Hear the one about the guy who spent $19 on a coffee drink? That guy is me.
On my way into work this morning, I stopped by Daily Grind, a new coffee house at Sutton Place. The coffee was good. The parking was not.
There are no very few spots if you just want to drop in for a quick coffee to go, other than a number of unused spots in front of it on Market that are marked for police vehicles only. That’s where I parked. When I left the store after no more than five minutes, a kind lady was printing a $15 ticket for me.
Now, should I have parked there? No. I’m a law-breaker and ready to pay for my crime. But the city is doing itself no favors in its efforts to revitalize downtown by having inadequate parking in front of a retailer. If a business is going to put itself out there with a downtown location, it needs spots for its customers to park.
A few entries back we talked about the inevitable retail impact of soaring gas prices.
Today, we got some proof from the Starbucks coffee chain. Second-quarter earnings are down 28 percent, customer visits are tumbling, expansions have been placed on the back burner and CEO Howard Schultz — the same guy who’s suing to keep the Seattle Supersonics he once owned from moving to Oklahoma City — blames the gas pump.
Locally, we hear rumblings that foot traffic continues to plummet in Wichita-area restaurants. Wichita movie mogul Bill Warren said fuel is eroding his bottom line as well.
The retail fallout from gas prices is like a thunderstorm rolling in from the west. Stay tuned for the damage reports.
Dillions is now taking plastic bags and plastic shrink wrap for recycling in bins in the front of the stores. The plastic is made into plastic bricks, plastic lumber and more plastic bags. Americans use — and this is an amazing number — 100 billion plastic bags a year, and only 2 percent are recycled.
Bill Warren’s lean and hungry eye for expansion has landed – at least for now – in Manhattan, as reported by the Manhattan Mercury.
The Wichita theater magnate isn’t quite as optimistic as Manhattan city officials in the Mercury story. Warren agreed Monday that he’s going to need specific parking and “deal” assistance from the city.
However, he renewed long-held misgivings about the city’s demographics, calling it “a little small for what we do.”
One big similarity with Oklahoma City, home of Warren’s latest expansion, should be noted, though: Underwhelming, mausoleum-like concrete boxes masquerading as movie theaters.
So there’s no doubt that the home of Willie Wildcat would welcome Warren.
Today’s the day, folks: The day when I sign my “economic stimulus” check over to Phillips-Conoco.
An April Zogby poll finds that about 72 percent of Americans share that same level of cynicism about the checks.
I have a strong sense that the only “stimulation” coming from this bi-partisan act of futility will be at the gas pump.
And the check still isn’t in my bank account. Rats.
Or anyone else on the Wichita City Council, if you ask me.
That’s no revelation, but it’s underscored – again – by the council’s open mind on Bill Warren’s red ink on the Old Town theater.
This council has rightly established a precedent of incentivizing downtown development. Cynics call that free money, and a few of them did on Kansas.com in the comments section following our Saturday morning story.
So I’m going to take a stand against those cynics: There’s a lot of development cash across America looking for a place to land, and it’s an investor’s market. If Bill Warren doesn’t invest in Wichita, I can direct you to a parish in Louisiana that’s begging for his money.
Even the most cynical among us surely recognize the need for the city to partner with developers to make downtown grow. This council has been justifiably proactive – with the Warren, with Cowtown, with the Minnesota Guys.
The national economic downturn is taking its toll on Mother’s Day, with a National Retail Federation study showing consumers plan to scale back on gifts for Mom.
According to NRF’s 2008 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers will spend an average of $138.63 this year compared with $139.14 last year.
Jewelry stores appear to be the beneficiary. Of the 84.2 percent of consumers celebrating Mother’s Day, most are leaning to one big piece of jewelry rather than several smaller gifts. While the percentage of those buying jewelry decreased from last year (32.8 percent vs. 29.7 percent in 2008), jewelry buyers will still spend a total of $2.7 billion compared with $2.1 billion last year.
Mom has been saying for decades that it’s the thought that counts on Mother’s Day, and this year, kids might actually be listening,” said NRF president and chief executive Tracy Mullin. “Retailers will offer specials on popular items such as digital cameras and gardening tools to make it easy for those who want to surprise mom with a gift.”
There are