Downtown Retail Musings

Dedicated to Empowering and Informing the Burlingame Community

February 15, 2017

Today's article in the Daily Post about "preserving retail" got me thinking about B'game retail. I notice Gold Medal martial arts has moved out of the large Howard Ave. space. I also notice that the old Travel Wizards space across the street in the Carr McClellan building doesn't appear to be retail anymore. It has a number of computer workstations and no retail signage. Palo Alto is struggling with Internet companies pushing out retail and we are certainly an attractive place for the same.

Gold Medal

On the plus side for retail, work was once again happening in the Panotiq space! But the old Wine Stop space is still empty and that is a large space as well.

Posted in Downtown Specific Plan, Local Real Estate, Planning, Sports

4 responses to “Downtown Retail Musings”

Becca

February 16, 2017

Gold medal moved to a smaller space beside the Safeway & CVS on Peninsula/Delaware. You certainly notice the change in the car parking every afternoon.
Joe

March 17, 2017

From yesterday’s SF Examiner article on “Local businesses on biggest tax evaders list”:
-General Appliance and Kitchens, which was located at 1333 Howard Ave in Burlingame, has owed the state $641,179 since 2008, according to the BOE.
According to the business’ Yelp page, the store is closed. Gold Medal Martial Arts Family Center is now listed at that address…………………..
Joe

August 2, 2017

The tale of two retail areas continues. From the Bemoaning B’way post you get the northern view. http://www.burlingamevoice.com/2017/07/bemoaning-broadway#comments
From this Daily Journal article about Aida Opera Candies you get the southern view:
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/last-act-for-aida-opera-candies/article_ba33f6aa-7355-11e7-926a-67090135eeaa
As Basques recalled, not only her original customers did not know about the move due to short notice, but the business was impacted by the timing of Burlingame Avenue construction to widen the sidewalks.
“The timing of the move was horrible because when we no sooner built this beautiful store they then started tearing up the street,” Basques said. “So I had months [where] we were cut off from customers at points where they had to go down wooden planks and find the store.”
Now that the construction is long over, the main struggle of keeping the shop open has been a little more difficult due to lack of parking, parking fees and the summer heat resulting in fewer customers.
To accommodate the matter, candy maker Michele Porrazzo said it is normal for her, Basques and head candy maker Cary Selsbeck, also son of Basques, TO RUN CANDY ORDERS OUT TO DOUBLE-PARKED CUSTOMERS. If the customers happen to find parking, Basques explained that people feel they do not have time to look at new shops because of time limits.
Basques and Porrazzo agree it is worth running orders to customers in their vehicles since it does keep the revenue coming and the customers happy. As Porrazzo said, there is a bigger difference of being able to come inside the shop and to take time to pick out a favorite treat versus ordering it online — although they tend to sometimes be custom orders.
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The CAPS on double-parked customers is my addition………………….
Bruce Dickinson

August 2, 2017

Joe, to think that developing all these new buildings (both commercial and residential) in the downtown area will only serve to further make the parking issues worse. Maybe there is a chance for Broadway after all.
Bruce Dickinson thinks that driverless autonomous cars couldn’t come soon enough!

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