Comments on: Nando’s Liquor License Permit Spotted – Restaurant Hours Revealed

By: pqresident

pqresident — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:59:16 +0000

I stand corrected. I meant yearly rental rate instead of monthly.

thanks #13!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:20:58 +0000

I think the $100/sq ft is yearly rent, not monthly. Even so, 700 sq ft (the size of a typical one bedroom apartment) would run $5,833 per month at that rate.

By: pqresident

pqresident — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:53:01 +0000

AnonPQ – bear in mind that #1′s $100 per square foot is a monthly rental rate, not a purchase rate. that means a retailer has to generate some multiplier greater than 1.0 times $100 in sales on a monthly basis for every square foot rented to cover taxes, salaries, inventory, equipment costs, utilities, rent and hopefully a profit. go out one year and a retailer pays out $1200/square foot per year and gets $0 in real estate equity back. comparing rental rates to purchase rates are like comparing apples to oranges. your margin point is well taken and probably dead on though.

BTW, one could easily gin up some cool math to match the two rates up but that is a topic for a much more technical real estate/finance web site than this one.

By: AnonPQ

AnonPQ — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:39:02 +0000

Re: #1

I realize that retailers need a lot of square footage. That makes a big difference. But as a PQ condo owner who paid > $500/sf, your outrage at Jemal’s asking price of $100/sf for downtown properties is hard for me relate with. I don’t expect retailers to pay anywhere near the $500+ but a flat $100 sounds reasonable to an outsider. Especially if other companies will pay it. While I’m not a fan of chains maybe the small business owner with very tight margins shouldn’t expect to be on 7th St. Maybe the vacant spot at 400 Mass is more sensible.

By: poo poo

poo poo — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:21:58 +0000

i’m REALLY excited about this place! i had a chance to try out a nando’s peri peri in london last month, and it was simply awesome!

By: Clara Barton Dweller

Clara Barton Dweller — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:42:27 +0000

One thing Olssons is very good for is the discount shelves – I always find random books that interest me to buy on those shelves, and at low prices.

By: LiveAndWorkinPQ

LiveAndWorkinPQ — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:33:06 +0000

#5 – I wouldn’t give Jemal too much credit for F Street unless you are handing out credit for the empty storefronts.

He owns the South side of the street which is virtually empty other than the Peruvian sweater place that is coming in on the corner.

He does own a little bit of the North side ofthe street including Ultrabar and the Cheese Shop location, but I don’t think he owns all of the North side such as the Mia Gemma and Coco Sala storefronts.

By: monkeyrotica

monkeyrotica — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:57:15 +0000

Shame about Olssens, but like most small bookstores, they've been on the decline for years. This is not a surprise. Unless you deal in volume like Barnes&Noble or Borders, bookstores in highpriced urban markets can't make a profit. The only exception seems to be places like Second Story, and they have a strong online presence via abebooks.com, which I highly recommend for finding ANY used book ANYWHERE. Much better prices than Amazon and you're supporting small used bookstores around the globe. More small plate restaurants anyone?

By: book nerd

book nerd — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:30:38 +0000

i read TONS of books but i get the vast majority of mine at used book stores (especially the one on the 1st floor of MLK library) and most recently at the awesome book sale over at 2000 Penn. beyond that, ordering online is my next method. if i am looking for something specific and want instant gratification, i do gravitate to B&N or Borders because they are more likely to have it than Olsson’s. it is unfortunate that that an independent store can’t survive though. it’s almost as if an independent store needs to be very specialized so they are something special…but then it runs the risk of being too specialized to have enough audience. i dunno….just my 2 cents. time to read another book!

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:53:07 +0000

I, too, am sad to see Olssens go. However, every time i go in to find a new title — they must special order it. Online book shopping is much easier, items are in stock or shipped for your enjoyment the day a new release comes out.

Add a deplorable coffee shop and $18 CDs, and I don’t see how any business can survive — even with amazingly loyal customers. The part I will truly miss is the DVD rental.

The only area I see small retail succeed is on F Street — it seems Jemal is intent on making the small strip between 9 and 10 high-end, but not big box. Kudos.