I'm still hung up on this Northgate Plaza stuff. In the next week or so I'm going to go around and take photos of each storefront and post them here, just to give the Plaza some context, and maybe a little historical perspective. Unfortunately, there are no historical photos of the plaza that I can find! I was hoping the Monroe County Library might have some, but alas... no.
I'm still thinking in terms of other stores that could, in a perfect world, be located at the site and be acceptable to the community. One thing I was thinking of is a Sonic Drive-Through. Sonic, as far as I know, doesn't have any locations in Western NY. Now, maybe Sonic would have too many cars, but for only $2 to $4 million, you can put a Sonic at the Plaza. Granted, you'd need to build a new building, but howabout instead of a new McDonalds, tear down that side of the Plaza and put in a Sonic?
Locally, Great Northern Pizza just expanded into Henrietta. They were bought by 2 Hot LLC which also owns all the Bruegger's Bagles shops in town, and appear to have gotten a needed facelift. I know there was one in Greece on Ridge Road in an old bank building, and I did use it regularly, but it was really poorly managed and always felt dirty. I'd LOVE to have a brand new Great Northern Pizza located right there.
Heck, I'd love to see a Bruegger's at Northgate. I don't believe there is one nearby, and it'd be a great addition. I know I'm kindof focused on food, but food can be a major attraction that leads to retail. And again, I'm afraid given the demographics of the area around the plaza, there isn't enough money to justify some more boutique-esque retail. Other suggestions for smaller shops, especially ones that aren't currently in the area, would be appreciated!
3 comments:
After being teased by the Sonic Drive-in commercials that run during national programming like college football, I final got to enjoy their offerings when I went to Myrtle Beach this past August. The menu offers good value, especially from 2-4 PM when drinks are 50% off.
I checked the Sonic website, and the nearest one is located near Hershey, PA some 200 miles away from Rochester. So we know that they are not afraid to expand into areas with cold and somewhat snowy winters.
As far as Northgate is concerned, that place has looked sad for some time. I agree that Wal-mart may not be the best choice to assume that space, but it would be a sustainable business.
That second line should read " . . . finally got to enjoy . . . "
Yeah, a Sonic would be pretty cool. Now if I only had the $4 million! Northgate is soooo sad, though I do enjoy getting wings from Tony's Birdland.
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