And hello Hartford News Stand

As promised there is some good news here in the Capital City. Hartford News Stand (I apologize if I got the name wrong) has opened up in a one of the many vacant retail spaces at 915 Main Street / American Airlines Building. The store is a very welcomed addition to the downtown retail scene. They are essentially a convenience store and I welcome any store that sells any type of food downtown because as you know there are residents downtown who need to eat. I have heard that the store is considering selling fresh fruit which would be amazing. Though the store is small it is in the heart of downtown and is impeccably organized inside.

I hate to rain on the opening of a new store downtown but I must. The Hartford News Stands is the only retail tenant with a storefront at 915 Main. I applaud David Nyberg of College Street LLC for his work in Hartford. He bought and converted 266 Pearl Street (The Metropolitan) into condos, 55 Trumbull Street (55 on the Park) into apartments, 915 Main into apartments and owns 910 Farmington Avenue. He also has not let his properties fall in foreclosure. Like other developers he has struggled to attract retail tenants though. He has never found the right retailer/restaurant for 55 on the Park. However at 915 Main he was able to have a Quizno’s for a little while. They opened and then were forced to close while the façade of the building was being worked on. They reopened but once again have closed. I believe they were forced to close because of impact the construction was having on their business not because of the economy.

For some time many may remember seeing a sign at the edge of 915 Main advertising Kyoto as a restaurant that was coming soon. Well it never came. Nyberg had created an outpost on the building and was constructing a space for the restaurant with a rooftop dining area I believe. He was working without permits however and the city was forced to shut construction down in the summer of 2008. Since then I do not know what has happened between Nyberg and the city. There is no restaurant and I think the Kyoto signs have been taken down. I again believe Kyoto not opening is a result of bad business practices by Nyberg and to some extent the city who should have worked harder to get Kyoto open somewhere else in the city.

Finally, there is opportunity to have another storefront occupied at 915 Main. Unlike other developers Nyberg does have another retail tenant inside his building: Woody’s. This little hot dog gem is famous throughout the area and its owners are some of Hartford’s biggest cheerleaders. The restaurant even survived their competitor Rosco’s Big Dog which moved downtown from the South End and then closed. I honestly do not see the retail market picking up in Hartford for some time. I know this is drastic but I suggest terminating Woody’s current lease and writing up a new lease for them with the same rent for one of the storefronts along Main Street. If retail does pick up in 5 years or so and Woody’s cant afford higher rents and there are tenants willing to pay for storefronts then let Woody’s move back to their old spot. Woody’s has been in their current location for 8 years and they are here to stay. I think it would be a great gift for them and for us as Hartford stakeholders to have another storefront occupied by a locally owned and operated business that cares about this city. I must note these are just my two cents.