The Piazza: kind of dumb
The Piazza: Kind of empty, no?
OK, I’m a mean jerk, but somebody’s got to say it:
The Piazza is dumb.
Am I the only person writing in Philadelphia that thinks this? Yeah, it’s shiny and pretty, but there’s what, like ten billion blogs here and a dozen-odd media outlets and everybody is all sunshine, lollipops and handjobs about flooding the market with high-priced retail with niche appeal? It doesn’t seem sustainable.
Not sustainable in a, you know, conscious, solar-power-using, hip way. It’s more like sustainable in a “How on earth can most of these places keep up with the costs of a storefront long-term?” way.
They have a quote from Bruce Reinfeld, who helped fill the storefronts (including with his own gallery, High Fidelity Photography), over at planphilly:
“We’ve been working on a lot of community stuff and building this thing where it’s not just retail stores, it’s not another supermarket or strip mall or anything like that,” Reinfeld says. “It’s meant to be a very creative environment where we feed off each other, and it’s working out great.”
“Feed off each other”? Keeping a storefront ain’t cheap, although word on the street is that developer Bart Blatstein and Tower Investments set rent for retail shops on the Piazza at a pretty reasonable rate so they could attract just these kinds of shops and galleries that they felt would fit the development’s image.
But whether you’re selling screenprinted T-shirts or Cinnabons, the main food of a business is cash, not creativity. I’ve been to the Piazza three times now, and even the Saturday after opening weekend those stores, for the most part, were not selling stuff. The other two times, the whole place was deserted.
It doesn’t matter if an angel gets its wings every time Bart Blatstein says the word, communities are not based on the sale of luxury goods. The people who live in the area will eventually consume all the $325 jeans and $90 throw pillows they can afford, and I just don’t see where the replacement income stream is going to come from. There’s no foot traffic to speak of, and while the Piazza could be played as destination shopping, let’s be honest: even if you and I aren’t put off by the somewhat bleak surrounding area to the north, a lot of people who will spend $90 on a throw pillow will be.
I think the restaurants and bars will do just fine (was at Swift Half just last night and had a delightful time), as will Delicious Corsets, cuz they’ve got a clientele that will follow them wherever, Pink Dolphin, because they’re the only place in the whole place where you can get tampons, milk, cigarettes and Cheerios, the coffee shop, Bambi Gallery and the dry-cleaner. Oh yeah, and the yoga-for-kids center.* But there’s a limit to how many shops with similar retail products an area can sustain.
But hey, maybe I’m missing something here, maybe many of these stores have thriving online business going that will pay their rent and more. Maybe they’ve got licensing deals with other boutiques. Maybe I just went on three slow days. Maybe the supermarket they’re putting in next door will draw more people. Maybe it’s a little much to expect the place to be bustling the week after it opens. It’s not like I have a degree in urban planning or business, I’m just using what feels like common sense; if you disagree, I’m very curious to hear other people’s thoughts on what I’m missing.
It’s like that one scene from “Easy Rider.” It’s about the first minute or so of this clip below, up to the point where Peter Fonda nods all manly-like and says, “They’re gonna make it; dig, they’re gonna make it.”
I hope that Peter Fonda is right; I actually am going to be really sad if that optimistic little magic shop goes under, I think the actual piazza part of the Piazza is fantastic, and the architecture is nice to look at.
But I gotta say: I’m with Dennis Hopper.
* Which incidentally just made me want to stand in the middle of that based-on-Blatstein’s-European-travels public square and just scream “THERE IS A GODDAMNED YOGA STUDIO FOR KIDS OVER THERE! DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE IT? IT’S CALLED FUCKING ‘TEENY YOGINI!’ YOU MAY BE WEARING FUGAZI SHIRTS BUT YOU’RE YUPPIES! YUPPIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!“)
I’m not a very big fan of the Piazza. It’s too sleek and shiny for my taste and goddammit, NoLibs needs a legit supermarket before it needs another art gallery.
But I’d argue that it’s no less likely that these businesses will thrive than it was for the shops on Liberties Walk, which seems to be doing well (expecting Swallow’s demise).
Also, in regard to foot traffic, I’m curious what time of day you were there. I’ve been there nights and weekends and while I wouldn’t say it was bustling, there were definitely a good number of people around. I’d guess they get traffic from the restaurants on the Walk and on Second Street and I would think once they start hosting actual events—seriously guys, not everyone in that neighborhood thinks world music is awesome—the traffic would increase.
But, really, a Whole Foods or a Wegman’s is really what that neighborhood needs.
I believe you guyses are getting a Pathmark in the space they’re digging up just north of the Piazza… you lucky bastards. I’ll trade you my Whole Foods for a non-ridiculous grocery any day.
From what I’ve heard (and I only have heard people rhapsodize about the glory of Wegmans, never been to one) they’ll never put a Wegman’s in real, actual Philly.
demerits for not mentioning Darling’s, the cafe/cheesecake shop in the large north-facing corner space… if you’d stopped in and had a slice of their chocolate rasberry cheesecake you won’t be this bitter. not by a longshot!
Darling’s has great cheesecake, but as a diner, they sort of suck. The server is either nonexistent or totally overbearing and they’re way too expensive for standard diner fare.
I’m actually one of those weirdos who doesn’t like cheesecake. Never have, for whatever reason.
Yeah, I looked at Darling’s, but the menu was pricey for eating alone (I went back by myself one weekday afternoon before writing this to make sure I wasn’t just cranky on the day of my initial visit), especially at a place that bills itself as a diner.
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