Archive for February, 2010
Tsuru Moving to New Downtown Location
Feb 27th
Tsuru, a locally-owned boutique, is moving to a new downtown location in July. The new space is next to the Novel Idea. Matel Rokke, the owner, has had the boutique for three years which features clothing, jewelry and accessories.
If you are looking for a small retail shop in downtown, come take a tour! This street retail space consists of 830 square feet and great visibility! The space is next to the Rocco Theatre and east of the Wells Fargo Center. Contact Marc Snow, NAI FMA Realty at 441-5819 for more information.
Clocktower Center Adding Tenants
Feb 25th
Clocktower shopping center sounds like it will fill some of its vacancies. The new owners commented that a sports bar, sports apparel store and a shoe store have committed to opening at the center. Jimmy John’s is a newer tenant as well. Good to see new openings at the center.
Tale of Two Cities
Feb 18th
Read a USA Today article written about two cities, Lincoln and Merced, CA, and how they compare as No. 2’s in a list of metropolitan area unemployment rates - Lincoln as the second-lowest unemployment rate and Merced the second-highest.
Five Guys Burgers & Fries Coming to Lincoln!
Feb 18th
Five Guys Burgers & Fries plans to open their first Lincoln location at 1230 P Street by early April. They sell burgers, fries and hot dogs (if you haven’t already guessed). Five Guys is a Virginia-based company which opened its first restaurant in 1986 and has now expanded to over 450 locations in 30 states through their franchise program. Richard Meginnis and Chris Vasek assisted the franchisee in selecting a site.
Updates for the Retail Market
Feb 17th
Just some quick retail changes that are happening…The Joint, which is a chiropratic office, is taking the east end cap of the small retail strip where Starbucks is located at 33rd & O Streets. And by the end of the year, Gordman’s will move to a new location on N. 27th Street next to Bed, Bath & Beyond leaving a sizeable hole in central Lincoln.
Qdoba Mexican Grill Opening Downtown Location
Feb 15th
We heard from a reliable source that Qdoba Mexican Grill is opening a downtown location next to Panera Bread at 12th & P Streets. This will make their second location for Lincoln.
Qdoba’s website states they have been around for 14 years and in 2009 they planned to build more corporate-owned restaurants than in any year in their history. With the economy as it was, curious if that happened.
Which Retailers & Restaurants Look to Expand in 2010?
Feb 9th
As consumer confidence and spending has begun to improve, some retailers are now moving back into growth mode and expanding in today’s market. Discount chains and quick-service restaurants seem to be the retailers planning multiple new locations in 2010. Burger King says it will open 300 units and Panera Bread plans to open around 100. Target (128), Wal-Mart (16) and Costco (23) are some of the national discounters talking about expansions. My hope is Costco will consider Lincoln again for one of those 23 new sites. (Source: Shopping Centers Today December 2009 issue.)
More encouraging news was there were fewer store closings in the second half of 2009 for the Lincoln market. Our latest market report showed retail vacancy only increasing to 8.8% up from 8.7% after the first half of 2009.
New Haymarket Arena is One Step Closer
Feb 9th
Last night after almost 3 hours of city leaders and private citizens testifying on whether a portion of the arena financing should be put to a public vote on the May 11th primary election ballot, the Lincoln City Council voted 6-0 for it. Lincoln is one step closer!
Physicians Weight Loss Center Opens at 25th & Superior
Feb 8th
Physicians Weight Loss Center has leased office space in the Ticonderoga Center at 2550 Superior Street. This makes their second location for Lincoln with the first location at S. 56th & Waltz Road just north of Liberty First Credit Union. Marc Snow and Tom Graf represented the landlord.
City Council to Vote on Arena Issue
Feb 5th
The Lincoln City Council will be voting on Monday on whether to put a proposed arena project on the May 11th primary election ballot. The council will also be asked to approve agreements to form a joint public agency with the University of Nebraska to finance the project and for the men’s and women’s basketball teams to play in the arena. Read more on the proposed Haymarket arena.
To go to the public hearing…3pm Monday at the County-City Building, 555 S. 10th Street.
