Moving to Tampa Bay, why does everything close on weekends? (St. Petersburg: to buy, closing)
Tampa BayTampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
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My opinion is not wanted here? Why, because you disagree? Do you own City Data? Do you speak for all of city data's registered users? Did I just enter North Korea? Like I said, I'll b moving to Clearwater Beach in November. I'll be fine traveling and going online for my dreadful shopping. But it would be nice if Tampa bay would open its eyes and see all the dollars going elsewhere instead of into its coffers. It's not self-centered to want what's best for the region, which is what I want, but it IS self-centered to stomp and cry about alternative viewpoints and insult others' opinions.
Off to buy a $4 croissant!
Clearwater Beach? You'll be fine. You can buy all the T-shirts and touristy geegaws you want 7 days a week there.
to answer Bucfans question, most of the time we hear that people want a day off. but most of our members of the chamber who open sundays and saturdays say that is their busiest time and they also don't understand why people don't open all weekend. yesterday i asked a lady in downtown stpete why she thinks people don't open, this is a lady who owns commercial property, she said "this is st. pete. people haven't woken up yet". not a good rway to run a business. i hear about businesses opening and closing down in a matter of months all theim time here.....that didn't used to happen where i am from, Asbury Park, nj
i agree with whoever said they should cloze during the week instead of sunday; people shop on weekends not during the week. its common sense
Went to St Pete recently and the area was quite active, even on a Sunday night. Meze 119, Ceviche's, and a gelato shop were all visited by me on a Sunday. Not sure about retail, though.
Downtown Tampa has a larger corporate presence but that lends itself to business hours.
Why in the world would I want to occupy my free weekend time with shopping? That's not common sense, that's a waste of time off.
I never shop on weekends unless we're remodeling something, and we make trips to home depot. (which is rare)
Thankfully, Tampa is not NJ! There is a reason some many from NJ move to Tampa and surrounding areas, and I can assure you it is not for the "shopping"! Plus, ppl should shop online...better deals, no gas wasted driving around! comes to your door.
Quote:
Originally Posted by n100429
to answer Bucfans question, most of the time we hear that people want a day off. but most of our members of the chamber who open sundays and saturdays say that is their busiest time and they also don't understand why people don't open all weekend. yesterday i asked a lady in downtown stpete why she thinks people don't open, this is a lady who owns commercial property, she said "this is st. pete. people haven't woken up yet". not a good rway to run a business. i hear about businesses opening and closing down in a matter of months all theim time here.....that didn't used to happen where i am from, Asbury Park, nj
i agree with whoever said they should cloze during the week instead of sunday; people shop on weekends not during the week. its common sense
I love Tampa as well, but this person is making very legitimate points, and defensive posturing like this just makes you all look like stubborn idiots.
How about you take a trip to Europe to say Germany, and see how many joints are open non stop! before you start calling people names on a public forum.
Chick Fil A is closed on Sundays FYI! (They must be the dumbest fast food then for loosing all those clients!) People spend (or should be spending) time with their families on weekends, barbecue...etc. because MONDAY (That day that comes after Sunday) is a work/school day, and I don't know many people who LOVE to go back to work all tired from all that weekend "shopping"!!!
But then again...we should probably change the US's name to "United States of Shopping" considering that according to you someone going in vacation should be more preoccupied with "shopping" than with the "enjoying the destination"!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Obamanation
I love Tampa as well, but this person is making very legitimate points, and defensive posturing like this just makes you all look like stubborn idiots.
I am a small business owner in the Fourth Street Corridor of St. Pete. I have been following this and I finally had to create a account and respond. I cant believe the things people are saying on this board. Of course shopping is important. It's important for tourists to shop, and it's important for you ALGIA to shop. It's what pays for our roads (sales tax) and keeps the economy out of going deeper into recession. It's what the American capitalist system is all about. If you don't like a consumption-based economy, you need to move somewhere else. I would like to tell the OP to come to Fourth Street. Some shops are open (although most are not) on Sunday. We are struggling and we need all the business we can get. I have been trying to tell other owners to open on Sunday but they are too stupid to realize that Sunday is a major shopping day. They want to go to church. Well, guess what? DON"T OPEN A BUSINESS. Running a shop is a 7-day affair. If you don't like it, get out. Or you can let the natural market forces kick you out eventually, because you don't compete if you don't open when shoppers are there to buy your merch.
I am too...in the service business, however, there are only so many shoes a closet can hold, and so many bathing suits...and at what wages people are paid these days, $70 for a bathing suit is NOT affordable no matter how you look at it. Sorry, there is just not enough fabric to justify such a price tag, not counting the plane tickets someone paid, hotel, and gas to get to your store. They sell bathing suits up north too (what a concept, to buy it before going in vacation!)
There is no way I would shop down there considering the prices they charge for stuff. We are a one income family, and like us there are many others who have to save for months to vacation somewhere, so splurging on a bathing suit that says "Clearwater" on it, is not smart. Sorry.
Now, IF I were to spend any money when vacationing on something other than food and gas to get places (that's if I am not at a hotel on the beach, that eat my entire budget), I WOULD spend it on a fancy cafe, serving something other than the grocery store muffin! I am all for Capitalism, but I am also for LOGIC. Give me something that I CAN'T FIND UP NORTH, or in CANADA, or in Germany, and then I come and spend my money there. Its called COMPETITION.
We are not going to spend money on the same stuff we can find anywhere else. If you want to market/advertise Tampa/St Pete etc as "Vacation Destination", then offer something (besides the beaches which are there anyway) that ppl can't find wherever they came from. What do you buy if you go to Japan? potentially a Jade Budha, why do you buy it? because 1. it is a cool home decor, 2. hopefully it is an original made in Japan (and not one Made in China), and you eat stuff that you don't have in Tampa!!!!!! Same applies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by qemac
I am a small business owner in the Fourth Street Corridor of St. Pete. I have been following this and I finally had to create a account and respond. I cant believe the things people are saying on this board. Of course shopping is important. It's important for tourists to shop, and it's important for you ALGIA to shop. It's what pays for our roads (sales tax) and keeps the economy out of going deeper into recession. It's what the American capitalist system is all about. If you don't like a consumption-based economy, you need to move somewhere else. I would like to tell the OP to come to Fourth Street. Some shops are open (although most are not) on Sunday. We are struggling and we need all the business we can get. I have been trying to tell other owners to open on Sunday but they are too stupid to realize that Sunday is a major shopping day. They want to go to church. Well, guess what? DON"T OPEN A BUSINESS. Running a shop is a 7-day affair. If you don't like it, get out. Or you can let the natural market forces kick you out eventually, because you don't compete if you don't open when shoppers are there to buy your merch.
I am too...in the service business, however, there are only so many shoes a closet can hold, and so many bathing suits...and at what wages people are paid these days, $70 for a bathing suit is NOT affordable no matter how you look at it. Sorry, there is just not enough fabric to justify such a price tag, not counting the plane tickets someone paid, hotel, and gas to get to your store. They sell bathing suits up north too (what a concept, to buy it before going in vacation!)
There is no way I would shop down there considering the prices they charge for stuff. We are a one income family, and like us there are many others who have to save for months to vacation somewhere, so splurging on a bathing suit that says "Clearwater" on it, is not smart. Sorry.
Now, IF I were to spend any money when vacationing on something other than food and gas to get places (that's if I am not at a hotel on the beach, that eat my entire budget), I WOULD spend it on a fancy cafe, serving something other than the grocery store muffin! I am all for Capitalism, but I am also for LOGIC. Give me something that I CAN'T FIND UP NORTH, or in CANADA, or in Germany, and then I come and spend my money there. Its called COMPETITION.
We are not going to spend money on the same stuff we can find anywhere else. If you want to market/advertise Tampa/St Pete etc as "Vacation Destination", then offer something (besides the beaches which are there anyway) that ppl can't find wherever they came from. What do you buy if you go to Japan? potentially a Jade Budha, why do you buy it? because 1. it is a cool home decor, 2. hopefully it is an original made in Japan (and not one Made in China), and you eat stuff that you don't have in Tampa!!!!!! Same applies.
Haha, tell 'em, Algia!
Look, it's like this: the only places I see unique shops/cafes, etc. open 7 days a week are in tourist districts: i.e. where I live in Sarasota, St. Armands Circle is a big tourist draw and all (or at least most) of them are open 7 days, and into the evenings. Downtown Sarasota is 50/50 with more staying open during our "season." The small antique and specialty shops just north of downtown tend to be closed on Sunday, there is no business for them then. Kitschy shops at the beaches are always open.
In St. Pete, the stores along Beach Drive might tend to stay open more since the hotel is right there, but those little shops on Central can't stay open every day, most of them are run by ONE PERSON, and that one person can't be there 24/7. And there is no traffic down that way on a Sunday anyway, sorry those of you who feel otherwise, there is no reason for those places to be open then. If downtown St. Pete were crawling with people on a Sunday, those businesses might feel motivated to open on Sunday and take off another day; but as I said the demand just isn't there.
It isn't Bourbon Street, you know.
Last edited by gypsychic; 05-01-2012 at 03:06 PM..
I am a small business owner in the Fourth Street Corridor of St. Pete. I have been following this and I finally had to create a account and respond. I cant believe the things people are saying on this board. Of course shopping is important. It's important for tourists to shop, and it's important for you ALGIA to shop. It's what pays for our roads (sales tax) and keeps the economy out of going deeper into recession. It's what the American capitalist system is all about. If you don't like a consumption-based economy, you need to move somewhere else. I would like to tell the OP to come to Fourth Street. Some shops are open (although most are not) on Sunday. We are struggling and we need all the business we can get. I have been trying to tell other owners to open on Sunday but they are too stupid to realize that Sunday is a major shopping day. They want to go to church. Well, guess what? DON"T OPEN A BUSINESS. Running a shop is a 7-day affair. If you don't like it, get out. Or you can let the natural market forces kick you out eventually, because you don't compete if you don't open when shoppers are there to buy your merch.
Excellent post.
The days of shops remaining closed on a Sunday for religious purposes or because of the power of unions has long since passed.
So too has the way people shop.
And the history of rundown downtowns being revitalized is almost always due to small shopowners,restaurants,bars and art galleries setting the pace with positive support from City Hall.
Quite simply if shops are open people will come to them.
Whatever day of the week.
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) People spend (or should be spending) time with their families on weekends, barbecue...etc. because MONDAY (That day that comes after Sunday) is a work/school day, and I don't know many people who LOVE to go back to work all tired from all that weekend "shopping"!!!
