, other than the handful of food court tenants owned by proprietors of similar background to the aforementioned convenience stores, that have similar debit card policies?

It's not a race issue. conquistador2 explained it. It's a fact that some stores, like newsstands, probably do much more business selling <$2 transactions several times a day, so it's not worth paying the debit fees. I'm not sure why you're pressing such an issue on this forum?

You take the honor of the first mention of race.

[wildbill]

Are there any businesses in the skywalk, other than the handful of food court tenants owned by proprietors of similar background to the aforementioned convenience stores, that have similar debit card policies?

It's not a race issue. conquistador2 explained it. It's a fact that some stores, like newsstands, probably do much more business selling <$2 transactions several times a day, so it's not worth paying the debit fees. I'm not sure why you're pressing such an issue on this forum?

You take the honor of the first mention of race.

Oooh. Your pointed use of "background" was aimed at the proprietors' education and relevant work experience. My mistake.