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Schuler Books goes downtown

Rizzo

By Rizzo
in Grand Rapids

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  • 4 weeks later...

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mgreven Hamlet

mgreven

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Nothin' says readin' like an ice cold Schlitz.

Could be possible soon...

Downtown Schuler's closer to offering a brew with a book

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/07/down...oser_to_of.html

Now I have to say that a headline that has "Downtown" "Schuler's" and "closer" it in caused my poor heart to skip a beat in fear. Thankfully, I re-read it. "Closer" looks a lot like "close" when you quickly glance at it. Now THAT would be very sad...I'm so glad they are there!

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Parhelion Whistle-Stop

Parhelion

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Now I have to say that a headline that has "Downtown" "Schuler's" and "closer" it in caused my poor heart to skip a beat in fear. Thankfully, I re-read it. "Closer" looks a lot like "close" when you quickly glance at it. Now THAT would be very sad...I'm so glad they are there!

I thought the same thing, too! While I'm not crazy about the idea, I'm still happy that the City is supporting Schuler's by doing this. And I'm definitely going to check it out first thing (I'm sure I'll be much quicker to buy if I browse after a cocktail!).

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  • 2 months later...
bfehsenfeld Crossroads

bfehsenfeld

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Went down the other night for a sandwich and they were closed. They close at six on weekend evenings. Bummer for those that work later and want to go down there. Does anyone have any info on extending hours? Thx.

For all those interested, we are now open until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Thanks, Bill

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 years later...
GR_Urbanist Burg

GR_Urbanist

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Just goes to show you that retail is simply not working downtown in the environment we have. This was the most recognizable retailer in the whole DT area. Everyone else is an indie shop. Most are likely to be gone in 2 years for the same reason as this one. It didnt mater if the main entrance was on Fountain or Monroe Center. People knew the place was there, and many simply didnt want to buy books as if it was going to survive on lunch sales alone. My wife and I ate there frequently, bought gifts, and got all of our books there. It just burns me that there was not enough interest form the area especially after having this place step in after the last bookstore shutdown.

 

For all of the big talk from urbanphiles about hating the mall and the traffic of the burbs, we aren't exactly making a difference nearly enough to keep these places open because we all still rather hop in the car and go to the one on 28th street or a bookstore at Rivertown.

 

If we cant keep this place open then we should forget about Meijer or anyone else.

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Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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Just goes to show you that retail is simply not working downtown in the environment we have. This was the most recognizable retailer in the whole DT area. Everyone else is an indie shop.

If we cant keep this place open then we should forget about Meijer or anyone else.

 

I wouldn't hold it completely to that.  I only ever bought a book there twice, but stopped in numerous times looking for a book.  The store was really small and simply did not have the selection of its other locations.  Most of the time I'd be told they don't carry said book there, and I'd end up going to their Alpine store to purchase it.

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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I think the loss of Schuler's is a bummer, but I don't think it necessarily means doom and gloom for downtown. Let's face it, it wasn't a great location, it had a small selection, and I wouldn't want to be in the book business right now, whether on 28th street or downtown. It was a great place, but off the radar.

 

I tried to support it, but out of sight, out of mind. Interestingly, the cafe seemed to be a hustling place. So it make you wonder if the retail mix was not right.

 

I think it's a real bummer, but I think the latest retail casualties (VanHoeks and Schulers) maybe just didn't fit.

 

If I were opening a retail business downtown, I wouldn't put it where Schuler's is. It seems more compatible with a service based business.

 

Joe

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GR8scott Burg

GR8scott

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Just goes to show you that retail is simply not working downtown in the environment we have. This was the most recognizable retailer in the whole DT area. Everyone else is an indie shop. Most are likely to be gone in 2 years for the same reason as this one. It didnt mater if the main entrance was on Fountain or Monroe Center. People knew the place was there, and many simply didnt want to buy books as if it was going to survive on lunch sales alone. My wife and I ate there frequently, bought gifts, and got all of our books there. It just burns me that there was not enough interest form the area especially after having this place step in after the last bookstore shutdown.

 

For all of the big talk from urbanphiles about hating the mall and the traffic of the burbs, we aren't exactly making a difference nearly enough to keep these places open because we all still rather hop in the car and go to the one on 28th street or a bookstore at Rivertown.

 

If we cant keep this place open then we should forget about Meijer or anyone else.

 

Retail is not working downtown but bookstores in general are not working Borders is done and barnes and nobel is close. In order for something like this to work downtown, there needs to be a national brand anchor like Macy's or even Sears with ample free parking to draw the average person that does not care about supporting a downtown business, but rather shops out of convenience otherwise people will just go to the closest store to their house or work. Why would they rather drive out of their way to pay to park downtown for a smaller selection of books? 

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organsnyder Hamlet

organsnyder

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...national brand anchor like Macy's or even Sears with ample free parking to draw the average person that does not care about supporting a downtown business' date=' but rather shops out of convenience...[/quote']

 

How can a downtown big box store, even with ample parking, ever compete with a suburban big box store in terms of convenience for the car-dependent? DT stores need to offer something else - a richer environment, convenience of other businesses in close proximity, proximity to DT workplaces & residences, etc. in order to have a chance. Trying to compete with the suburban stores, on their terms, for their typical customers, will be a failure from the start.

 

I do agree that a failed bookstore is hardly a good indicator of a struggling retail environment. Literary Life Bookstore at Wealthy/Eastern also folded recently, but that corridor seems to be doing fine (for the stage of development it's in). They both suffered from limited selection - if they have to order most titles customers want, many customers will go to a big box / online.

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RegalTDP Burg

RegalTDP

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How can a downtown big box store, even with ample parking, ever compete with a suburban big box store in terms of convenience for the car-dependent? DT stores need to offer something else - a richer environment, convenience of other businesses in close proximity, proximity to DT workplaces & residences, etc. in order to have a chance. Trying to compete with the suburban stores, on their terms, for their typical customers, will be a failure from the start.

 

I do agree that a failed bookstore is hardly a good indicator of a struggling retail environment. Literary Life Bookstore at Wealthy/Eastern also folded recently, but that corridor seems to be doing fine (for the stage of development it's in). They both suffered from limited selection - if they have to order most titles customers want, many customers will go to a big box / online.

 

Exactly.  Schuler's downtown location didn't work because they have two other locations to the north and south, both of which were bigger and better.  Trying to get a Macy's or Sears downtown would be equally foolish.  The "indie" shops, despite the negativity of others, are working because they don't have to compete with themselves in the suburbs. 

 

Schuler's downtown store was never going to survive unless more big retailers followed them there.  Five years ago, they foresaw downtown as a new shopping destination, and they jumped in to get ahead of it.  It was a calculated risk, and they knew it.  Whether it was the economy tanking or the difficult retail environment, the retailers never came, and it didn't work out in the end.

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jas49503 Hamlet

jas49503

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I wouldn't hold it completely to that.  I only ever bought a book there twice, but stopped in numerous times looking for a book.  The store was really small and simply did not have the selection of its other locations.  Most of the time I'd be told they don't carry said book there, and I'd end up going to their Alpine store to purchase it.

Most of the books that I've bought over the past several years have been at airports. they have a much smaller selection that Schuler's downtown location.  I did buy quite a few christmas presents there.  outside of the holidays though, I never bought books there. the problem for books is that if you want a particular title then the internet is the way to go. that seems to be how most books are bought.  if you are looking for any old book and just want something to read then Schuler's downtown location had more than enough. The location didn't help either. foot traffic is important when you are trying to attract impulse purchases.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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In the article Kris Larson talks about growing the residential base to support retail. He's right.

 

There's a lot of moaning and groaning going on on Facebook about this, but it just goes to show that you can show all kinds of emotional support for something, but money talks and BS walks. I even saw one guy complaining that he wouldn't have someplace to hang out half the day and read books. Wonder how much money he spent? If I'm at a coffee shop for an extended period, I try to buy 1 coffee per hour just to keep the place going.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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They've added two protruding signs, one on each street.

schul-1.jpg schul-2.jpg

 

Bumping this. Folks on MLive (yeah, I know) are claiming that there was no signage on Monroe Center.

 

Streetview showing the MC display window

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=monroe+center+grand+rapids&hl=en&ll=42.964859,-85.669863&spn=0.002532,0.005681&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=10.393534,23.269043&hq=monroe+center&hnear=Grand+Rapids,+Kent,+Michigan&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=42.964802,-85.669764&panoid=89zYr3vm_DG82-8mOrnItQ&cbp=12,23.5,,0,-0.51

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I'm in that particular stretch at least 2 or 3 times a week, and I have to say I haven't noticed that sign in a long time. It doesn't really get your attention.

 

There are all kinds of reasons why it didn't work out. I think not being RIGHT out on Monroe Center was detrimental.

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Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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Signage doesn't mean much when people (generally speaking) are very unobservant.  A good example is a website I have, where the largest text on the page instructs people what to do if the audio player does not work.  Yet still, I'm asked why the player isn't working several times a week.  If many people miss that, most people will miss that signage, especially if they're from out of town and are being distracted by the sight of everything.  This shows itself with the mlive commenters who believed there was no signage at all -- they never notised it.

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