Buy Lakewood - You Can Make A Difference

[Jim O'Bryan]

This past week In have been going from business to business and from MAMA to DADA and talking about the Lakewood Observer Economic Development Plan for the City of Lakewood in 2009.

The news from the streets is not very encouraging, There are four businesses in downtown Lakewood that are on the verge of going under. Some are "names" we begged for and heard from Observers "this is what we need." They are not sure how many weeks, note I said weeks not months they can keep going.

On Madison, Detroit, W117, Berea Road are good Lakewood businesses, many owned by Lakewoodites that will be closed, and left behind will be nothing but more empty storefronts. This is terrible news for Lakewood. When I asked about any help or support, they mentioned none from groups that are dedicated to this, for whatever reasons.

What I am asking all is to BUY LAKEWOOD, the future of the city depends on it. If you are going out to eat, stay in Lakewood. If you need something, buy Lakewood when you can. The country is in a state of economic collapse, we cannot allow Lakewood to fail.

Time to put our money where our hearts and mouth is or was.

FWIW

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[Bill Call]

What I am asking all is to BUY LAKEWOOD, the future of the city depends on it. If you are going out to eat, stay in Lakewood. If you need something, buy Lakewood when you can. The country is in a state of economic collapse, we cannot allow Lakewood to fail.

I was just thinking about writing a post titled "Eat Lakewood".

Anyway since you brought it up...

Business in Westlake and Avon Lake is quit good. A lot of their customers come from Lakewood. Most of our City employees and teachers live out that way.

My wife and I go to Lakewood restaurants and shop at Lakewood stores. when we leave town we call it "going on a field trip". This last weekend we went to see a movie at Crocker Park because Lakewood has no movie theater and met friends at a Westlake restaurant because it was close by. The ladies went shopping while the guys went to the show.

The Westlake Marks was a beautiful store with wide aisles, large collection of fresh produce and meats. Been to the Lakewood Marks lately? The Westlake Drug Mart was large, clear, clean and cheerful. Been to the Lakewood Drug Mart lately? The Giant Eagle in Rocky River is bigger, better and brighter than the Lakewood store and also (curiously) has lower prices.

I've said before that Lakewood is an economic colony and that we need to declare our independence but saying it one more time would be redundant all over again.

There are things that can be done but they are not going to be done as long as a substantial portion of the population thinks that the best way to spend our $100 million local tax dollars each year is for better pay and benefit packages for City and School employees.

Those vacant store fronts are an opportunity. How much is a vacant building worth? What do we owe the owner of a vacant building who hasn't done ten cents in improvements in 50 years? How much is a run down four suiter on Clifton worth that cannot be rented and cannot be sold?

Retail in this country is overbuilt (ask the Port Authority why they are subsidizinig new retail ) the store front economy is obsolete and we are expending our efforts and arguments on the color of signage.

The recent budget adjustments were long over due. More cuts need to be made so funds are available for economic development and new housing development. And that means a really big fight with the government unions and their allies.

I don't know about you but I'm tired of being everyone elses cash cow.

[Jim O'Bryan]

I don't know about you but I'm tired of being everyone elses cash cow.

Bill

Great post, hard to argue with any of that.

That said, we are in an economic war, and it will be a war for survival. I have had the opportunity of speaking with many financial specialist over the past couple months. ALL speak of the horrors that are about to unfold. While the 6oclock news has been reporting the financial crisis as if it were a football game and any day now the bottom will be reached. The truth is far scarier. Now, finally on some business shows, they are speaking of 1-5 years to find the bottom. The word "depression" is now being used as much as "recession" was being used two years ago. Last night one financial forecaster spoke of 1/2 million job losses a month at least through the end of the year. Unemployment of over 20%.

Still, many of the programs and ideas that came from the VAL are based on just such a scenario. While many will say, "no one saw this coming" the fact is many did and many very smart people looked at ways to prepare Lakewood for these days. Lakewood is a very unique ecosystem, a living organism like none other in the region. We have a chance to withstand the nightmare that is unfolding, if we are realistic, and we support Lakewood first and when we can, then look outside our borders.

Lakewood businesses have to be onboard as well. I was speaking with a well known Lakewood business the other night, I was told that business was terrible, I said have you ever tried to clean your store? The place was filthy, last painted 25 years ago if that. He said, "I can't afford to clean it." I told him just how pitiful that comment was, and that he was now on a slippery slope to going out of business. I told him that many of his customers are not coming back because of the filth, and the cutbacks. He started to cry, not knowing what to do. I grabbed some employees, and next month we will come in on a closed day and repaint and wash the walls. In turn he said he would bring back many of the reasons people used to come there.

So businesses must pull their fair share as well. No one gets a free ride. As you said, the aisle we clean and bright, the dinner was good. Lakewood businesses must compete with those outside to win us over and get us through the door. BUT, this is a war, and it is a war for the city's survival.

I applaud the efforts of LakewoodAlive and their way finding program. But why direct people to a downtown area that is empty, that has closed down, that has disappeared. We must now look at businesses outside of Lakewood as some of us do Walmart, sure they have cheaper prices, but it is also like trying to stay alive by eating your own body parts. It might keep you going for the short run, but in the long run, you will die.

Shop Lakewood, buy Lakewood first, and often.

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[Jim O'Bryan]

Has anyone been to Youngstown lately?

Buy Lakewood.

Shop Lakewood.

Clean Lakewood.

Go to church in Lakewood.

Support Lakewood charities.

Walk Lakewood.

Bike Lakewood.

Live Lakewood.

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[Bill Call]

Has anyone been to Youngstown lately?

Buy Lakewood.

Shop Lakewood.

Clean Lakewood.

Go to church in Lakewood.

Support Lakewood charities.

Walk Lakewood.

Bike Lakewood.

Live Lakewood.

.

Eat Lakewood

[sharon kinsella]

Bill's gonna get the shirts printed.

[Will Brown]

All merchants are experiencing difficulties, not just because of the current economic climate, but also because you can get better choice and service on the internet. I know some people enjoy walking through stores; I don't. But an advantage of going to a store until recent years was that you could touch and feel the item before buying; but now almost everything is in sealed packages and that takes away that advantage. Another problem is inventory; few merchants, especially in the small stores we have in Lakewood, can keep a decent inventory, so there is a limited selection.

Size is another important factor; the malls in Westlake have a lot of parking, which makes it easier to shop. This in turn increases the number of customers, which supports spiffier stores and even lower prices. Until we run out of fuel and start walking, Lakewood will have a problem because we don't have enough places to park. Our newer places, such as the mini shopping center at Warren and Detroit, and even the library, have so little parking that you can never be certain that you will be able to find a spot. I took my wife out to dinner last night and we were lucky, we only had to circle the block once before finding a parking spot.

Lakewood has some good stores, but usually they specialize in something almost esoteric. Some places that provide services are very good; I had some prints framed at a place on Madison near Hilliard, and she did very good work. We have too many places that are stocking junk (I used to wonder what the scavengers who go through our curbside discards just ahead of the city truck did with the discards they take; when I made a special effort to do Christmas shopping locally, I saw a lot of "retro" items that seemed strangely familiar.

For Christmas (and my wife's birthday a few days later) I wanted to get her a good food processor, but didn't find any in Lakewood: I wanted to get her some guidebooks for an upcoming trip, and some maps, but didn't find any in Lakewood; I wanted a good slicing knife for myself, but didn't find any in Lakewood; I wanted some nice wooden rocking chairs, but didn't find any in Lakewood; I wanted a nice wood rocking horse for my granddaughter, but didn't find any in Lakewood (there was one I saw later in Rocky River, but by then I had ordered one from Lehman's). I wanted some cds for our children, but the selection in Lakewood was very limited. The list goes on and on.

I don't think it is a good idea to spend some money on something you don't need, just to help a failing merchant last a few days longer.

As a community, I think we should decide just what type of merchant can remain viable in an on-line age (I once found a used hubcap emporium in Cleveland that seemed to be doing well; I found him by searching the internet for the type of hubcap I needed, then realizing one of the internet sites that offered it was in Cleveland, so I visited to see how serious the "minor dents" he admitted to were) and what we can do to encourage them to set up shop here. We could encourage boutique merchants with helpful clerks, preferably grouped by type of merchandise to give a wider choice of similar items (I visited Hong Kong and they had about ten contiguous blocks of small stores offering plumbing and bathroom/kitchen equipment, and it was a shopper's delight, because you could find just what you wanted and multiple vendors trying to sell it to you). Specialty food stores would seem to be another potential type. I think we should abandon all attempts to get the big-box stores here, since we don't have the space (including parking) and because we are on the edge of the potential customer base (few people come from out on the lake), rather than the center.

I think we should immediately change the on-street parking to angled spaces, increasing the number of spaces and making it easier to park, and sacrifice some of the lanes on Madison and like streets, since we don't have enough traffic to warrant those extra lanes and the increased parking would draw more shoppers.

And finally, I think we should make it more difficult for owners to hold on to decaying and underproducing commercial property. If it becomes too expensive to hold onto such property, that will be an incentive to either improve it, or to sell it to someone who will.

[Charlie Page]

I agree with Will on the limited inventory comment. More than once I’ve been turned away because a Lakewood merchant didn’t have my size or “this style has been discontinued and this is all we haveâ€￾. I agree with him on making more parking via angled parking spots. This would also increase the City’s parking revenue (assuming more people would park) and increase pedestrian safety. However, when I went to the mall in North Olmsted a while back, I had to park quite a distance away from the entrance of the mall and then walk even further to the particular store. I don’t see any difference in parking a couple blocks away from a Lakewood store and taking a little stroll. Unless you get lucky, you’re not going to park near your destination at Crocker Park either.

What’s stopping the typical mall retail stores from moving into Lakewood? I understand that Lakewood doesn’t fit the typical model of mall retail. But I could see an Old Navy being a safe bet to be popular. It doesn’t have to be a huge big box version to be successful. Certainly the rent is a whole lot cheaper here.

CVS bought the whole block on Warren and Madison and seem to be doing okay (btw, I miss the Warren Tavern – great burgers and wings). Sherwin Williams needs to sell a lot of paint to pay for that building and they seem to be doing okay. What’s the secret to successful retail in Lakewood (besides have a product or service many are willing to buy on a recurring basis, from a clean store)?

What’s going on with the former Giant Eagle location at Detroit and Bunts? If I remember correctly, this was first rumored to be turned into a Gold’s Gym. Anyone have any idea on what’s to become of this prime spot?

It’s clear, to me anyway, that Lakewood residents by ourselves can’t support all Lakewood businesses. We’re not an island. Something needs to be done to attract shoppers from other cities.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Will/Charlie

I am not asking anyone to buy just to buy. That would be insane, especially in this day and age. What I am saying is if you can get it here, try to get it here. Going out for dinner, try here. Not that you can't go out somewhere else, but try to think Lakewood first.

I agree that some stores would work here and fit in. But generally big box stores model does not allow them to think out of the big box box. One of Lakewood's strength is our dense population. To move any out for a mall is extremely short sighted, and will only cause the ghettoization of Lakewood. I ahve crunched the numbers many, many, many times. 5,000 more residents are a much better plan that some crappy strip mall.

For a couple years I was trying to get B&B Appliance into where Pride of Cleveland Scooters is. It was very, very close but they wanted to buy the building and Mickey would not sell. The plan was a "Nano-Store" their hundred or so hottest items, the rest could be delivered within 24 hours. This idea would work with Apple, and Old Navy. I find Old Navy stores to be huge areas filled with very little merchandise. So they could fill up and pack it in. But right now our leading development plan is to move the strip mall at opposite the library back 100' and rebuild it! The work of small minds. This is why I worry about where this city is headed. Very little vision where needed. Easier to under achieve than dream.

What do you really think is easier to develop and worth more in the long run. Detroit Ave.? Or our lakefront? Well one we could attract Panaria Bread or Cheese Cake Factories, or more 5,000 more residents? Which would add more meals every night to our restaurants, more food sold at the grocery stores, more needs for other shops, etc.

Our greatest assets are, Lakefront, River front, Schools, Library, location, location, location. These should be exploited, to attract $$$$$ and people to our city. It is so simple, the only problem is...


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[sharon kinsella]

Charlie - that's Walgreens. CVS is by the Library and at 117th.

[Ed Dickson]

Charlie,

It was Walgreen's that bought that corner as well as buying the gas station on the other corner and making sure that Sherwin Williams had a nice new shiny building. They did it becuase Sherwin Williams was the only one in that whole strip that had any length of time left on a lease. The 4 other small businesses that existed in that strip are still in business and moved out of Lakewood not in small part because the person in charge at the time did nothing to help any of us find another spot in Lakewood even though he said he would do whatever he could to keep us in Lakewood. That involved sending us a chicken scratch fax with locations that was barely legible and not returning phone calls. (Nate Kelly holds this spot now and is MUCH more helpful.) The last time I spoke with Nate about the former Giant Eagle ( I was interested in it), he said the gym is still going to happen but the economic climate was holding things up in part becuase of other retail pieces of what was going to happen. That was about 6 months ago. Not sure where it stands now.

I agree with supporting Lakewood and it's businesses but the businesses have to give me a reason as well. This is not a one way street. I support Lakewood Hardware when possible because everytime I've gone in they have been exceptionally helpful and the prices are almost always good. I can't say that about everyone I go to but if they prove they want me back I go back. I can name a few eating establishments that will never see my face again after more than a few bad experiences. Being a small business owner that used to be in Lakewood and now is just outside of, I could use support to but not just because I'm here but because I think we're damn good at what we do.

Just my two cents.

Ed

[Charlie Page]

Jim - I agree, buying just to buy is insane. Maybe what Lakewood needs is something like the Euclid Corridor project on Detroit and/or Madison, but without the center bus lane. Wider sidewalks would benefit outdoor dining. Rumor has it there will be a lot of fed money available soon.

Sharon - thanks for correcting. Walgreens not CVS. Theres way to many of these oversize convenient stores to tell them apart.

Ed - what's your business? Throw in a plug on the Deck

[Ivor Karabatkovic]

Bill Call,

You'd be surprised at the number of Lakewood City Schools teachers that call Lakewood their home.

I have two living on my street. I tried recruiting a third when my neighbors moved to California, but he bought a condo out in Westlake. He looked for about a year and a half to buy a house here in Lakewood, but he said it was cheaper to get a condo in Westlake than to buy a house in Lakewood and have to repair it and put a newer furnace in it, etc. He was also thinking of buying a double, renting one half and living in the other. I remember he was close to buying one here, too. He's also single, and doesn't need a house to himself.

So teachers are definitely looking to live in the city.

I know that I hope to stay in the city. When I finish school, my dream would be to work at LHS, live in Lakewood, and send my kids through Lakewood City Schools. Having to move around four countries in my first 9 years of life, you can imagine that I've never actually found a place to call home.

Well, until we moved to Lakewood.

Although I can't feel the type of "being at home and at peace" feeling here (as I can when I go back to my family in Bosnia), it's as close to home as I can get for now. Overseas I have my relatives, which I can't replace, and here I have Jim O'Bryan, Gary and Bob Rice, my sponsor family, etc. who I consider to be as close to family as people can come.

Ironically, just as I'm starting to feel at peace here, my parents are mentioning that they might have to move back to Bosnia.

So by all means, support Lakewood. It's a great city.

[marklingm]

On March 10, 2008, the Lakewood City School District Board of Education revised Board Policy 6540 to read as follows:

6450 - LOCAL PURCHASING

The Board of Education recognizes its position as a major purchaser in this community, and while it is the intention of the Board to purchase materials and supplies of quality at the lowest possible cost through widespread competition, if all other considerations are equal, the Board prefers to purchase within the District from established local merchants.

The Board authorizes the Coordinator of Support Services to award purchases placed in accordance with law, this policy, and all policies of the Board otherwise applicable to local merchants when their quotation is competitive, freight charges are a factor, maintenance service may be required, and promptness of delivery is a consideration provided that all statutes pertaining to public purchasing are duly observed.

[marklingm]

So teachers are definitely looking to live in the city.

Ivor,

Lakewood City Schools employees make great neighbors.

And ... if teachers, staff, and administrators are looking for a wonderful Lakewood home ... they can click here.

Matt