2012: The Endangered List
Now that we are done looking in the rearview mirror, it’s time to focus on the year ahead. Each year new ideas and businesses bloom while other find themselves caught in inescapable traps. Some fall prey to bad locations, others to market redundancy, poor product, or poor service. Others are just obsolete.
In 2012 there will be some surprising big box store closings. There has been a concerted effort in previous years to buy local and shun the big boxes. However in 2012, larger market forces instead of grassroots organizations will probably be what shuts the doors for some of these outlets.
Here is a look ahead at the list of retail and restaurant businesses that have an aura of danger according to this one man’s senses (in no particular order, and no wishes associated):
- Best Buy
- Kmart
- Salsarita’s
- Taco Bell
- Dillard’s
- A.C. Moore
- Jibarra or Cantina South
- OfficeMax and Office Depot
- Cinelli’s (North Hills)
- QShack (North Hills)
- Fresh Market (Cameron Village)
- Charlotte’s (North Hills)
- Fiesta Mexicana
- Applebee’s (A few locations)
- Nowell’s
- Sam Ash or Guitar Center
- McCormick and Schmick’s
- Barnes & Noble (not all locations)
- The news staff at NBC17
Any thoughts or additions?
1/5/12 – Here are some more for the list:
- Radio Shack
- Pronto Pasta
- Bear Rock (Lake Boone)
1/16/12 – I completely forgot to add this one, but the last time I was in there the store was about 70% empty:
- Blockbuster Video – Townridge Square
I don’t mean to pick on these merchants, but if I had a gift certificate or significant savings coupon for any of these, I would probably go ahead and use them sooner than later.
Jolly’s Closing After 130 Years
Today that one of Raleigh’s oldest retail business will shut its doors. opened its doors in 1881, but Frank Jolly Ragsdale is retiring, according to the report, and the business will close.
I have mixed emotions here. I was always a big fan of Ragsdale’s brother-in-law, the late Jerry Young, and followed him from Jolly’s in North Hills Mall to his own store in Cameron Village. He sold that store to Rocky Mount’s Clyde Bailey, and it still remains an excellent store. In the face of Cameron Village’s shift toward more chain retailers, Ragsdale moved Jolly’s to a showcase location in the new North Hills as one of the center’s first tenants. The location was highly visible and made a great statement about both the quality of shopping in North Hills and the center’s dedication to local retailers. However the interior of the store always felt awkward and cold, and I only entered one time.
Emotions aside, it is easy to believe that the jewelry business is terrible now. The price of gold () has skyrocketed more than 700% in the last ten years. Couple that with a poor economy and you get a one-two punch that is sending many local dealers out of business.
Some also ponder the viability of brick & mortar retail in a shopping center like North Hills which is notorious for high (really high) rents. We recently saw Tyler House’s closing, and one has to wonder if the dam isn’t finally breaking on the backs of many other high-end retailers.
What comes next for the space in North Hills? Another Italian restaurant? Just kidding. I always thought that corner would have been perfect location for a two-story Barnes & Noble as nice as Triangle Town Center’s. Alas B&N’s mistaken evaluation of the market (even before Amazon starting slicing them to pieces) concluded that the pitiful Crabtree store is enough for this part of Raleigh. Ironically a private book store just opened next door to Jolly’s, but I wouldn’t bet on their ability to expand into Jolly’s space.
Most likely another jeweler will take the space. Until that time, Jolly’s will begin their store clearance sale tomorrow.
Lululemon Coming to North Hills
Recently Total Wine completed their move into the left half of the former Harris Teeter store in The Lassiter. The right half is about to become the next location for . The Vancouver-based chain offers athletic apparel for yoga, running, and dancing, as well as in-store events for yoga, self-defense, and more. No opening date is set yet, but the store is currently training employees, so it won’t be long.
Raleigh Clothing Icon Closing
After 45 great years, a local retailer of nice women’s clothing is shutting its doors. Tyler House, one of North Hills Mall’s original tenants, is closing their doors. No word on whether this is a business failure, a casualty of the economy, or the simple choice to walk away by the owner.
Tyler House was one of the crown jewels of North Hills Mall. Owned by the Tyler family who lived only a handful of blocks away, Tyler House had a personal touch and was one of the area’s favorite clothing stores. Its success led to the opening of a store in Chapel Hill’s University Mall in the mid-70s. However around 1980 North Hills began losing its luster as Crabtree slowly attracted more local businesses. Seeing the success of the Nowell’s Hooper’s store, for example, the Tylers broke down and took the Crabtree plunge with a store that always felt bland and impersonal. Some time in the mid 80’s or so, the Chapel Hill store closed.
I can’t remember the details, but around the time of the Crabtree store’s closure and a bit before North Hills Mall’s failure, the Tylers moved to Cameron Village with a single store that served them well until their retirement.
One of the first signs of life in the New North Hills, was the opening of a Tyler House store in The Lassiter, in the space that so long held a hair salon. The store endured multiple construction obstacles, with the facelift of the North Hills Plaza (The Lassiter) and the construction of The Alexan.
Raleigh is losing a piece of its history with the closing of Tyler House. It is difficult to run a small, reasonably priced store as national chains have figured out better how to deliver consistent styles at a lower price. The trend also presses heavily on shopping center owners seeking ways to differentiate themselves from any other shopping center in Anywheresville. As the economy continues its tumble, Tyler House will likely be just one of several pieces of Raleigh’s DNA that is lost.
North Hills Getting Bookery
, a privately owned, small bookstore at the beach is relocating to Raleigh’s North Hills. The plans to open in the first week of November. From the EIB website:
We carry a wide variety of books including the current bestsellers. From mysteries to romance we have all the popular authors.
Note: The NH Bookery will occupy the space that Wolf Camera once filled, to the right of Jolly’s.
NC Tax-Free Weekend Coming Next Week
Beginning at 12:01 am on Friday, August 5, there will be no sales tax on many items through Sunday night. Items such as clothing, footwear, and school supplies of $100 or less per item; school instructional materials of $300 or less per item; sports and recreation equipment of $50 or less per item, computers of $3,500 or less per item; and computer supplies of $250 or less per item will be exempt.
Clothing accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, protective equipment, wallets, furniture, items used in a trade or business, and rentals are not covered by the exemption and will be subject to the applicable tax.
Here is more info from the NC Dept of Revenue:
- (.pdf)
- (.pdf)
Tommy Bahama Coming to Crabtree
TBJ reports today that this fall, a store will open in the former Levi’s space in Crabtree. This will be the second of their stores in N.C.. The first is at Southpark Mall in Charlotte.
Anna’s Linens Coming to Crossroads
National bedding retailer is coming to Crossroads Plaza. It will occupy the space in the center building that was once occupied by several CD and video stores, and Space Savers. It will be the state’s second Anna’s.
A Native’s Guide to Visiting Raleigh
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While the , it also is a great time to take in some of the local experience that has made the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) one of the best places to live in America. The food, architecture, and entertainment events here are more than enough to handle, certainly in a weekend. We’re a lot cooler than you think. We just don’t talk about it.
The Triangle experience is unique, but in a subtle way. We don’t have a expressly tourist district. We don’t have centuries-old ethnic customs. Rather, the Triangle is a great place to raise a family and live a normal life.
When the Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh, the team was adopted at a moderate rate. However the playoff series in 2001 against the New Jersey Devils cemented this team in many Triangle residents’ hearts. The team’s popularity grew in the ensuing years until 2006 when the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. Ever since the Canes have been a universal success, and found their way into the hearts of even the area’s most die-hard college basketball fans.
The tradition of college basketball runs deep here, and the area has become known in the basketball world as “Tobacco Road”. This is an unfortunate moniker, however, as it so inaccurately paints the Triangle lifestyle picture. The Triangle is about education and tech. The only industrial component to our history lies in Durham’s history in producing tobacco products, but those are days long gone.
Because much of Raleigh’s growth has happened in the last 45 years, there is a strong suburban component here that has been attractive to hundreds of thousands of transplants. While there is plenty of Anywheresville stuff, there is more do to and enjoy than most have the time or money to do. Eat a southern hot dog, some barbecue, and a hot doughnut as you ride around and take in the area that so many people decided to call home.
Hard Times for Restoration Hardware
If you have any gift certificates or store credits for , you may want to go ahead and redeem them now. There is no word of any plans for the Crabtree store as of now, however I just learned that there location at Atlanta’s Lenox Square is closing soon. The company has been in a two-year slide that included even the closing of their flagship store. If they are having problems keeping their location at one of America’s most affluent malls open now, then there are problems in the company that severely limit the prognosis in nice malls like Crabtree.
When Restoration Hardware opened around 10 years ago, they offered a fresh, funky look at home furnishings. They offered an excellent collection of furniture that put a modern touch on classic French Country. The selection was topped off with an interesting assortment of sit around, funky new versions of antique toys, and more. About a year ago someone in the company thought it would be a good idea to completely change the store’s motif. Instead of the clean, bright, uplifting look that made the store so popular, designers went with an all-shades-of-brown look that created the most depressing retail store I’ve ever seen. The company’s executives will likely blame the housing crash, and perhaps that is what put the company in a tailspin two years ago. However this last attempt at saving the company was the wrong one and was a loser move for consumers.
This is potentially bad news for Crabtree Valley Mall, as well. Crate & Barrel will be closing its doors in the mall on January 23 (and moving to Southpoint on March 3). A loss of Restoration Hardware would leave the once flourishing home furnishings sector of Crabtree to just Pottery Barn.
Phydeaux Opens Raleigh Store
Good news for pet lovers! is now open in Raleigh. The store is at 10 West Franklin St. (near the intersection of Peace Street and Capital Boulevard). The store carries all of the pet pampering products, prices, and individualized service customers have come to love at the original, Chapel Hill store.
At 14,000 square feet, Phydeaux’s Raleigh location is larger than the Chapel Hill location. Additionally, Phydeaux Raleigh will continue the tradition of supporting local animal rescue groups and shelters by hosting adoption events and raising funds to donate. Phydeaux does not and will not ever sell animals.
Phydeaux has been awarded Best Pet Supply Store in the Triangle for 4 years running, and is listed as one of Inc. Magazine’s top 5000 fastest growing private companies in the US.
Store Hours:
- Monday – Saturday: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Cameron Village Hosting Open House Thursday
On Thursday (Nov 18) Cameron Village will host their annual Christmas season Open House.
“It’s a magical night of music and laughter at Cameron Village. Start your holiday shopping here and we will treat you to cookies and cider, great entertainment and tons of holiday fun. Bring the kids to see Santa Thursday November 18th from 5 – 8 p.m.”
Meat House Coming to Quail Corners
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The most anticipated retail outlet in North Raleigh has entered its next chapter. I recently reported a new location for The Meat House coming to Falls Village. However it appears that plans have changed, and the meat market will instead open its first Raleigh store in Raleigh’s Quail Corners, in the old Eckerd Drugs location. They expect to open in February.
Recent Stories
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- Red Hot Chili Peppers Put On Hold January 11, 2012
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- 2011: Best of the Year December 31, 2011
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- Pour House Going “1989” Friday Night December 15, 2011
- Tilted Kilt Coming to North Raleigh December 15, 2011
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- Preview Ford Focus Electric on Saturday December 2, 2011
- Jolly’s Closing After 130 Years November 30, 2011
- Red Hot Chili Peppers Coming to RBC Center November 28, 2011