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Old 10-06-2009, 08:50 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
29,627 posts, read 34,112,869 times
Reputation: 76631

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Quote:
Originally Posted by khyron View Post
Um, this is what a real coffeeshop is for. You go there to read the paper and socialize...hell it's not all that uncommon for one to even have a piano sitting in a corner for people to play. I think people have warped ideas about what a coffeeshop is today because of Starbucks.
I get that, but there have been certain times when I've tried to go to Kiva Han or 61C or whatever with a friend or two and we ended up walking out because there was no place to sit down. Every table was taken by one person with a laptop who looked as if they were there for the long haul.
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Old 10-07-2009, 06:49 PM
 
55 posts, read 100,827 times
Reputation: 61
That Barnes and Noble was supposed to be a big deal for me.

I just moved to Greenfield a few months ago, living about a 15 minute walk away from Murray Ave's business district. I cam in pretty excited about having the ability to take a stroll to the local bookstore and nab a book. Coming from the suburbs, this wasn't something I was used to.

The reality is online bookstores largely ruined this. Researching books via Amazon.com means walking over to a physical bookstore and finding all their prices unreasonable. This assumes that you found what you wanted at all. The selection at physical bookstores is more limited and bound to eventually disappoint (unless you're consistanly buying off the NY Times bestseller or Oprah's book club.)

I deliberately tried to give that store the first shot at my business. I bought "Nudge" there for about $16 knowing that it retails new on Amazon for $11 and that if I were willing to go used, I could have paid half online. I pushed back a number of books on my "to-read" list in favor of titles available in-store. Eventually I started feeling like I was paying to subsidize having a bookstore in my neighborhood.

With online stores being cheaper, coffee shops available to socialize in and a Public Library that ensures everyone has access to books, I'm not certain losing B&N will be that much of a loss at all..
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Old 04-25-2012, 12:25 PM
 
424 posts, read 626,478 times
Reputation: 357
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212 View Post
Trust me the B&N and Panera locations in SQ Hill wont be empty long...Forbes and Murry is Prime and Turnovers happen quick.

I wish Saladworks would expand to Pittsburgh, the Panera site would be a good location..
It's been 2.5 years, and the Barnes & Noble is still empty. But I wonder if something is going there soon . . . the paper they had covering the windows for a year + was taken down last week. I'd say it'd be a good place for a little library . . . if the Carnegie Library weren't across the street.

Street View was last updated for Murray - Forbes in 2008 (though I saw a Google truck in the neighborhood last year) and it's neat to look at all the businesses that have come and gone in just four years: Boston Market, BP, Kazansky's Deli, Panera, Dozen, Mr. Willies BBQ, and a bunch of other smaller shops. Sweet Tammy's recently left Murray Ave. and was replaced by a Korean bakery. And there's another bakery going almost across the street where there was a restaurant: Home - The Cake and Cookie Spot

Still quite a few empty spaces in Squirrel Hill, though. Barnes and Noble, that huge chunk of Poli + Squirrel Hill theater (I'd really like to see what becomes of that), and several other storefronts. I'll bet the rent is high . . . but then I wonder how the Chinese Massage parlor above Subway stays open.
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Old 04-25-2012, 12:48 PM
 
2,290 posts, read 3,809,294 times
Reputation: 1746
Engel's Grocery is closing soon.
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Old 04-25-2012, 07:20 PM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,783,846 times
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Seems Squirrel Hill is really hurting. It doesn't surprise me because that style and type of folks that reside there tend to live well above their means. Therefore, the slow economy will hit that region the most. Shadyside is booming though and so is East Liberty, so we need to look at the bright side. Great to see most of Pittsburgh doing well. Squirrel Hill is probably going to go through a clean out period. Hopefully for a stronger clientele at some point. Probably for the best in the long run.
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Old 04-25-2012, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,287,663 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Evergrey View Post
Engel's Grocery is closing soon.
Sababa went out of business recently also.
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Old 04-25-2012, 11:32 PM
 
Location: North by Northwest
9,316 posts, read 12,911,428 times
Reputation: 6162
Quote:
Originally Posted by h_curtis View Post
Seems Squirrel Hill is really hurting. It doesn't surprise me because that style and type of folks that reside there tend to live well above their means. Therefore, the slow economy will hit that region the most. Shadyside is booming though and so is East Liberty, so we need to look at the bright side. Great to see most of Pittsburgh doing well. Squirrel Hill is probably going to go through a clean out period. Hopefully for a stronger clientele at some point. Probably for the best in the long run.
Well gee, you don't happen to be talking about Jews, do you? Those classless nouveau riche...
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Old 04-26-2012, 08:39 AM
 
606 posts, read 940,164 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by h_curtis View Post
Seems Squirrel Hill is really hurting. It doesn't surprise me because that style and type of folks that reside there tend to live well above their means. Therefore, the slow economy will hit that region the most. Shadyside is booming though and so is East Liberty, so we need to look at the bright side. Great to see most of Pittsburgh doing well. Squirrel Hill is probably going to go through a clean out period. Hopefully for a stronger clientele at some point. Probably for the best in the long run.
Just speaking as someone who lives in Squirrel Hill, that doesn't really square with how things feel around here. Most of the retail spots are taken and a lot of the places that have closed have either been newer places that came and went in a matter of months (I know the "90% of restaurants fail in their first year" stat is a myth, but a lot of restaurants do fail quickly) or places whose owners are quite possibly looking to retire. I know that's happened a couple of places on Murray and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Engel's is in that category. (The popularity of CSAs around here probably doesn't help Engel's specifically).

I think M*Modal was looking to move their offices into the B&N space. As for the Poli development, my understanding was that the businesses there lost their leases because of the plans to build a hotel and when the banking crisis hit those plans got scuttled. Don't know how accurate that is.

And I don't even know what to say about the "type of folks that reside there tend to live well above their means" comment. Umm. I'll just point out that most of the folks we know in our area have either been here for decades, are university professors/staff (not hit much by the downturn), or work at the hospitals (not hit much by the downturn).
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Old 04-26-2012, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 30,964,234 times
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Even if places like Squirrel Hill have temporary lulls, it never lasts for long. There's always plenty of people who are just dying to buy into a neighborhood like that, when lulls happen they're the ones who pounce on opportunities and bring new life to the neighborhood.
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Old 04-26-2012, 09:26 AM
 
2,290 posts, read 3,809,294 times
Reputation: 1746
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stijl Council View Post
places whose owners are quite possibly looking to retire. I know that's happened a couple of places on Murray and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Engel's is in that category.
That seems to essentially be the case with Engel's... owner passes it on to daughter... daughter doesn't want to continue with it... etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Even if places like Squirrel Hill have temporary lulls, it never lasts for long. There's always plenty of people who are just dying to buy into a neighborhood like that, when lulls happen they're the ones who pounce on opportunities and bring new life to the neighborhood.
I agree. The "sky is falling" attitude some people have concerning Murray-Forbes is misplaced. There have been some high-profile losses, but the business district is more vibrant than I've ever seen it. There's a constant, healthy churn of businesses there... and today's Squirrel Hill has an increasingly international flair.
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