Why does Sugar Land's Town Square have such a problem keeping restaurants/stores open? (Houston: rent, house)

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

DISCLAIMER: Not to knock SL as I live there, but..

Compared to The Woodlands, why does Town Square constantly have restaurants/stores closing?

The Woodlands Town Center & even Katy's La Centerra has a great selection of restaurants/stores open. I am wondering what the reason is. Have the developers given any thought as to why? SL Town Square is closing Charming Charlie (due to Ch.11 Bankruptcy), Z Gallerie, & other stores have closed as well.

Ben & Jerry's & Lasagna House were open but they also closed in recent years. I find that there are several shops like Kilwin's/Steel Pops that are open (but I feel that those are more unknown *in my opinion*)

The Escalante's, PF Chang's, & Baker Street are great & keep business in but I wish Town Center could be more like The Woodlands or La Centerra and not have so much back & forth (I hope this makes sense) I know we are in the age of online shopping.

Do any others (especially those living in Fort Bend County/Sugar Land) relate?

[chris_ut]

Seems like they need to screen their tenants better. Lasagna House doesn't sound like a place I would eat often if ever. Ben and Jerry's standalone I always thought was pointless since you can just buy the same stuff at HEB for half the price.

[Fight Red Light]

I think Z Gallerie is closing in the Woodlands too...

[SugLandDAd]

I think to a large extent its the difference between what developers and potential business owners see when they look at Sugar Land on paper, through its economic demographics, and how Sugar Land's residents live and spend on a day to day basis. Sugar Land is a wealthy and highly educated community, and that gets some business owners mouths watering as potential customers. They look at Sugar Land through the lenses of what has worked in other areas, and make mistakes. But Sugar Land has a very high percentage of recent immigrants, and cultural demographics would tell you that they don't spend money in the same ways other people do.

Some of it is also that Sugar Land Town Center is no longer the only game in town. Where once it was the only place to go for a meal in Sugar Land, there is much more competition. There are other options with easier parking.

Sugar Land Town Center has high rents (Ben and Jerry's manager cited a rent increase as the reason they left) I don't know that the local landlords have fully processed how the increased competition affects them.

[btw002]

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

...Sugar Land has a very high percentage of recent immigrants, and cultural demographics would tell you that they don't spend money in the same ways other people do.

Some of it is also that Sugar Land Town Center is no longer the only game in town. Where once it was the only place to go for a meal in Sugar Land, there is much more competition. There are other options with easier parking.

Sugar Land Town Center has high rents (Ben and Jerry's manager cited a rent increase as the reason they left) I don't know that the local landlords have fully processed how the increased competition affects them.

10 years ago, the rent where Bar Louie is now was $26,000/month. I can't imagine what it is now.

I think this post nailed it.

[gwarnecke]

I agree with SugLandDAd's post.

In addition, outside of rush hour, Sugar Land is only a 15-20 minute drive from The Galleria and all of its shopping/dining variety. Tough for Sugar Land Town Center to compete with that. By contrast, La Centerra and The Woodlands Town Center are "the only games in town" in their respective communities.

At the end of the day though, if it's high rents (as opposed to a lack of customers) that are forcing businesses out, Sugar Land Town Center can't be doing too badly.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

I agree with SugLandDAd's post.

In addition, outside of rush hour, Sugar Land is only a 15-20 minute drive from The Galleria and all of its shopping/dining variety. Tough for Sugar Land Town Center to compete with that. By contrast, La Centerra and The Woodlands Town Center are "the only games in town" in their respective communities.

At the end of the day though, if it's high rents (as opposed to a lack of customers) that are forcing businesses out, Sugar Land Town Center can't be doing too badly.

This is the main reason. Sugar Land has more than enough wealth and people, but it's proximity to the better/trendy areas of Houston probably makes it harder than other suburbs which are further away. It's much closer to the cool spots versus Katy and The Woodlands. As Fort Bend continues to grow, that should help out the SL Town Center as more people would rather stay local than deal with the traffic because Inner Loop Houston is growing as well.

[Lbjen]

Parking. I avoid SL Town Center as much as possible because the parking is a nightmare, or at least I perceive it to be. La Centerra also has its problems with high restaurant turnover, I can think of several that have closed down. And for the same reason - parking.

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

I think to a large extent its the difference between what developers and potential business owners see when they look at Sugar Land on paper, through its economic demographics, and how Sugar Land's residents live and spend on a day to day basis. Sugar Land is a wealthy and highly educated community, and that gets some business owners mouths watering as potential customers. They look at Sugar Land through the lenses of what has worked in other areas, and make mistakes. But Sugar Land has a very high percentage of recent immigrants, and cultural demographics would tell you that they don't spend money in the same ways other people do.

Some of it is also that Sugar Land Town Center is no longer the only game in town. Where once it was the only place to go for a meal in Sugar Land, there is much more competition. There are other options with easier parking.

Sugar Land Town Center has high rents (Ben and Jerry's manager cited a rent increase as the reason they left) I don't know that the local landlords have fully processed how the increased competition affects them.

My husband and I were discussing this the other day, I feel the exact same way. We drove by the former New Territory Randall's by 99 and were thinking they should put a Trader Joe's where it used to be but then if the Randall's didn't do well in that area, then a Trader Joe's will possibly not do well either...

Also, I agree that SL Town Center isn't the only game in town, there's lots of competition nearby whereas The Woodlands tends to be more isolated. My husband and I often venture into West Houston (our old stomping grounds used to be the Energy Corridor) & it helps living nearby compared to a place like The Woodlands where everything is so much further out..

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

In addition, outside of rush hour, Sugar Land is only a 15-20 minute drive from The Galleria and all of its shopping/dining variety.

Maybe Sunday at 3 am its 15 minutes from SugarLand to the Galleria. 20 minutes minimum if you don't count getting into parking or driving from your house to the highway.