Could West Columbia Lose A Grocer?

As we look further into our Village Centers and how to keep them viable in our current market, we must look into another aspect of their existence, this time into Grocery Stores. In one way or another, 8 of our 9 Village Centers are Grocery Anchored with Long Reach as the exception due to its pending redevelopment and its location that is surrounded by multiple Grocery Stores. 20 years ago, it was a given that all Village Centers were to be Grocery Anchored and when one closes, it will would be back-filled with another more viable Grocer, or the Center would be redeveloped because the existing Grocer space is too small.

In the past 20 years, mainstream Grocers have faced increasingly tighter competition as new stores have opened and larger big box stores like Target, WalMart, Cosco, BJs, Wegmans, and Sams Club have begun dominating the market scene as have smaller concept Grocers like Trader Joes and Aldi. One can't mention emerging Grocers without the ultra trendy and upscale Whole Foods. As far as competition to the Village Centers is concerned, it has effected the East Columbia Village Centers the most.

Oakland Mills has had the largest amount of Grocers leave its center. A Giant now wanting to stick around for redevelopment, a Metro being bought out by Parent Companies, a Food Lion being one of several to be bought by Weis, and a Weis closing citing robberies and under performing sales. Somehow Oakland Mills has lured yet another Grocer, LA Mart. LA Mart is not a mainstream Grocer and focuses on international foods as well as standard American Groceries. The international concept is due to the very diverse population around Oakland Mills Village Center and is also looking to be a regional destination for those looking for a more diverse array of Groceries.

Kings Contrivance has always been a successful Center as a whole with a mix of independent and chain stores with few vacancies. This however has not always been the case with its Grocers. Upon opening in 1986 Kings Contrivance had a small Value Food that closed in 1999 as the company filed for Chapter 11. The interior of this store was quite dingy already but none the less Safeway opened 30 days later after minimal renovation. Although Safeway brought brand name recognition, the store was run properly and instead of performing much needed renovations, it was shut down in late 2005. This is when Harris Teeter began scouting out spaces in which to expand into the Maryland Market. They chose Kings Contrivance and demolished the old Safeway building and build a brand new store much larger than its predecessor and opened in 2008. No stores left the Center in the three years it had no anchor.

The saddest Village Center is Long Reach. It hasn't had an anchor in six years and has been bought by the County to redevelop. Getting the go ahead to redevelop has been a long and arduous road with no end in sight. A Grocer will not be sought out replace the vacant Safeway/Family Market space since the area is too saturated by stronger Grocers. Since the Grocer space has gone vacant, the Center has lost most of its tenants and is a ghost town. Redevelopment plans show mixed use. It is unclear if any of the few remaining tenants will remain during and after redevelopment.

Owen Brown Village Center has maintained its Giant throughout its entire 41 years existence. Owen Brown has struggled with vacant storefronts but has had a consistent Grocer that has expanded and modernized its store through the years. Some redevelopment has occurred here but more is required to inline tenants filled.

By comparison, the West Columbia Village Centers have seen significantly less activity on the Grocer front. Dorsey's Search, Hickory Ridge, and River Hill all have Giants and have had them since they opened in 1989, 1992, and 1998 respectively. Wilde Lake has seen the most redevelopment recently when its grossly undersized Giant closed in 2006.

After an exhausting redevelopment, existing specialty Grocer David's Natural Market re-opened in a brand new store with a more traditional Grocer layout. A CVS has also opened in Wilde Lake as a dual anchors. Wilde Lake is now mixed use with Apartments. This has been successful as Wilde Lake has lured a Starbucks, Smoothie King, JC Hair Salon, and Bliss Nails have all opened recently in the Center. Feet First, Hunan Family, Today's Catch Seafood Market and the UPS Store have moved to new location within the redeveloped Center while long term tenants like Anthony Richard Barber Shop, Pizza Bolis, and the Bagel Bin have remained in their original locations throughout redevelopment.

 Harper's Choice in the early to mid 1990s began bleeding tenants as the very small Valu Food there failed to attract shoppers. Despite many vacancies, Safeway agreed to open at the Center but only after a massive redevelopment. The old Valu Food was demolished making way for a brand new Safeway close to three times the size of its predecessor in 1998. Since then, Harpers Choice has had very few vacancies.

So now, in this crowded market of Grocery Anchored Village Centers in West Columbia, could something close? Grocers these days are stressing quality over quantity and are closing smaller under performing stores and choosing to invest in ones that are already more successful or taking over spaces left by now defunct Grocery chains. So what could this mean for the West Columbia Market?

Well, the outer Village Centers such as Dorsey's Search and River Hill have minimal competition so I don't see their Giants closing. Wilde Lake doesn't have a traditional Grocer as an anchor and both the CVS and David's Natural Market are both in brand new redeveloped spaces. That leaves Harpers Choice and Hickory Ridge vulnerable. Both are very close by one another, both have full sized mainstream Grocers, and both have their own set of struggles.

Hickory Ridge has announced that it intends to redevelop its Center. This announcement came at a time where Hickory Ridge was almost fully leased and probably could have simply remodeled it aging facades and expanded and modernized the Giant and everything would have been fine. However this was not the course of action taken and the uneasiness that accompanies redevelopment has made tenants flee the Center. Could Giant be next? They have vowed to stay at Hickory Ridge during the redevelopment which includes a renovation and expansion to their existing store. Giant has left Village Centers in the past such as Wilde Lake and Oakland Mills and in Baltimore has left the Rotunda despite promising to stay on as it was redeveloped but left in favor of a space up the street vacated by Fresh 'N Greens.

This is probably something that weighs heavily on the minds of Hickory Ridge Residents and the Village Center's landlords alike. So if Giant left Hickory Ridge, where would it go? Would it even reopen elsewhere? Would it simply shift focus solely on Dorsey's Search and River Hill? Would it move to...... Harpers Choice? The same Harpers Choice with a Safeway? Harpers Choice does have fewer vacant storefronts and has a higher density of housing surrounding it. That could be a prized possession to the ever aggressive Giant.

Harpers Choice Village Center though relatively successful may have some cracks starting to form in the Grocer front. The biggest one is Residents plain old don't like the Safeway. They'd rather go to another store in another Village Center. Residents have stated that they'd be more likely to shop there if the Grocer wasn't Safeway and the Center undergoes additional redevelopment. What I'd like to see happen is for Kroger (same parent company as Safeway) to take over that space. Kroger as a whole is a nicer Grocer than Safeway and with new management can give Harpers Choice a shot in the arm and encourage redevelopment. That unless Giant leaves Hickory Ridge, outbids Safeway, and snatches up the space from under them. Not what I want to happen, I just believe it to be possible.

So where would that leave Hickory Ridge if it lost Giant? Personally I think with its redevelopment plans in tow, it could lure another Grocer. Perhaps even a mainstream Grocer like Harris Teeter, Weis, or Kroger (if it isn't in Harpers Choice already) could move in after redevelopment and Hickory Ridge will get back on top. I also think if Safeway were to leave Harpers Choice, it too would have options and be back filled by a another main stream Grocer. So do I think West Columbia could lose a Grcoer? Well not now, but Harpers Choice and Hickory Ridge definitely have to play their cards right to co-exist so closely together.             

Say Goodbye to Banks and Dry Cleaners

 Lets face it, we're in a Retail Apocalypse. Brick and Mortar Retail is in a death spiral regardless of what niche of the market you're in. Although those most effected by this unfortunate turn of events is Big Box Retailers, enclosed Malls, and the department stores that anchor them, Neighborhood Realty or convenience Retail is being hit by this too. Need evidence? Look no further than Columbia's Village Centers.

The Village Centers used to be the only Retail found in Columbia. Before Dobbin Center, Columbia Crossing, Snowden Square etc., it was not uncommon to find shoe stores, clothing stores, or hardware stores in your Neighborhood Village Center. As the big box boom of the 1980s and '90s occurred, so too did the rise of empty spaces in Village Centers. Village Centers switched their focus away from Retail found in big boxes and specialized more in local everyday businesses.

Today, the relevance in Columbia's Village Centers are once again in Jeopardy. This time it is less because of the over saturation in the Grocery Store scene, restaurants in big box centers capturing the dinner crowds or lack of visibility from major roads. True, these are all very real factors at play, but the evolution of Retail itself on a national level. Despite this, the Village Centers must adapt once again.

In the 2000s Centers suffered blow when video stores and photo mats fell by the wayside. Today, it's Dry Cleaners and Banks. Indeed, go to any Village Center and you will notice that many are lacking these once proud staples of convenience Retail. Even a redevelopment success story such as Wilde Lake has neither of these. Some Village Centers that have had two Banks have fallen down to one such as Hickory Ridge, Owen Brown, and Kings Contrivance. Others have no Bank whatsoever such as Oakland Mills, Wilde Lake, Dorsey's Search, and Long Reach. River Hill and Harper's Choice remain the only Village Centers with two or more Banks.

Although this paints a bleak picture of Banks and their future at Columbia's Village Centers, when delving a little deeper you can sometimes see it's not as bad as it may look. First, look at Grocery Stores. In the case of Owen Brown and Dorsey's Search, a Bank Branch opened in their respective Giants. In Dorsey's Search, it's a PNC Bank which may have caused the closure of the Capital One nee Chevy Chase Bank. In Owen Brown, its Giant has a Capital One Bank which was a originally a Chevy Chase that operated within the Village Center before moving inside Giant.

In other instances, the constant acquisition of smaller Banks by larger Banks can lead to an over saturated amount of branches. The biggest culprit is the obsolescence of your average Bank Branch. True, most Americans have Bank Accounts but it's becoming more and more rare to have to go to the Bank. Grocery Stores, Pharmacies, and even Fast Food Restaurants have ATMs. Couple that with Direct Deposit and online Banking, your average consumer might only need to go a Bank Branch to open an IRA or take out a loan.

Now lets talk Dry Cleaners. This may be an easier explanation; People don't dress up like they used to. Remember when everybody wore suits and ties to work? Those days are long gone and won't be coming back anytime soon. You can now dress more casually and throw said casual clothes in the washer and dryer. Of course that's assuming you even commute! Telecommuting has allowed many people to simply work from home via the Internet. And nobody's going to dress up for that. These days most people only go to the Dry Cleaner's to get their one suit tailored.

So now that these integral facets of Columbia's Village Centers are fading fast, what will replace them? Well, lets look at what is successful in Village Centers and go from there. Most are Grocery Anchored by large footprint stores. An exception to this is Wilde Lake whose Grocer is the organic David's Natural Market and a new CVS. Another exception is Oakland Mills which has stepped away from a Main Stream Grocer by opening an LA Mart which is a small ethnic Grocery Chain that will capitalize on the area's diverse and robust immigrant population. Something the beleaguered Long Reach tried and failed at.

The one Business currently present at all nine Village Centers is a Liquor Store. That is one Business that the Internet has not marred and will not be absorbed by Grocery Stores. So what other Businesses can thrive at our Village Center in addition to Liquor Stores? One of my answers is small footprint Restaurants. The big chain restaurants found in big box centers are often bland in their offerings and don't provide an ethnic experience that is becoming more popular. This is where the Village Centers come in. They can provide that niche as Chinese, Sushi, Peruvian, Mexican, Indian, Korean, Pho, Thai, Ethiopian, and Vegan Fare in smaller footprint store fronts. Another staple to be found in Village Centers is the Barbershop and Hair and Nail Salon. 

Although we are in a Retail Apocalypse, convenience Retail hasn't been hit really as hard as other aspects of bricks and mortar Retail. As the Retail scene evolves, so too must our Village Centers to keep them viable. Having our Village Centers fail is simply not an option. When seeking new tenants, landlords however must say goodbye to Banks and Dry Cleaners.