Things we don't have . . .
So now it's no big deal to run down to 92nd Street and US1, where they plan on building the store, I run down that way often to go to Roasters 'n Toasters and I run to South Miami to Whole Foods. And I run to Dadeland to shop, other than The Gap, you can't buy a pair of pants around here, as another friend tells me. This is just another thing we'll have to leave the hood for.
I've never been to a Trader Joe's where you had to drive to it, I go to them in New York and Boston and San Francisco, but they are just there, you know, you're walking by and you enter. Here it will be a destination that you drive to and that was the reason it would have been a super thing for Coconut Grove, the destination bit, about people literally getting into their cars and driving here to go there.
But now that Miami is on the map regarding Trader Joe's, maybe we will be soon, too. Who knows . .
posted by Tom Falco at 7:33 AM
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12 Comments:
Their location in Pinecrest is the old Borders store which has an area of 13,500 sq feet. According to Wikipedia, their average store size is between 8,000 and 12,000 sq ft. Are there even any empty locations in the Grove which fall within that range, are easily accessible by delivery trucks, and whose owners aren't charging an arm and a leg for rent?
The old Borders location in the Mayfair would have probably been a good spot. High visibility, a parking garage underneath (with more parking nearby), and a loading dock right there. Maybe the building owners wanted too much rent?
How many people from Coconut Grove showed up at last week's City Commission budget meeting? Zero! Zip!
How many people will show up at next week's City Commission budget meeting? Probably, Zero! Zip!
It all starts with paying attention and getting involved.
Coconut Grove is full of people who have an exaggerated sense of entitlement, who like to whine a lot.
Whether it's your trees, or Trader Joe's, or anything else that impacts your community, none of you show up for the serious issues like how your City government is going to spend your money, and for what.
Few of you people vote, most of you whine over the most stupid of things, and the screwing you keep getting is one that you richly deserve!
Sarnoff might be a scummy, low-life, corrupt politician, but he sure pegged just how far he could screw over his constituents and neighbors.
Quit worrying about the nickels and dimes that you might save from Trader Joe's, and start working about the hundred of thousands and millions of dollars that the crooks at City Hall are getting ready to scam next week!
al crespo
Mayfair Rent is astronomical. And the paid parking would have been a big deterrent as well. Trader Joes is a supermarket. There's a reason all the markets in the Grove are on the outskirts: Parking, Space, and Rent. You nailed it.
The Pinecrest location is perfect. It's located in a "Dry" spot between Publixes (Close to the Dadeland one, but really centered between the Publixes on Monza in the Gables, 112th and Dixie, and Dadeland.)
I'm jealous I don't live right there anymore.
In other metro areas do they place their stores that close to each other? Pinecrest is about 4 miles away.
The old Guess location next to 24hr fitness is about 10,000 sq ft, but no quick parking for it. We should get one of the commercial realtors to build a map of all the empty storefronts/filled ones in the grove, and as an experiment everyone can submit maps filled with their ideal store selections. or just the experts do it.
List of things we've discussed here a dozen times that center grove needs:
- Bakery
- BBQ
- Steak house
- Caribbean joint?
- Brazilian
- Tapas/Spanish
- Sandwich take out spot (I miss chicago's sandwiches)
- what else?
I agree with some of the comments that a "Grove" location would have been inconvenient for bulk of the (Southwest Dade) masses except for Grovites. And with regards to a location in the Grove I also agree - the Mayfair would have been the only spot big enough and we can all speculate that the rent would have been too high. Be glad you grovites have a Fresh Market. You've had that for years we only just got it at the Falls.
As an East-Kendall resident, I am GLAD they are coming to Pinecrest. That location will be much more convenient to more people than just people in the Grove. Sorry.
The grove is missing a lot of things, and honestly i do not know how the mayfair has done so far since rent is too high and most of their street side store fronts sit empty. The parking solution can be easily remedied with the same concept that midtown has 30 mins free with around 1.50 for each hour afterwards. Cheap and reliable parking will drive more people to park there than the headache which are the miami parking authority on street parking machine that constantly are breaking down.
It hard not to agree that the former borders location near dadeland would be more convenient to more people than a store in the grove but as Tom wrote if you dont ask you never know what they could have had in store.
There are too many empty store front and the BID has to coordinate with the owners in revitalizing the area.
Brian, while you got these realtors jumping through hoops order up a few million bucks too. This ain't your colleg is over, brainstorming sessions are for people with lots of dreams no ability to execute.
All I have to say is, a freaking yeaaaaaayyyy!!! I can care less about where its build! Its Trader Joes and is in driving distance! Hurray to that! I've lived in San Diego and San Francisco for 10 years, so a huge fan of them! At last..... my wasabi mayo will be back! :-)
Pinecrest equals free parking. Dah.
Al crespo nailed it. There's also no feasible location in the grove for a TJ store. Pinecrest was a great call. If you like the place that much it's really not that far of a drive.
The Grove needs an old fashioned ice cream parlor. I feel like we have 8 gelato shops.
The rent in the grove IS TOO DAMN HIGH. The thing about Trader Joe's is they don't compromise. They don't have to. That's what their niche is -- they sell a good product at a great price. That would be an impossibility in coconut grove. A) getting deliveries in and out of anywhere but the milam's/ home depot plaze = impossible, second, for the space they need it would cost more than the return over a very, very, very long period. Finally, they'd have to grease way to many palms, and still deal with complaints from the Center Grove Mafia.
This is why we can't have nice things. You will never get anything like that in the grove. Enjoy crappy, exploitive, over-priced, poor quality chains forever.
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