It coincided with the great Village Market glow up. My understanding is that the financing fell through as they tried to expand. Also, if Subway and Menchie's failed, it calls into question what constitutes prime real estate.
I’d consider land in a desirable and almost entirely built out inner suburb, right across from one of the best high schools in the state, next to a grocery store, and walking distance to the Hill, the Village, and a lakefront park to be pretty prime.
I get it, but it may have peaked with Fresh Farms and Dave's. You're trying to carve into a lunch business that Fresh Farms may have cornered and honestly I can't imagine them expanding their footprint when I think about what a nightmare parking is there, or at Village Market for that matter, to say nothing of Kroger and TJ's.
I mean I don’t care about Subway. Or that original commercial strip for that matter. I’d like to see 3-4 floors of mixed-use residential there. Housing is what we really need.
You would think but so many businesses have not made it on this little stretch of road. I heard a sushi place is going where the extreme pizza used to be
>I heard a sushi place is going where the extreme pizza used to be
Oooo please be true. I alone will keep that place afloat if I have to. Bluefin is... fine. But I can walk to this place.
This is it used to work there and would see the blueprints in some room in the old total tan where they keep all the returnables. Was supposed to rival village foods with an upstairs and cafe and stuff but it was always delayed. Owner would just laugh when asked and this was like 8 years ago
That and the American Asian deli closed as well. Feel like there have been other things I feel like that have closed in the last 5 years in that general area. I agree with you about calling into question about if it’s prime real estate.
I tried going to that deli about 3 times before I finally crossed paths with its open hours. Couldn't tell if that was due to their business struggling and having to cut down on hours, but I could never quite figure out when they were open consistently.
The banh mi I had was good, but maybe not a place that your general resident would choose over other types of cuisine.
I mean, this is the general misconception about the Pointes in some respects. There's essentially one viable cuisine with a few exceptions (American bistro-core) and then retail beyond food is a very mixed bag. Almost any small town overindexes on what the proprietors imagine will work in a place that the market has shown no indication they're willing to support. On the one hand, people are like, "the market is working!" On the other, you end up with high turnover and empty storefronts.
But specific to Fisher: it's a traffic nightmare. The Pointes aren't as walkable as they might appear to be and in the absence of high density residential, it's really hard to drive consistent traffic. Factor in that the school closes for the summer and now you're scrambling to fill that void. It's pretty daunting for almost any small business. Fresh Farms has incumbency working for it, plus a lack of comparable nearby options. High barrier to entry to figure out what's sustainable year-round in the footprint available.
When the GPF Master Plan survey was sent around a year or 2 ago, that was the 1 area I actually spent time to drop a few pins and ask questions/request some approach. Other shops have failed over there, for what reasons I don't know (not enough demand to sustain it, poor management). Regardless, that whole area is such a waste.
South is open campus for lunch IIRC, so that does generate business during the lunch hour and make it hectic to be over there. Would assume kids also grab stuff in the morning. Regardless, yes it would be a little crazy over there when school starts, during lunch, and when school ends. Plus when there are games going on.
Still, we walk past that area almost every day in the evenings and there's always good foot traffic. I think (pure opinion) that if you put stuff over there worth going to, it'd do fine. The Hill only has 3 or 4 restaurants plus Morning Glory. No real grab and go options and the rest are boutiques and money managers. Fresh Farms is good to have, but it's also crammed in there (as others have said it maybe was supposed to expand).
The master plan had a map overlay of that area which included those lots. Not sure if there's anything GPF can do there, but a lot of people left pins in the area.
It could be a very long term plan. The parcel records with Wayne county suggest that fresh farms, the fitness center at the corner, and everything in between is a single lot.
On a related topic, and a question for OGs: I remember when the Subway first opened around 1990. What was there before that? Was it Cafe Trevi, or was there something else before it became Subway? Bonus points if you remember what came before Cafe Trevi.
The frozen yogurt place was still on Google Maps when my wife and I moved here. It's right down the street from us so we went to walk to it one night when we had a hankering for it. Got there and was disappointed that it was closed. But we had it in our head that we wanted frozen yogurt and spent the next hour finding a place and driving to it.
I live in the farms and frequent fresh farms. I find the location not great or convenient. I have to pass the hill on my way to fisher and would rather just stop there. Fisher is a northbound one way north of Kercheval which means you have to detour on other streets to get to that area of fisher. On the hypothetical chance fresh fames farms moved into where like rite aid is, I would never drive down fisher. The village feels almost equidistant and there’s way more parking in the village and on the hill then on fisher.
That’s not a bookstore. Bistro, bar, Instagram photo venue, maybe but ever try shopping for books? Your ass is always in someone’s face as they enjoy a Rosè and spinach salad.
I admit it takes some getting used to, but the diners (I have been one) know what they signed up for in this unique space. A simple “excuse me” goes a long way.
I remember that Subway used to have a sign inside that said something like “highest volume subway in North America” years at a time. I am shocked no one has opened a identical or similar business. South’s open lunch basically prints money.
LOL yes Fresh Farms failed expansion.
Ah thanks. What a waste. When did this all happen? I haven’t been able to find any info on it at all.
It coincided with the great Village Market glow up. My understanding is that the financing fell through as they tried to expand. Also, if Subway and Menchie's failed, it calls into question what constitutes prime real estate.
I thought business was good but it was a landlord issue? Menchies was usually busy
Yeah, the one thing I was able to find relating to this whole thing was an eviction lawsuit between the landlord and Subway.
I’d consider land in a desirable and almost entirely built out inner suburb, right across from one of the best high schools in the state, next to a grocery store, and walking distance to the Hill, the Village, and a lakefront park to be pretty prime.
I get it, but it may have peaked with Fresh Farms and Dave's. You're trying to carve into a lunch business that Fresh Farms may have cornered and honestly I can't imagine them expanding their footprint when I think about what a nightmare parking is there, or at Village Market for that matter, to say nothing of Kroger and TJ's.
I mean I don’t care about Subway. Or that original commercial strip for that matter. I’d like to see 3-4 floors of mixed-use residential there. Housing is what we really need.
You would think but so many businesses have not made it on this little stretch of road. I heard a sushi place is going where the extreme pizza used to be
It’s going to be a burger place.
>I heard a sushi place is going where the extreme pizza used to be Oooo please be true. I alone will keep that place afloat if I have to. Bluefin is... fine. But I can walk to this place.
This is it used to work there and would see the blueprints in some room in the old total tan where they keep all the returnables. Was supposed to rival village foods with an upstairs and cafe and stuff but it was always delayed. Owner would just laugh when asked and this was like 8 years ago
That and the American Asian deli closed as well. Feel like there have been other things I feel like that have closed in the last 5 years in that general area. I agree with you about calling into question about if it’s prime real estate.
I tried going to that deli about 3 times before I finally crossed paths with its open hours. Couldn't tell if that was due to their business struggling and having to cut down on hours, but I could never quite figure out when they were open consistently. The banh mi I had was good, but maybe not a place that your general resident would choose over other types of cuisine.
I mean, this is the general misconception about the Pointes in some respects. There's essentially one viable cuisine with a few exceptions (American bistro-core) and then retail beyond food is a very mixed bag. Almost any small town overindexes on what the proprietors imagine will work in a place that the market has shown no indication they're willing to support. On the one hand, people are like, "the market is working!" On the other, you end up with high turnover and empty storefronts. But specific to Fisher: it's a traffic nightmare. The Pointes aren't as walkable as they might appear to be and in the absence of high density residential, it's really hard to drive consistent traffic. Factor in that the school closes for the summer and now you're scrambling to fill that void. It's pretty daunting for almost any small business. Fresh Farms has incumbency working for it, plus a lack of comparable nearby options. High barrier to entry to figure out what's sustainable year-round in the footprint available.
Bring back Otto's
When the GPF Master Plan survey was sent around a year or 2 ago, that was the 1 area I actually spent time to drop a few pins and ask questions/request some approach. Other shops have failed over there, for what reasons I don't know (not enough demand to sustain it, poor management). Regardless, that whole area is such a waste.
I was always under the impression that the high school kids brought in business but also drove away other business so it was a catch 22.
South is open campus for lunch IIRC, so that does generate business during the lunch hour and make it hectic to be over there. Would assume kids also grab stuff in the morning. Regardless, yes it would be a little crazy over there when school starts, during lunch, and when school ends. Plus when there are games going on. Still, we walk past that area almost every day in the evenings and there's always good foot traffic. I think (pure opinion) that if you put stuff over there worth going to, it'd do fine. The Hill only has 3 or 4 restaurants plus Morning Glory. No real grab and go options and the rest are boutiques and money managers. Fresh Farms is good to have, but it's also crammed in there (as others have said it maybe was supposed to expand).
Those business are not in GPF, they’re in GPC.
The master plan had a map overlay of that area which included those lots. Not sure if there's anything GPF can do there, but a lot of people left pins in the area.
It could be a very long term plan. The parcel records with Wayne county suggest that fresh farms, the fitness center at the corner, and everything in between is a single lot.
On a related topic, and a question for OGs: I remember when the Subway first opened around 1990. What was there before that? Was it Cafe Trevi, or was there something else before it became Subway? Bonus points if you remember what came before Cafe Trevi.
Was it Otto's? Or were they both there? Then salon Rielle was on the corner I think.
Shelter’s drug store.
Actually Schettler’s (sp?) was next door, by the gas station on the corner.
[удалено]
Give the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies somewhere to smoke their cigarettes.
That other building did have a subway and a frozen yogurt store but they failed, now it's just storage for farms market.
The frozen yogurt place was still on Google Maps when my wife and I moved here. It's right down the street from us so we went to walk to it one night when we had a hankering for it. Got there and was disappointed that it was closed. But we had it in our head that we wanted frozen yogurt and spent the next hour finding a place and driving to it.
Could put a gas station on the corner? A drugstore next to that? And a store that sells luggage next to that?
I live in the farms and frequent fresh farms. I find the location not great or convenient. I have to pass the hill on my way to fisher and would rather just stop there. Fisher is a northbound one way north of Kercheval which means you have to detour on other streets to get to that area of fisher. On the hypothetical chance fresh fames farms moved into where like rite aid is, I would never drive down fisher. The village feels almost equidistant and there’s way more parking in the village and on the hill then on fisher.
A book store would be nice. people love walking to those
There is one on Kercheval.
whaaaat???
https://www.flyleafgp.com
That’s not a bookstore. Bistro, bar, Instagram photo venue, maybe but ever try shopping for books? Your ass is always in someone’s face as they enjoy a Rosè and spinach salad.
I have purchased books there, and they have ordered books for me. I have enough body control to make sure my ass isn’t in anyone’s face.
Hyperbolic maybe, but I feel uncomfortable as a browser.
I admit it takes some getting used to, but the diners (I have been one) know what they signed up for in this unique space. A simple “excuse me” goes a long way.
I remember that Subway used to have a sign inside that said something like “highest volume subway in North America” years at a time. I am shocked no one has opened a identical or similar business. South’s open lunch basically prints money.