River Mall?

[ryan costa]

As luck would have it I discovered a Convenient Food Mart on Denison last week. It sells flask-shaped bottles of Wild Irish Rose and OTD for $1.39

[Jim O'Bryan]

As luck would have it I discovered a Convenient Food Mart on Denison last week. It sells flask-shaped bottles of Wild Irish Rose and OTD for $1.39

Ryan

Other holiday tips.

If you wear baggy pants or overalls, you can fit the quart size bottle just like a flask. Don't sit on it.

This is why I believe the "wine of the century" "well maybe just last century MD20/20 is shaped like a huge flask. Take it to parties and share a pull on the handy bottle. It is a real hand across the waters moment of warmth this holiday season. Mogen David I believe has a k on the bottle.

Read more here: http://www.bumwine.com/md2020.html

To stay on topic, I have often seen these wine bottles empty behind strip malls.


.

[Kenneth Warren]

Jim:

When did you begin reading?

Kenneth Warren

[Jim O'Bryan]

Jim:

When did you begin reading?

Kenneth Warren

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!



.

[dl meckes]

Picture books don't count?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Picture books don't count?

I thought he meant wine labels!

Oh.

Now I do feel bad.


.

[dl meckes]

Oh, yeah. My bad.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Oh, yeah. My bad.

Thanks for keeping it real in the wood.



.

[Kenneth Warren]

A road trip tonight to Liberty Books with Jim and Dan Slife. Given the west side location, it's an 8.75 on a scale of 10, with some deep academic and permaculture content on the magazine racks. I'll give the mag rack a 10. Books can't match the depth of the mag racks, but contain a few suprises in the philosophy section. The proximity of Liberty Books to the Wood and the suprisingly hip and smart contents should give the Westlake Shops a run.

I did not ask if special orders are taken, not that many people even bother with on-line.

It's a convenient quality shop, not a thick as Borders even today, with some distinction to its selections. Some selections pop out simply because the picks seemed both honed and serendipitous, not likely to be found in Barnes & Noble in Westlake. It's well worth supporting.

Kenneth Warren

[Kenneth Warren]

On the LO Deck a great deal of effort and time is spent describing shopping and lifestyle choices, what might suit our personal tastes and our bodacious expectations for a visionary leadership that makes marvelous development happen.

Some turn their nose up at Aldi’s, others at the Dollar Tree.

Some believe a big box will reduce their real estate tax bite.

Some wish for the shimmering signs of upscale retail to send a signal about the accumulated wealth levels in the Wood?

We go on and on.

Yet I often wonder when Mr. O’Bryan and Mr. Juris exchange takes on retail how clear is our developing sense of the real political economy of the Wood.

Are we learning anything other than how differently we dream and desire?

How far from the free market would our dreams for the Wood land us?

Do our dreams and desires simply indicate that the Wood is not “good enough for now?â€Â

[ryan costa]

[quote="Kenneth Warren"]On the LO Deck a great deal of effort and time is spent describing shopping and lifestyle choices, what might suit our personal tastes and our bodacious expectations for a visionary leadership that makes marvelous development happen.

Some turn their nose up at Aldi’s, others at the Dollar Tree.

Some believe a big box will reduce their real estate tax bite.

Some wish for the shimmering signs of upscale retail to send a signal about the accumulated wealth levels in the Wood?

We go on and on.

Yet I often wonder when Mr. O’Bryan and Mr. Juris exchange takes on retail how clear is our developing sense of the real political economy of the Wood.

Are we learning anything other than how differently we dream and desire?

How far from the free market would our dreams for the Wood land us?

Do our dreams and desires simply indicate that the Wood is not “good enough for now?â€Â

[Jim O'Bryan]

Ken

You completely nail in this with terms like "dreams." The fact is the region is failing, and with it all the dreams of those that depend on retail to feel good.

In our recent anthropological trip to compare the dreams of westside shoppers I think we uncovered some amazing differences and realities not shared by many. The truth is laid bare, and as we look back we see the tide/wave has indeed swept past the city of Lakewood, and swept all the way to Toledo and beyond.

While many think it is better in Cleveland Heights, Shaker, Bay Village, etc. we know only a couple cities have been able to stay away from the rush to the bottom. Those cities like Solon, Independence had it very easy. Massive acreage with nothing on it, makes build up easy. Coupled with this land are major exits from more than one freeway either in the city or nearby. when it comes to cities, Lakewood and our sister city Cleveland Heights has seemed to slow maybe even possible stopped the bleeding. But the fact remains the USA is going third world and we are all going third world together.

Questions remain, is it our dreams or own need for new, cool, hot, different, etc. that are feeding the need for change? Even the Dalai Lama states "Affluent beings change for nothing more than the need to fill emptiness inside. Change keeps one mind off of the true self, and only creates the need for more change for change sake." It would be nice to see a real study on what Lakewood NEEDS what it can support and what makes most sense for marketing the city to residents and businesses.

Other truths discovered in the drill down will be left alone as most would find them too terrible or terrifying. Others have looked into the mirror of the future and found peace, while others cringe, freak, over react, then get on the meds. But the one thing we know, and I think we know why, is that Lakewood has managed to stay the same while most others fail. With small subtle changes, Lakewood is the same as it was for decades. This should be viewed as a win, in this day and age. But will we?

We have seen dream cities like Huron throw their future away for a long time when they traded their old downtown area for some magic beans. While it is nearly impossible to find thee flaw in the plan, the truth is no one ever thought of what was next, what the future holds. It was built on the Tech bubble for then, and now it is a ghost town with a hole in it's heart, that might never be filled again. an upscale community with land and land banks downtown, that is now desperately trying to manage their decline.

If Lakewood can come to grips with their true identity, embrace it, own it and build on it, we can really make some hay, while the others fumble. If we constantly chase the man with the magic beans others have proven, it is a chase that rarely ends, or rarely bears fruit.


Lakewood's Dollar Tree Store featuring wide clean aisles, and great deals.


The Rocky River Dollar Tree features cramped dirty aisles.


Another Rocky River store that sells itself as the Upscale Liquidator, "Tuesday Morning" with their style of upscale displays.


.

[Tom Bullock]

Nicely posed questions, Ken.
Point nicely made in pictures, Jim.

Yes, Lakewood can't be all things to all people. Many "state of the art middle class amenities" will be beyond Lakewood's space, funding, and coordination limits (for now); and many residents won't want to choose what Lakewood has to offer.

But enough do that Lakewood can be a thriving community. And we can make enough improvements within Lakewood's limits that we can attract even more people.

Part of Lakewood's strategic plan should be to attain 60,000 in population within 5-10 years, 65,000 in 10-15 years, and so on.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Part of Lakewood's strategic plan should be to attain 60,000 in population within 5-10 years, 65,000 in 10-15 years, and so on.

Tom


BINGO! What many forget is that Lakewood was healthiest when we had 60,000 plus people. 10,000 more people would do wonders for EVERY business in town, from La Pita Express to Three Birds, from Dollar Tree to Geiger's. To thin the herd more for parking lots and magic beans in insane.

Shawn

I have not asked Chaz Geiger if he is thinking of expanding, but I do believe they actually scaled back. They had Gordo's Skate Shop and that is now a sewing center. Meanwhile Marc's and Dollar Tree are screaming for more space. Both think they could double in size.

So another part of the reality check. Do you want to keep taxes in line with ultra successful companies, or do you want the window dressing without the sales of a Coach Bag store? Do we care more about quality of life, or the quality of the conversation outside the wood?


.

[Shawn Juris]

well clearly from looking around Lakewood, no one is naked. They must be buying their clothes from somewhere. And Coach bags, quality of life and conversations outside of the city... I can only guess what you mean by that and I think it totally misses my point of being able to buy a pair of pants.
Are we really going to pin our retail future on Marc's and Dollar Tree? I'm not asking that we open a Nordstrom's and provide high tea at the polo fields but what direction do we think this is going to go if we blow the walls out on stores like these? Nothing like an anchor that attracts those that can't afford more than $1 per item.