Top 10 Chains We Wouldn’t Mind Seeing Downtown
Let me start off by saying that here at Columbus Underground, we are all about supporting our wonderful local, independent businesses. We encourage people to dine locally, shop locally, and invest money in the local economy. With that being said, we’re fully aware that it’s unrealistic to buy everything from a local business. There is a time and a place for everything, and many specific types of larger chain stores and restaurants can be a vibrant and essential part of our diverse urban experience.
Last year, the “Mile on High” effort was established to combat the 80,000 square feet of vacant retail space along High Street, but it’s off to a slow start. A study from last June revealed that while we have 280 stores and restaurants downtown, there is an estimated spending power to currently support 450 establishments.
We would love to see the majority of that gap filled in with local businesses, but we feel that there is room for a handful of chains as well. Below is our top 10 list of potential chain stores and restaurants that we would like to see fill in some of this empty retail space on or near the High Street corridor.
#10 - Room & Board
Room & Board is a fashionable furniture store that focuses heavily on American-made craftsmanship and social responsibility. They sell all types of home furnishings from sofas to bedding to light fixtures. And with their nearest stores in Illinois, this would make a Downtown Columbus location one-of-a-kind in the state of Ohio.
#9 - Nordstrom Rack
Nordstrom Rack is the discounted counterpart to Nordstrom. Originally operating as a clearance department, it has grown into its own brand for bargain-seeking shoppers and has over 50 locations around the US. The only Nordstrom location in Columbus is out at Easton, and the only Nordstrom rack in Ohio is just east of Cleveland. Placing this shop downtown would be a regional draw, and could also make the surrounding retail units more attractive for independent boutique shops to set up.
#8 - Apple Store
The Apple Store is very obviously a place to purchase Apple products including computers, laptops, iPhones, iPods, software, and accessories. With Apple’s consumer products surging in popularity, the Easton location is constantly overcrowded, and a secondary location would be more than welcome downtown where there is currently no place to purchase computer or electronic accessories.
#7 - CB2
CB2 is an offshoot brand from Crate and Barrel that focuses more on modern and urban style with their product range. CB2 sells all types of home decor and accessories from couches and beds to forks and spoons. Currently, CB2 only has 5 locations, all of which are in urban centers, making downtown the obvious choice for a Columbus store.
#6 - H&M
H&M is an affordable yet fashionable men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing store with locaitons all over the world. A nearby store exists at the Tuttle Mall, but it only sells the women’s clothing line.
#5 - DSW / Filene’s Basement
DSW is actually a local company, with their first store having opened in Dublin in 1991. Their parent company Retail Ventures, owns the Filene’s Basement brand as well. DSW’s large stores feature thousands of name brand shoes available at a discounted price. Similarly, Filene’s offers thousands of name brand men’s and women’s clothing items at a discounted price. Several successful DSW stores operate near Easton, Polaris, and Dublin, with the Dublin location being a joint store with Filene’s Basement. Adding a new downtown location would serve not only the central city, but also would be a closer location for the entire south side of Columbus.
#4 - In-N-Out Burger
If it’s possible for a fast food chain to have a cult following, then In-N-Out Burger has achieved just that. Founded in California 60 years ago, no locations exist outside of the west and south-western states. In-N-Out has often been praised for their use of fresh, local ingredients as well as their employee-centric business practices. If a Downtown Columbus location were to open, we predict that they’d have a lunch line wrapping around the block every day for at least the first year.
#3 - Target
Somehow, Target has mostly managed to avoid the negative connotations that typically plague the big-box corporate concept. Perhaps it’s the fact that they aim to sell slightly more upscale merchandise than competitors like Wal-Mart or K-Mart. Perhaps it’s their brighter stores and hipper advertising image. Perhaps it’s their continuous philanthropic efforts. Whatever it is, it seems to be working, and the idea of bringing multi-story urban Target store (similar to their flagship store in downtown Minneapolis) into downtown Columbus has constantly made appearances on nearly everyone’s wishlist.
#2 - Trader Joe’s
Downtown has got a bit of a grocery problem, and Trader Joe’s is often cited as the solution to those woes. While the residential population Downtown has not quite reached the critical mass needed for a full-sized Kroger or Giant Eagle, Trader Joe’s offers the option of bringing a smaller store into our urban center. Trader Joe’s is often praised for their environmental-minded business practices, and their health-concious store-brand products.
#1 - IKEA
It’s not going to happen anytime soon, but it doesn’t mean that we still can’t hope that someday IKEA will need a second Ohio store, and that it might somehow wind up in Downtown Columbus. When the news broke nearly three years ago that IKEA was considering an Ohio store, many on CU who were tired of driving all the way to Pittsburgh for their fix were quick to cross their fingers that it would wind up in Columbus. In the end, West Chester (a Cincinnati suburb) was chosen as the site for the first Ohio IKEA, but every once in awhile you can still hear someone mentioning how much they would have loved to have it in our own back yard.
What other stores and restaurants would you like to see open up Downtown?
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 8:09 am and is filed under Features, Shopping.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Related Tags: apple • apple store • cb2 • chains • downtown • dsw • filene's basement • furniture • h&m • ikea • in-n-out burger • mile on high • nordstrom • nordstrom rack • restaurants • retail • room & board • Shopping • target • trader joe's
April 7th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Every single one of these would revitalize downtown, making it a viable shopping area on the weekend, instead of just the 9-5 area it currently is. As much as I loathe IKEA, this one store alone would make the Columbus economy skyrocket. Personally, I’m rooting for an In-n-Out and a Trader Joe’s, even though I’d end up a thousand pounds if they both went in.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Love the photoshop work here. Especially the H&M one.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:48 am
i agree with all, esp, IKEA, but not H&M. and that is only from a stylistic standpoint. their clothes just are not me, and they dont even fit, and i am a small dude…made for twigs.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Great starting point for more conversation Walker, and the H&M photoshop is cool!
April 7th, 2009 at 9:07 am
“Last year, the ‘Mile on High‘ effort was established to combat the 80,000 square feet of retail space along High Street, but it’s off to a slow start. “
Why are we being combative with the retail space…unless of course you meant the vacant retail space.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Nice list - and artwork!
As much as I’d like it, I don’t think an IKEA will be in a downtown setting (anywhere.) Their ideal setting seems to be midscale suburban development, right off the freeway, and with a huge parking lot and low rent.
I’d like to see a Zara.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Joseph-Beth bookstore.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Fun article, with some good suggestions. I’d love to see the Target & Trader Joe’s especially. An In & Out would be AWESOME, but even if their business plan allowed them a store this far east, do they do stores without drive-thrus? Isn’t that what the Wendy’s closings were blamed on?
April 7th, 2009 at 9:27 am
These are great ideas! I was in Crate and Barrel last week and the woman working there said they will only open CB2 in cities with at least 3 million people :(
April 7th, 2009 at 9:37 am
johnwirtz Says: Why are we being combative with the retail space…unless of course you meant the vacant retail space.
Fixed. ;) Thanks for picking my nits.
shroud Says: An In & Out would be AWESOME, but even if their business plan allowed them a store this far east, do they do stores without drive-thrus? Isn’t that what the Wendy’s closings were blamed on?
The one I visited in San Francisco had no drive through:
http://www.in-n-out.com/location_details.asp?id=154
But yeah… might be a tougher sell in Downtown Columbus.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:40 am
von Says: i agree with all, esp, IKEA, but not H&M.
Yeah, there were probably 5 other stores I would have put on my personal list too… but I was mostly trying to base this off of previous discussion threads where these sorts of ideas were raised by everyone and pick the stores that seemed to appear with the most frequency.
This is probably just me, but I’d love to see Columbus-HQ’ed White Castle open a new flagship urban store somewhere downtown…. maybe around the Arena District. ;)
April 7th, 2009 at 9:43 am
It’s just you ;)
If there’s a White Castle flagship store downtown, then we’d also better invest heavily in those self-cleaning street toilets.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I would think this would be a prime time for Target to introduce their Super Target stores into the Columbus market. Throwing a “supercenter” store like a Super Target, Meijer, or even a Super Wal-Mart (though I dispise that company) would give those already living downtown somewhere close and convenient to do not only their grocery shopping, but general merchandise shopping. I think it would also help attract more to live downtown and hopefully revitalize the area.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:31 am
As much as I hate big box stores, I would like to see a Target downtown. There are really good examples of urban targets around, however, most of the ones of have seen are near transit stations in high density TOD. Trader Joe’s=YES. This would fit in good around 3rd or Gay St. I’d like to see an apple store open up somewhere between the Convention Center and the lower Short North.
Other suggestions (some for personal reasons): Express, Diesel, Guess, Bonefish Grille, a book store, some kind of world market type place showcasing all aspects of design. (fashion, furnature, etc.)
The stores that would be the most successful would be the ones unique to central ohio or all of ohio for that matter. They should be clustered as close to each other as possible (the retail establishments that is)
April 7th, 2009 at 10:34 am
I would love to have an IKEA in Columbus and also see Trader Joe’s, Apple and White Castle downtown.
I’m surprised CBus doesn’t have In-N-Out Burger, period - aren’t we the fast-food capital of the US?
April 7th, 2009 at 10:46 am
I personally could see most of the stores listed in downtown Columbus. If you go to other cities the size of Columbus you can find some large retailers downtown. With City Center gone I think downtown Columbus could hold some of these. I think a west elm would be awesome for downtown…I don’t know why they chose Easton for the location. They have reasonable priced modern furniture and with the new condos downtown, German village and short north (probably where most of their business comes from anyways) It would be very easy access.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:13 am
SuzanneInCBus Says: I’m surprised CBus doesn’t have In-N-Out Burger, period - aren’t we the fast-food capital of the US?
In-N-Out only recently expanded outside of California. They only exist in four states: California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I hate to dash anyone’s hopes here of a new Target downtown but as of this moment there are no plans to open any more new stores in the district 400 region for 3 to 4 years. Target has put a hault on new development in an effort to remain stable in the current economy. As of now the last store has opened ( the new pickerington store because the brice road store was too old to be remodeled.) Once things pick up again the first store that will be rennovated will be the Olentangy store next to campus.
This store will become what Target is calling a “p-fresh” store. It will be slightly larger in the market area so that it will be able to support common produce but not meats.
I agree with everyone though, a Super Target opening up downtown or near campus would be amazing and hopefully someday that will become a reality.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
i couldn’t love all these ideas more!! How awesome would it be for downtown to turn into a “REAL” downtown!! With all these new business, more will follow and before we know it….downtown will be hip and worth spending the day in.
But, me being the negative nancy that I am about this town, I guarantee none of this will happen! Maybe we’ll get another Buckeye Corner or an OSU team apparel store - good god I hope not.
For now, I will dream of a cool downtown….
April 7th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I love In-N-Out.
I think the Target, Trader Joe’s and Ikea are extreme wishes right now.
Target will not open one downtown while Lennox is still thriving for them. Although I WOULD love to see a two-story one (I visited a HUGE one in Stamford, Conn. and was amazed), it just won’t happen.
I wants a Trader Joe’s, too, but I don’t know about that reality, either. At first, they resisted, saying they needed a ridiculous amount of parking spots and then ultimately saying, “well, people will drive out to us, we don’t need to go to them.” They’re just now coming around to opening stores up in healthy, large downtown areas: LA - Sunset Strip, Manhattan, Seattle, Chicago, and Atlanta (Only Chicago, Manhattan and LA are true downtown locations). Glad to see they’re doing it, but it’s a slow process.
And Ikea, well… we all know that answer :)
Great list, though! Room & Board is awesome. I would add to the list some more flagship stores. All of our local, large retailers should have a flagship store here.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
The likelihood of these stores coming downtown will be even lower when Grandview Yard opens. I want to like and support Grandview Yard, but I think it’ll really hurt downtown retail/office/residential in the longrun.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
The intro notes that “many specific types of larger chain stores” could be a valuable part of downtown. That makes me wonder: Is there a common theme underlying these? Value seems to be one; upscale to a degree (some more than others) seems to be another.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I think there will be enough of a difference between GY, “City Center” and Short North to support all three. What that difference exactly is, I don’t know, but I would like to think it will probably be more of consumer’s taste on how they like to shop. Downtown Chain, Downtown Local Artsy, or open-air mall.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I’ll add one: Modell’s Sporting Goods. Primarily a northeastern business with no locations in Ohio. In addition to sports equipment and licensed team apparel (is this not the number one sports town in America?), it’s a good place to buy clothes and shoes at reasonable prices. I used to do all my clothes shopping there back home. And if we want to shed our image as being fat and lazy, having a major retail business in the downtown area that encourages an active lifestyle could help.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I 2nd the Zara and the fact that Grandview Yard as a possibility basically kills any of this from happening. I wouldn’t mind a little letter/email campaign for these stores to locate Downtown. Maybe we could nip GY in the bud. :)