What is Downtown Phoenix living like for a single upper 30 year old guy.

[pbenjamin]

The deal with groceries is if you actually live way downtown, like at 44 Monroe or Orpheum Lofts or the equivalent, you are stuck with getting in your car and driving to a supermarket just like you would do if you lived in the suburbs. It is not like Manhattan or San Francisco where you walk 2-3 blocks and buy the supplies for your evening meal. What is really needed is something like a Fresh and Easy, a smaller yet fairly varied store where you can get a pound of hamburger, a head of lettuce and a bag of rice without paying a fortune because it is gourmet or organic. Neither the Public Market or Oakville Grocery met that criteria. The once-promised AJ's would have been a little closer to the mark but still somewhat off.

[khuntrevor]

The Light Rail stop at CB is labled "Uptown" that is because Midtown ends at the canal. The zipcode changes when you cross Thomas from 85014 to 85006 and that may be why all of that zip is considered Downtown.

[talich]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

I counted it as one, but it carried the type of food I eat, not the type that a lot of others eat. The OP would probably have found plenty to eat there too. The issue with the Public Market was that it didn't appeal to the majority of people who live in the area, which is a lot of people. The outdoor market is always busy, but the indoor market was rarely busy except on outdoor days. Combined with a very small product selection, there wasn't much hope for them, unfortunately.

What the downtown area needs is an actual grocery store. Safeway is close enough though. Most people have cars and drive to the store anyway.

ditto.

Grocery store faces big challenge at downtown area. Oakley closed at Cityscape (I heard when it closed the Scottsdale quarters store, it left over a million dollars unpaid rent!). I think the merchants still haven't figure out the best way to exploit the potential.

Recently, Jobot owner opened a little grocery store across the street of its store. Let's see how this one fares.

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

The deal with groceries is if you actually live way downtown, like at 44 Monroe or Orpheum Lofts or the equivalent, you are stuck with getting in your car and driving to a supermarket just like you would do if you lived in the suburbs. It is not like Manhattan or San Francisco where you walk 2-3 blocks and buy the supplies for your evening meal. What is really needed is something like a Fresh and Easy, a smaller yet fairly varied store where you can get a pound of hamburger, a head of lettuce and a bag of rice without paying a fortune because it is gourmet or organic. Neither the Public Market or Oakville Grocery met that criteria. The once-promised AJ's would have been a little closer to the mark but still somewhat off.

That's probably because the people who live downtown aren't usually car-less like the people in Manhattan. A grocer could open a corner grocery down there and they'd likely starve, because people are just used to the lifestyle of you drive to Safeway and load up with a week or two worth of heavy groceries. Or you eat out. The corner grocer works well for walking cities, where people stop in on the walk home.

I find the prices at corner grocers in downtown areas are usually super high, organic or not. They don't have the sales volume to have the tiny margins of a Safeway, plus they have the high rent of downtown. If I lived near one I'd drive to Safeway instead, 95% of the time. But I'm probably more price-conscious than most.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

The deal with groceries is if you actually live way downtown, like at 44 Monroe or Orpheum Lofts or the equivalent, you are stuck with getting in your car and driving to a supermarket just like you would do if you lived in the suburbs. It is not like Manhattan or San Francisco where you walk 2-3 blocks and buy the supplies for your evening meal. What is really needed is something like a Fresh and Easy, a smaller yet fairly varied store where you can get a pound of hamburger, a head of lettuce and a bag of rice without paying a fortune because it is gourmet or organic. Neither the Public Market or Oakville Grocery met that criteria. The once-promised AJ's would have been a little closer to the mark but still somewhat off.

F&E would be a great addition. The stuff that I eat doesn't last more than a few days, so I have to go out at least twice a week to get groceries. I can do once by car, plus 1-2 trips to the outdoor market if I plan carefully, but I don't always plan carefully. If I stocked up on things I'd be fine, but I rarely do.

The obvious benefit is that F&E, Safeway, and a Trader Joe's are all a short trip. But it would be ideal if there was something that was right around the corner. I live within walking distance of Whole Foods in another city part of the year, and I still end up driving there half the time anyway.

[ReadyFreddy]

The more people buy frozen foods and soda, the less likely they are to walk to the store. And here it's worse because people buy bottled water. You just can't carry that stuff home, even two blocks.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

The more people buy frozen foods and soda, the less likely they are to walk to the store. And here it's worse because people buy bottled water. You just can't carry that stuff home, even two blocks.

The weather and lifestyle demands make it more difficult to live downtown too.

When people buy bulk items like soda, ice, and water, a car is necessary.

Being centrally-located would be nice but there are too many restrictions, like getting around in the summertime. Not even the most tolerant person enjoys walking or waiting for a bus or train when it's 110 in the shade.

But downtown living should be available for people who want it, there is more of a demand than there used to be, even in spread-out cities like this.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

And here it's worse because people buy bottled water. You just can't carry that stuff home, even two blocks.

That is a self-inflicted injury. Just don't buy it.

[ReadyFreddy]

I don't.

[Alexico]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

The deal with groceries is if you actually live way downtown, like at 44 Monroe or Orpheum Lofts or the equivalent, you are stuck with getting in your car and driving to a supermarket just like you would do if you lived in the suburbs. It is not like Manhattan or San Francisco where you walk 2-3 blocks and buy the supplies for your evening meal. What is really needed is something like a Fresh and Easy, a smaller yet fairly varied store where you can get a pound of hamburger, a head of lettuce and a bag of rice without paying a fortune because it is gourmet or organic. Neither the Public Market or Oakville Grocery met that criteria. The once-promised AJ's would have been a little closer to the mark but still somewhat off.

great post, you took the words out of my mouth. yes a F&E would the best thing downtown. you can always buy some basic household supplies too.

I dislike when people compare NYC or Chicago to PHX, the cities are 100% different and never will be the same. NYC is 100+ yrs old plus it is built up on a waterfront, but in NYC you are NOT within a 5 mile drive to hiking up a mountain etc, seeing an amazing sunset.

I am considering downtown soon.