Retail question (Springfield, Rolla, Branson: transplants, 2010, house)

[mrschilicook]

Okay..I don't want to start a "you all want to change the area" dispute, but I have a general question. Yesterday I went to Rogers (pop. ~40,000) and ran across Hills at Prommandade (or something like that)..it was a beautiful outdoor walking/shopping/entertainment district. The retailers included Williamns Sonoma and Pottery Barn (sorry ladies, no Trader Joe's). They even had a PF Changs!

Anyone know whey Rogers which has ~1/4 of the population of Springfield, would warrant retailers like WS and PB? Is the average income that much higher? Or do the populations of the surrounding cities make it a larger "metro" area than Springfield?


Lunch at PF Chang's was wonderful as expected...but the tax on lunch! It was about 13%. The waiter said it was because my mom had a cocktail and they tax alcohol unbelievably high. Is that Ark. or just the county Rogers is located in?

[8 SNAKE]

Interesting question, MrsC. I can't really offer anything more than guesses as to why those places exist in Rogers and not here. My initial hunch would be the demographics of Rogers vs. Springfield, but I haven't checked any stats to see if there's merit to my theory. I also wonder if a higher tourism base helps to support stores like PB and WS in the Rogers area?

From a personal perspective, I don't see many mid-to-upper level establishments doing all that well in the Springfield area. I don't get the impression that people from Springfield lack the income to support those establishments (a quick check of some local neighborhoods would seem to confirm that). Perhaps the conservative nature of the area plays a role in some forms of luxury spending?

Last I heard, Springfield is slated to get a PF Chang's. Maybe we're on our way up!

[joetownmom]

Originally Posted by mrschilicook

Okay..I don't want to start a "you all want to change the area" dispute, but I have a general question. Yesterday I went to Rogers (pop. ~40,000) and ran across Hills at Prommandade (or something like that)..it was a beautiful outdoor walking/shopping/entertainment district. The retailers included Williamns Sonoma and Pottery Barn (sorry ladies, no Trader Joe's). They even had a PF Changs!

Anyone know whey Rogers which has ~1/4 of the population of Springfield, would warrant retailers like WS and PB? Is the average income that much higher? Or do the populations of the surrounding cities make it a larger "metro" area than Springfield?


Lunch at PF Chang's was wonderful as expected...but the tax on lunch! It was about 13%. The waiter said it was because my mom had a cocktail and they tax alcohol unbelievably high. Is that Ark. or just the county Rogers is located in?

Blame Wal-Mart.

Rogers and Bentonville have pretty much overlapped into each other. Benton County, of which Bentonville is the county seat, is a "dry" county.

Wal-Mart corporate headquarters are based in Bentonville. They have brought employees from all over the country, many who make big bucks. When these people come to the middle of the nation's fly over zone, they expect to have the ammenities they knew back home like PF Changs, Pottery Barn, and the like.

I personally hated the Promenade; to me it's like a so-fake, pitiful attempt at recreating the old school downtowns but fails badly.

[MoNative34]

When you combine Rogers, Bentonville, Springdale and Fayetteville, the population is much more than Springfield. Probably double.

PF Changs and Pottery Barns are all over the midwest.

[ozarksboy]

Is PF Changs better than any restaurant in Springfield?

[Muscled1]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Is PF Changs better than any restaurant in Springfield?

It's overrated IMO. I'd even prefer Panda Express over PF Changs, and I'd walk out just as full with more money in my wallet coming from Panda.

[NOLA2SGF]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Is PF Changs better than any restaurant in Springfield?

We have a PF Changs near my home (here in Louisiana).

To compare it to Springfield restaurants, I'd much rather eat at Mr. Yen's on S. National than PF Changs. But maybe that's just me.

(Hoping we will be moving to Springfield in 2010 - - still have to get my house on the market, and sell it.)

Pottery Barn does nothing for me, either. And although we have a Williams Sonoma down here, I have never bothered to go inside. Nothing against these stores, but I will probably be quite satisfied with the stores presently in Springfield.

[ozarksboy]

Why are so many people, both native/longtime Missourians and newcomers/transplants/interlopers, so enamored with chain restaurants over hometown restaurants?

In Rolla, for instance, we had a nice Italian restaurant operated by a man named Cardetti, whose parents came from Italy and who used family recipes in his ristorante. It lasted awhile but closed due to lack of interest. Everybody wants the authentic Italian dining offered by Olive Garden instead, and the chamber and city have been working hard for years to bring one to Rolla. Maybe they'll eventually succeed so people can have real Italian food.

[ozarksboy]

And Pottery Barn--I'm not sure what that is, but I know of two potters here in Phelps-Pulaski counties where they make all kinds of good stuff in their own studios and fire it right here in their kilns. Perhaps that pottery is not authentic enough, compared to what is sold in Pottery Barn.

I just don't get this attitude that so many of you have that by getting in chains, our area is proving that it's "moving up" or becoming as good as the cities. That sounds to me like you are wanting this place to be just like what you left.

It seems to me that although you say you want diversity, you're really crying for homogenization.

But, of course, perhaps I'm just being too critical.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Why are so many people, both native/longtime Missourians and newcomers/transplants/interlopers, so enamored with chain restaurants over hometown restaurants?

In Rolla, for instance, we had a nice Italian restaurant operated by a man named Cardetti, whose parents came from Italy and who used family recipes in his ristorante. It lasted awhile but closed due to lack of interest. Everybody wants the authentic Italian dining offered by Olive Garden instead, and the chamber and city have been working hard for years to bring one to Rolla. Maybe they'll eventually succeed so people can have real Italian food.

I agree with you 100 percent ozarksboy. Chain restaurants can't hold a candle to something that is actually COOKED there rather than something frozen that comes off a Sysco truck that is simply "heated up" and served.

My philosophy is to never go to a chain restaurant if I can help it. There are far too many good, independently owned places. Sometimes I will break down and go to Golden Corral only because of the variety (and the salad bar) but I always try to support mom and pop, or locally owned and operated establishments whenever possible.

20yrsinBranson