Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/400168
h e s t o r e - w i t h i n - a - s t o r e concept is hardly new, but a few outside-the-box-thinking entrepreneurs are finding ways to take it a bit further. For years fast-food franchises like sub- way and McDonald's have had a presence at gas stations and convenience outlets across the country. Department store chains have put smaller spe- cialty retailers inside at their stores, such as the sephora shops within JCPen- ney stores. now there are hybrid concepts popping up, several of which involve pairing some form of food- and-beverage with a separate retail concept not directly or tradition- ally associated with such a union. in March a new enterprise in new York City called the wash house grabbed attention by combining a full- service laundry with a coffee shop, restaurant and beer bar. "i couldn't stand going to the Laundromat and doing my laundry, especially if they didn't have wi-Fi," wash house part- ner Lee Kerzner told SCT, explain- ing part of his rationale for open- ing the business. "then you'd just be sitting there burning time. and nine times out of ten, the Laundro- mats are pretty nasty in new York." Kerzner and his team already had ex- perience serving food and beverages, be- cause they operate the nearby Little Fox Cafe, a coffee shop that also serves beer, wine, sandwiches and baked goods. right now the 800-square-foot wash house site handles only drop-off-and-pickup laundry service, but its owners also lease an additional 800 square feet next door and are preparing to convert that space for self-service coin-operated machines. Kerzner says he wants to expand the concept nationally and is talking to ven- ture-capital and hedge-fund firms. Up- state new York, Chicago and Portland, ore., are among the places the company has in mind, and the ideal space will measure about 2,000 square feet, he says. Just south of the wash house, in new York City's soho neighbor- hood, there is another hybrid concept: saturdays surf, a purveyor of surfboards, T Vital ingredient If you want more customers, feed them, tenants are dIscoverIng By Ian Ritter r e T a i l i n g T o d a y 18 S C T / n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4