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Byzantium Closing

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Started 1 year ago by JonMyers
Latest reply from vestanpance

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Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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Manatee wrote >>
In other sad news, the folks at Baker's Acres Concrete Jungle are considering shuttering their store as well :(
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

That's true - I was just hitting up their website and saw this -

"940 N. High St. in Columbus' Short North

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Well, we tried. After a year and half of so-so sales, we have decided to close the Concrete Jungle. Blame the economy,

or the neighborhood, or BP, or Congress, or Sandra BullockÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s bastard husband, or even us.

The fact is, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s too much work for too little return.

Thanks to everyone who patronized the store.

The last day will be Sunday, June 20th. Until that time all gifts, books and pottery will be on sale for 30% off.

As Old Lodge Skins said in Little Big Man, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t.Ã¢â‚¬Â Thanks again."

Posted 1 year ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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It sounds like the folks you're talking about have it backwards then.

A place to eat, drink and shop = A neighborhood.

A mall built as a place to eat, drink and shop is something trying to emulate a neighborhood.

Oh, how quaint... this neighborhood is *almost* like our mall! Perhaps someday!

(Not trying to make fun of your friends... I'm sure the vast majority of folks look at it this way.)

Posted 1 year ago #
cc

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good point :)

I would have liked them to have stumbled across the more eclectic community oriented places like the Monkey's Retreat, or Byzantium on the way to National Jean Company though.

Posted 1 year ago #
myliftkk
Columbus, OH
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@cc - Other than NJC, is there some sort of corporate opening trend in the SN I am unaware of? There's no guarantee NJC will survive either, as banks/shareholder aren't likely to tolerate money-losing franchises as they did in the past.

In regards to community, the reason MR or BZ had a community was because they built one over a period of decades. Is that really any different from the small businesses that have been opening and building their own communities over the last 5 years (numbers which have dwarfed corporate openings)?

Posted 1 year ago #
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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Given the fact there is no leadership and consequently no vision at all for the Short North (there hasn't been since I've lived here), the neighborhood is organically evolving in a way that reflects the diversity and urban wants of our city.

Some of that organic evolution is painful to watch, some of it is awesome with businesses like Mouton opening up.

An unfortunate part is that the market here doesn't always filter out some of the crap faster because there is location bias (outdoor patios, etc.) that allows the crap to get traffic that sustains crap more so than in other competitive markets.

Anyhow, there's room for plenty of different business interests that serve a range of demographics in the Short North.

If you think the neighborhood is not evolving in the way we've decided it should be, then demand a clearer, more consistent vision from city leadership and organizations that claim they represent the interests of the area.

Even then, their influence is limited because at the end of the day the landlord rules the roost.

Posted 1 year ago #
laChewla
Victorian Village, The Heart Of It All
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Seems to me that it's emulating the old City Center rather than Polaris. Lots of empty facades.

I still regularly get bummed about the absence of L'il Bros. Now my favorite hippy-dippy bead shop, too. Sadness. This landlord sucks.

Posted 1 year ago #
jpizzow
580 N. Park St.
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^^I thought John Angelo did a pretty ok job. The new one, who's name has escaped me at the moment, sounds like she's up for the challenge.

Posted 1 year ago #
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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jpizzow wrote >> The new one, who's name has escaped me at the moment, sounds like she's up for the challenge.

Total speculation, but I suspect a push will come to fold the SNBA into the High Five.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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cc wrote >>
good point :)
I would have liked them to have stumbled across the more eclectic community oriented places like the Monkey's Retreat, or Byzantium on the way to National Jean Company though.

Or Collier West Or Tigertree or Torso or Milkbar or Delevee or Undone or Torso or On Paper or Bink Davies or Rose Bredle or Rivet or What The Rock.... The neighborhood is still overwhelmingly independent, successful businesses.
As for looking like City Center, I would guess that there are way more businesses in the Short North than there have ever been, it has just gotten a lot bigger.

Posted 1 year ago #
cc

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I agree with Tigertree 100%, there are still lots of great independent stores. We just seem to be losing some old school 'community anchors' as of late. They will be missed. It will be interesting to see what fills their shoes.

Posted 1 year ago #
zp945
Clintonville/Short North
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I have no idea what rent the landlord is seeking at Byzantium and I'm sad they are closing. One of the first gifts I ever bought for my wife came from the King Ave location. I also miss Little Brother's.

That being said, they are asking $18 per square foot (or just over $7,000/month) for the LB's space right now. It's 5000 SF with a 2500 SF basement and comes with a kitchen built out for you. That is hardly an outrageous rent number. There are locations on the outerbelt asking close to $40 per square foot. The right business could make a great profit at that location.

I get tired of hearing about the unfair rent in the SN. It's a desired location and with that comes higher rent (even though it's still one of the better deals in town).

Posted 1 year ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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cc wrote >>
We just seem to be losing some old school 'community anchors' as of late. They will be missed. It will be interesting to see what fills their shoes.

Their shoes will most likely be filled with the next community anchors. ;)

Posted 1 year ago #
myliftkk
Columbus, OH
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zp945 wrote >>
I have no idea what rent the landlord is seeking at Byzantium and I'm sad they are closing. One of the first gifts I ever bought for my wife came from the King Ave location. I also miss Little Brother's.
That being said, they are asking $18 per square foot (or just over $7,000/month) for the LB's space right now. It's 5000 SF with a 2500 SF basement and comes with a kitchen built out for you. That is hardly an outrageous rent number. There are locations on the outerbelt asking close to $40 per square foot. The right business could make a great profit at that location.
I get tired of hearing about the unfair rent in the SN. It's a desired location and with that comes higher rent (even though it's still one of the better deals in town).

I don't think many people are claiming the rents are unfair, just over-valued in comparison to what the market thinks. There's some validation that that happens to be the case as the months tick by and spaces sit empty. Outer belt comparison would only make sense if all other variables held constant, which isn't the case. The traffic patterns at some of the outer belt location are vastly different than the SN traffic pattern. And even within the SN, the traffic pattern can be vastly different from one end of the district to the other.

Posted 1 year ago #
PaulVolker

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I created the logo for Byzantium. In ways that words cannot express, its very existence was very, very profound and in 25 years caused a great many things, and lives, to become connected - as perhaps a great bead emporium should. - Paul Volker

Posted 1 year ago #
chrisat4th

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Bummer. It is weird though that the article in the SN Gazette seemed so positive about the future?

Posted 1 year ago #
cory
Columbus / Upper Arlington
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I'm more surprised to hear they were open for 19 years than I am to hear they closed. From what I've gathered from this thread, their best days were on King Ave. I can't imagine a little shop that sells beads could afford rent in the SN... There are a lot of unique stores that I enjoy, I just don't see many of them staying in business very long. Do you think the SN will ever rent to corperate names like Nordstrom of Macys? And is having those spaces leased to coorperate giants better than empty storefronts?

Posted 1 year ago #
cc

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I think this clip from the SN Gazette says a lot about the type of retail environment it fostered:

"Tammy Irwin (left) has been working at Byzantium for 14 years, longer than any other employee. Corby Beller, at right, is the newest hire, 8 years ago."

Posted 1 year ago #
gk
columbus, ohio
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I think most small retail businesses are hurting during these tough economic times - whether they are in the Short North, German Village, Bexley, Grandview, or outerbelt. There are vacant retail storefronts throughtout the city, including Easton and Polaris. Moreover, there are so many more retail options available today than 25 years ago for people to spend their money - in many ways, Columbus has become over-retailed relative to its size and what we are likely witnessing is a market correction.

Posted 1 year ago #
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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cory wrote >> I can't imagine a little shop that sells beads could afford rent in the SN...

Are you a beader or the target audience?

Posted 1 year ago #
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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@cory, It is hard to pass judgement on any retail operation without getting to look at the books. I have no idea how a bead store does in general or this one specifically. But there are so many factors that make every retail operation so specifically different. A bead store, for instance, might have lower gross sales but I would imagine a higher profit margin than a clothing store and their product has a longer shelf life so the investment one makes in inventory can get a return for a longer period of time. Even stores with similar products and margins, what is going on in their buying and back room makes a huge difference.

Posted 1 year ago #