Shopping Centers Today

AUG 2017

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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10 S C T / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 T H E C O M M O N A R E A C O N S U M E R S By Brannon Boswell Landlords harness America's growing taste for real beer A mericans are drinking more craft beer, creating opportunity for landlords in markets as varying as Los Angeles County and Harris County (Texas) to liven up their centers with beer gardens and breweries. In a report, Cushman & Wakefield has identified the top U.S. markets with craft breweries in development as well as the cities booming with existing breweries. The firm ranks Los Angeles and Harris the top two counties nationwide for planned breweries soon to open. The firm also ranks San Diego and King County (in Washington state) the top two markets for existing craft breweries. Over the past decade the number of active craft brew- eries nationally has almost quadrupled from 1,409 in 2006 to 5,234 in 2016. This has manifested itself in many forms and formats — from small, artisanal beer-tasting rooms to fully functioning, large-scale, industrial brew- ing facilities. In a challenging retail en- vironment in which most of the headlines have been about closures, consolidations and bankruptcies, this has emerged as one of the most positive growth stories in the marketplace; craft-brew- ing concepts accounted for roughly 10 million square feet of occupancy growth in the U.S. last year alone. "Two key factors have driven the growing popu- larity of craft brews: foodie culture and the Millennial generation," writes Pamela Flora, director of retail research for Cushman & Wakefield, in the firm's re- port. "While the craft-brew- ing trend is now in a new phase of maturity, there are still many opportunities for growth in most major American markets. This is an industry that has exploded as consumer tastes have evolved, and while there may be a number of major met- ropolitan areas where satu- ration is becoming an issue, nothing suggests that con- sumer demand for craft beer is doing anything but in- creasing and expanding be- yond the Millennial base that has accelerated the growth of this entire movement." Terry Ohnmeis, a Cin- cinnati-based associate and retail broker with Cushman & Wakefield, said: "Rhinegeist and Taft's, here in Cincinnati, are a classic example among hundreds across the nation of breweries playing a critical role in urban revitalization. Many of these breweries are going into previously blighted neighborhoods and aban- doned industrial spaces and making them shine again." n

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