Heun: Geneva, St. Charles would benefit from new businesses
We're not in this alone.
Much of the country is struggling with the failure of major shopping centers, and retail analysts say it is a product of the significant gap between the haves and have-nots.
High-end retail malls have a fighting chance in the right markets. The others? Probably not so much.
But what about these smaller retail strips that became so popular in the late 1970s? They have struggled to stay relevant.
We took at look at Batavia's retail strip landscape last week, so let's tune in on Geneva and St. Charles this week.
While not immune to storefront vacancies in various parts of the city, Geneva doesn't appear to have a significant problem on its hands with older retail strips dying on the vine.
Starting on the city's east side and heading west, we spotted only two vacancies at the strip on Whitfield Drive anchored by Family Pantry. Its newest business is Favio's Pizza, which, by the way, some readers are telling me is a nice addition.
The Geneva Plaza off Glengarry Drive seems pretty healthy, with only one vacant spot, while the strip with Jose Maria's Mexican Restaurant is full, as is the one housing Munchie P's.
The Ace Hardware strip on the near west side has three vacancies, but Ace pulls plenty of shoppers into that strip. And with the former Soup to Nuts now a pet grooming business, the Engstrom Plaza has most of its spots full.
St. Charles holes to fill
The east side of St. Charles is banking on a rebuild of The Quad (Charlestowne Mall) to spark consumer traffic again, as the Main Street Commons across the street from the mall has Stein Mart and World Market but about 15 openings, including the long-empty former Borders site.
The nearby Super Target strip has five openings, and the strip adjacent to that area has one opening.
Foxfield Commons took a hit when the Butera grocery store closed, because otherwise this is relatively healthy retail strip. Nearby Foxboro Plaza, with the Beth Fowler School of Dance anchoring a key corner spot, also is full.
However, the old concept of Tincup Pass has caught up with that strip, even though Gino's East remains in place as a solid pizza offering and Arby's remains as an outlot restaurant. Otherwise, there are 10 empty storefronts at Tincup.
Even though we bemoaned the loss of Montgomery Ward on Randall Road in St. Charles years ago as it made way for the county clerk's offices, the nearby retail areas appear to be doing OK. The new Colonial Restaurant and the loyal customers of Huerta grocery store are fueling business there.
The refurbish on the small strip that houses Graham's Comics store is looking quite nice and illustrates what may need to happen in other areas to modernize the look of these places.
One major sore spot in St. Charles is the former Valley Shopping Center, once a favorite of so many residents. It is now 85 percent empty and looking like an area in need of a major revision.
Six openings are available in the retail strip that the new Salvation Army resale store now anchors, along with a new Dunkin' Donuts in the outlying area off Lincoln Highway.
But St. Charles still has to deal with some nearby spots that feed off the success of these retail strips, but may not be attractive to buyers at this time - the empty Blockbuster, Burger King and Colonial sites.
If a good idea for revitalizing any of these retail strip areas pops into your mind in your travels around the Tri-Cities, be sure to share them. I'm all ears, and I would guess our city officials feel the same way.
On the L.A. scene
No one would blame Angelie Humbert of Geneva if she gets a bit star-struck in a couple of weeks.
The Geneva High School senior will be amid all of the press covering the music industry on Grammy Awards night Feb. 8 in Los Angeles.
She was one of two students from across the U.S. chosen to report on the 57th annual celebration of the year's top musicians and songs, earning that honor at a Grammy Camp event she attended last summer.
Humbert will cover Grammy week events and file reports and video for the Grammy in the Schools website.
Among her many achievements in high school, Humbert is the editor-in-chief of the online student newspaper, The Voyager.
Let there be light
Some readers are wondering when the city, county or state might install a permanent traffic light at Peck Road and West Main Street in St. Charles.
A temporary hanging light has served the intersection near Renaux Manor subdivision and Walgreens for several years.
Some feel the timing of the light is poor, and the intersection could use a better light system.
One reader understandably called it a "mundane" topic. Still, it makes you wonder if anyone who could ignite such a project actually feels a new light is needed.
We have to remember how long it took to have a light put in near what was then the new post office on Main Street (Route 64) near Randall Road. That seemed like three years or so.
On those streets
We're certainly not dealing with a city of Chicago problem when it comes to potholes in our streets. But they aren't exactly smooth either, so I'm thinking we're just another polar vortex away from some major damage on the streets we drive.
St. Charles is safe from this fear at the moment, having gone through its major road project on Main Street the past couple of years. But Geneva's State Street, especially west of downtown, will need some work soon.
dheun@sbcglobal.net