Some business owners are saying downtown is becoming "the high-rent district," while some landlords are saying it depends who your landlord is and how long you've been a tenant. But all agree having a set business plan and knowing what you're getting yourself into is the key to successfully launching a small business downtown.
The Downtown Naperville Alliance says plenty of the stores downtown aren't corporate owned, but others aren't so sure new mom-and-pop shops can make it.
Let's be realistic, Naperville is an expensive place to live, shop and dine, so any small business trying to make a go of it here should have a well-though-out plan and enough cash to last until customers are established. Visitors come from miles around to puruse the merchandise and eat the fine food.
That said, What do you think of the mix of stores downtown? Have you had a bad or good experience renting space there? Any particular niche missing?
I don’t have any problem with the mix of downtown stores, but I also don’t think the issue of mom-and-pop stores being squeezed out by corporate stores is limited only to downtown Naperville.
I think this has been a trend in the entire country for the last decade or two. Just drive down Ogden Ave and you’ll see less of the mom-and-pop’s like Nikki’s, Crosstown Pub, & Dog Patch and more of the corporate spots like Wendy’s, Panera’s, Einstein’s, Pet Supplies Plus, etc. This is not just a downtown issue.
I find it ironic that Affordable Antiques keeps cropping up as the poster child for high rents in the downtown area, when the letter they wrote to the Sun some time ago about their move also explained that they needed greatly expanded space which was not available downtown. Rents weren’t their only problem.
The rents charged are based on supply and demand. Calls to somehow “fix” the problem create an artificial and unsustainable position. One would hope that rents will fall as some spaces continue to remain vacant, but if a landlord wants to hold onto empty space hoping for a big payday, that’s their prerogative.
T.B.
I don't think that getting squeezed out of Downtown Naperville, big or small is anything new. (Now I'm going to sound like my dad) Back in the 80's when we moved here there was Chrysler Dealership that took up the entire shopping center area on the SE corner of Washington & Chicago Ave. The Bowling Alley left and even the Sun's offices moved out. All because the land was worth more than the buildings or business. Now it is all shops, pubs and restaurants. I think that the mom and pops stores add spice to Naperville, That and the Riverwalk make it different than Downers Grove or any other downtown areas. The Corporates loves because we are one of the only downtowns that works. The rents are a victim of Naperville's own success.
I believe the new realities of the real estate market will correct a lot of the problem. What will really stink is when folks start receiving their property tax bills in May and realizing how colossally stupid the voters were in voting for the recent District 203 tax hike.
I hear the taxpayers ticket is going to run again for school board, so hopefully the voters can throw out Susan Crotty and the other nincompoops on the board. Tea Party Time!!!
Yes, downtown rents are very high. However, they would be much higher if the Naperville taxpayers were not subsidizing the downtown high rise parking garages.
If I were opening up a business I would just drive a mile or two south and rent space in Naperville Plaza or the Bailey Rd. Plaza. Rent is less than half and you have plenty of parking right outside your store. Plus you would be more in the middle of Naperville as downtown is really in the northern part of Naperville and not centrally located for all Napervillians.
The only stores truly successful in the downtown are the nightclubs, bars and restaurants. The rest seem to be struggling and will struggle more as the economy worsens.
In the Bailey Rd Plaza, it seems like most of the businesses have been there since the plaza opened in the early 70s. In the Naperville Plaza there has been more turnover but it seems like it has stablized in recent years once it got the right mix of tenants that complement each other. In downtown, all I have seen in the last 10 years is musical chairs. It is hard to compete with plazas a mile or two away offering the same services and paying less than half of the rent.
Why would you want to open a beauty salon for example in downtown. You would have twice the rent with much inconveniece due to lack of nearby parking. It seems more logical to open in a plaza near downtown than in downtown!
Like all golden geese, the city of Na;erville will manage to kill this one, too.
This will be the first recession in a long time that actually adversely affects Naperville---- hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!!!
Q.
That said, what do you think of the mix of stores downtown? Have you had a bad or good experience renting space there? Any particular niche missing?
A.
The rents are what the traffic will bare.
The establishments that can prosper with the current level of rents appear to be the ones that sell a lot of alcohol. A liquor license is a license to print money in the downtown.
For the property owners, the real estate taxes are eye-poppingly low, the rents are premium and the parking is paid for by everyone else in the City with a fully subsidized Library Valet Deck in the pipeline.
What do the downtown bar and property owners know that the rest of us should learn?
Once the City kills the Library with the unwanted and unneeded deck, it opens the way for the City to get in on the action and convert Nichols into a two story Gentleman's Club. It can re-zone it over the objections of everyone in the City and let it stay open until 5am. This is an un-served niche in the Downtown and would be the corner's highest and best value.
The substantial profits from City's gold mine can fund the ever growing deficit. Council and the Mayor can have a permanent front row booth next to the stage with their names on the seats. Perhaps we can get and exemption and allow cigar smoking on premises.
We may even be able to move City Council meetings onto the main stage and sell food and drinks to those attending the meeting to help fund government operations. I'm sure a balance can be struck by moving the dancers to the side stages and turning the music down a little.
As primary businesses continue to flee the US, Illinois, and Naperville, the community colleges can retool for the jobs of the future and start offering courses in erotic dancing, bar-tending, bouncing, unmarked taxi operation, tax evasion and money laundering. Perhaps COD can attract politicians as guest instructors and offer a program in harlotry.
As the full effect of Big Government, Deficit Spending, “China Free Trade”, and the financial meltdown (bailouts) of Wall Street and the Feds takes hold, we may want (need) to wall off a couple of blocks near the river and start promoting the city as a domestic, and more affordable, alternative to Tijuana and Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam window girls are independent contractors that rent spaces from the city, thus they are by definition mom and pops. The ultimate independent-small-business-start-up, no capital required. Maybe there is an SBA angle here.
To be inclusive and diverse, Naperville may need to one up Amsterdam and offer window boys to service the US Military of the not too distant future. Supporting the troops is as patriotic and mom and apple pie.
Since the Dollar has lost 95% ($35 oz to $830 oz for gold etc) of it value since we went (off the gold standard: Breton Woods) to just printing fiat money in 1971, at some point exchanging a chicken for a few minutes of pleasure may sound a like a good deal for both parties.
The Amsterdam of the Midwest!
(Has a nice ring to it)
Tijuana of El Norte?
Maybe.
Tijuana of the North? Gentlemen's clubs? In Naperville? Are you serious?
Let's all take a breath here.
Bubo,
Very good idea, Bubo! A Heavenly Bodies type of Gentlemen Club operation after we demolish the library is an excellent idea.
As you know when the Elk Grove Police, FBI and IRS raided Heavenly Bodies, they found 12 million dollars hidden in the floors of the owner's office.
Let us hope our Heavenly Bodies will be just as successful as the original HB. We only need to find 11 million dollars in the floors to completely wipe out our operating budget deficit. This would be better than any gift Santa Claus can bring to the City of Naperville.
And yes our Mayor and City Council members deserve premium seats around the Main Dance floors with the poles if they can pull this money bonanza instead of a tax draining parking deck we don't even need.
By the way, Bubo you are the first one to ever make me laugh on this blog site. You and Barack Hussein Obama are my 2 favorites...Tis the season to be jolly, laugh and have some fun!
I like the mix of mom n pop shops and corporate shopes, but I have to say, my last experiences at both a mom n pop show and corporate shop in downtown Naperville were less than desireable. I've decided not to go back to either of those establishments because of the poor experiences I had. I gave the mom n pop place 2 chances, I thought the first time I went was a fluke, they were new. I went back a month later and it was worse than the first visit. Customer service is important whether the rent is too high or not.
In response to comments by "Downtown Rents are High but still Subsidized"
Your statement:
"The only stores truly successful in the downtown are the nightclubs, bars and restaurants."
Is false. I would recommend a bit more research before making such sweeping statements. To accurately make this statement you would have to talk with the owner of each business downtown to determine which ones are truly successful. You've never asked me about how our business is faring - if you did you would find your statement is incorrect. I know of several retail businesses, including my own, that are truly successful - possibly more so than many of the nightclubs, bars and restaurants.
Also, your statement:
"If I were opening up a business I would just drive a mile or two south and rent space in Naperville Plaza or the Bailey Rd. Plaza. Rent is less than half and you have plenty of parking right outside your store. Plus you would be more in the middle of Naperville as downtown is really in the northern part of Naperville and not centrally located for all Napervillians."
Lacks a few key elements that you may want to factor in:
1. Most people prefer to have a variety of places to shop during a single visit - downtown offers a much broader selection of stores than you find in a plaza based location. We have customers who make a specific trip downtown just to visit our store, but we have many more that visit multiple stores and have an excellent selection of restaurants to pick from while there here.
2. Atmosphere. While not critical to everyone, most people prefer the downtown setting.
3. Rent - yes, rent can be high, but it is not always outrageous, and the rent at the plazas you mention is not always half of what is being paid downtown. With the right landlord and a good business plan, you can find rents that are fairly competitive. But more importantly, most people in the retail business will tell you location, location, location. You get what you pay for. Most often times, higher rent equals higher foot traffic and higher demand. You can't just plop a store down in a spot because it has lots of parking and low rent - there's a reason why the rent would be low and lots of parking spots open - because people aren't going there yet.
By Wendy on December 15, 2008 4:15 PM
Tijuana of the North? Gentlemen's clubs? In Naperville? Are you serious?
Let's all take a breath here.
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Wendy,
It's OK to peak behind the curtain once in a while, its just hard for me to ignore the man pulling the levers.
XO
Bubo
Downtown Rents are High but still Subsidized --
"As you know when the Elk Grove Police, FBI and IRS raided Heavenly Bodies, they found 12 million dollars hidden in the floors of the owner's office."
Any source for this statement?
T.B.
The Heavenly Bodies story was reported in the Chicago Tribune and, yes, they did state that $12 million in cash was found on site. Don't recall that it was hidden in the floor, but the dollar amount is consistent with what I remember reading.
sam2 -
Yes, I saw the dollar amount in a Herald story, saying it was seized from the owner (Welleck?). The rest of the details (location seized and agencies involved) are unattributed.
This appeared to be info repeated from another thread and I brought it up as a cautionary note to not blindly believe all that is written here as fact.
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Storeowner -
Good points. I agree that there are very successful businesses in downtown besides the food and booze service industry. Two Bostons comes to mind, as well as Baubles (spelling optional).
T.B.
I love all the doom and gloom on this blog! If all of this were remotely linked to reality, my X-mas shopping downtown would have been a breeze: easy parking, no crowds, and booze flowing everywhere. Alas, it was not, the parking was a nightmare, everything was crowded, and to get a drink you had to wait 20 minutes due to said crowding.
Oddly, most people seem to really like the downtown...crazy! (said smirking). In fact, when you tell someone you live in Naperville, they always say the same thing: "It's not as good as living in the city, but at least they have that great downtown!"
Have a great holiday everyone!
Blenmun,
The bloom and gloom is being reporting on CNBC and other cable channels on an hourly basis.
Citibank is laying off 53,000 employees. Bank of America is laying off 35,000 employees. The car companies are on the verge or bankrupcty and closing down their plants for a month ths Holiday Season instead of just a week or two as is the tradition.
Car sales at GM are down 43% At Chysler 48%. At Honda and Toyota 33%. At Ford only 30%.
I suspect you must be blind not to have noticed anything.
If Naperville was booming as you say, why are our City Officials saying sales tax in town is down drastically contributing to an 10-11 million dollar deficit budgeting.
If one was to believe your post, one has to believe our City Officials are stealing the sale tax money from the city coffers.
I don't believe our city officials would steal all that sales tax money and if they did I think someone would have been able to detect that by now even though the Napergate Man is retired.
Hey BHO or who ever you are:
The phrase is "doom and gloom" not bloom and gloom. Any from another of your posts - it's "nip it in the bud" not "nip it in the butt".
Your pseudo intellectualism, blatant misogynistic attitude, anti religious diatribes, and general condescension towards anyone who doesn't find you entertaining or amusing is tiresome and annoying. If you genuinely want to share your "message", Id think you would get a much better reception from your "audience" if you just stopped the farce about being the president elect. You are certainly welcome to your beliefs and ideas, and unless you stray outside the bounds of what the Sun allows, should not be censored. But give the president shtick a rest. If you have things to share, let your arguments be heard for their merits. If you do that, I am sure more people will want to listen.
Disappointed,
Thanks for pointing out my mistakes. I was rushing to the health club and did not have a chance to review before I hit send. Yes, it is certainly doom and gloom.
I think many people find my style interesting. If they did not they would not respond. Apparently, you also did, as you responded.
As Host Chris or someone said you could simply skip over a post. Since I annoy you, when you see the heading Barack Hussein Obama, you know it is me, simply just skip over it. Is that really that hard to do? Am I as addicting as cigarettes that you can not simply skip over me? Here is some nicotine gum to help you out.
On a serious note, I was simply disputing Blogger Blemum. He thinks the economy is blooming and I think it is glooming. He is got his viewpoint and I have mine. The Bloggers can evaluate and decide who they think makes more sense about the issue of the health of the economy.
Your post was nothing but an attack on me instead of the issues we are trying to discuss. Host Chris claims he does not want people attacking each other. But you are disobeying him and he is allowing you to attack me instead of my views and opinions.
I don't know who you are. I never attacked you. Host Chris says both parties are guilty when these attacks take place. I respectfully disagree with him as you attacked me for no reason. I am not going to lower myself to your level and attack you personally.
Many renowned authors have written books pretending they were someone else. Many actors have played real people and obviously pretended they were somebody else. People flock in the millions to buy these books and watch these movies. No one ever thought they did anything wrong. People enjoyed these books and movies. If they did not think they would enjoy them, they simply did not buy the book or got to the movie. No big deal!
You could say I am acting a little and trying to be a little humorous and satirical. I am sure some people think I am fun to read and some people may not think I am fun to read. But it appears from the responses, bloggers can't control themselves and end up reading my posts. It may all be because of my catchy handle that I am so well read! Not sure!
In essence when we write, we want to be read. If being read is a measure of success, than I have accomplised my goal and possibly spread my message, views, and ideas. I believe in everything I say.
Have a very nice evening, Dissappointed. With a handle like that I can understand why you have a louzy attitude and are always DISSAPOINTED. Try to be positive and happy! Life is short and eventually we all die. Make each day count.
Happy Holidays to you!
Thank you!
anybody here rent a store front in downtown naperville and if so, how much is it per month?
Chris,
I have not rented a store downtown but the range is 30-50 dollars a square foot according to a recent article in the Sun. I believe some gentleman named Rubin was being quoted who owns real estate downtown. His Dad may have been Al Rubin.
I believe a little south in the Gartner and Bailey Rd Plazas, rent declines to about 15 to 25 dollar per square foot. About half of downtown prices if you drive a little south.
I believe the same applies if you drive a little north to Ogden Ave. You can find rent below 10 per square foot in the Ogden Mall but that mall is in very bad shape and failing. It also has musical cheer turnover much like downtown Naperville.
I believe the phrase is "musical chairs", not musical cheer.
By Anoni-mouse on December 22, 2008 6:42 AM
I am not Ken - and I wasn't trying to make fun of anyone. I am simply tired of seeing people mangle our language.
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Very interesting Anoni-mouse. You are simply tired of seeing people mangle our language and you can't even spell your own name consistently from one thread to another.
Oh, I see you spelled it as Anoni-,ouse above. If that is not mangling the English language, I don't know what is.
Since I don't obviously use spell check and write more than anyone else, I don't mind having someone correct my few spelling errors.....but someone qualified and not someone who mangles the English Language with a stupid name and finds a way to mangle it even further...lol.
If you are not, Ken, stay away from his ideas. He made a fool of you already. Enough said!
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PS. If I was writing a Letter to the Editor, I would use spell check and review. This is only a blog site. I write while doing other work without 100% concentration and little or no review. I know the difference between musical chairs and musical cheers. I don't mind others correcting my spelling and errors, but this is not a job for a Mickey Mouse who is still learning how to spell his own name!
Fake Barack said:
"I write while doing other work without 100% concentration"
This explains so much!
Barack Hussein Obama on December 18, 2008 6:36 PM
You are simply tired of seeing people mangle our language and you can't even spell your own name consistently from one thread to another.
...this is not a job for a Mickey Mouse who is still learning how to spell his own name!
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Wouldn't worry about it too much Anoni-Mouse. This was written by a guy who changed the spelling of his own name from thread to thread.
Proof ?:
Barak Hussein Obama on December 9, 2008 2:35 PM
Barack Hussein Obama on December 19, 2008 12:25 AM
Anon--yeah, he changed the spelling of his fake "Barak/Barack name after someone pointed out to him soon after he started posting as Fake Barak that he was misspelling his own name. First he defended it as the Kenyan version, then corrected it. I know way too much about this--it's a study in defensive logic. Talk longer, harder and louder than anyone else and maybe everyone else will bow down to the fake blog-god.