Winghaven Grocer Closes Store
Last January I shared the tales of a trip to visit friends in St. Charles County. I learned more about my friend’s grocery shopping habits:
They go to Dave’s on the Boardwalk in Winghaven. Earlier in the day, Dave himself took out their groceries to their SUV. Who knew such friendly neighborhood markets existed – much less in a new area in St. Charles County. This is not some glorified convenience store – they have a full selection of groceries including fresh produce and a deli. Plus, the store was very attractive in a smart way – much like our small Straub’s chain. I had low expectations and was immediately surprised.
Today my friends told me that yesterday was the store’s last day open. This certainly does speak volumes about the shopping habits of the typical suburban resident. They have a great market in walking/biking distance from their homes and they don’t support it.
Below is a note from Dave’s website:
Farewell
A letter from Dave
After many weeks of indecision it is with a great deal of regret that Kathy and I have to share with you that we will be closing our store for the last time Sunday, October 16, 2005.
The two and one half years we have been open have made us a success in everything we tried to do with the exception of one, and that is the financial portion of the business.
Kathy and I tried to capture this “NEW URBANISM” spririt with the return of the old “CORNER GROCERY STORE” and feel that history will show that we were just four years too early.
We’ve had fun as we watched our friend’s and families grow, our friends getting married, and prayed for our friends working through health situations. We have enjoyed just watching the kids grow.
Please remember this special community that exists here in O’Fallon and work to keep it that.
We have been blessed in so many ways as each of you have been our greatest blessing. As our life continues into the future we know that we will have a difficult path to travel, but also believe that one greater than all of this will light the way.
We have made many friends here and hope to remain in contact with all of you, as we do live in the O’Fallon area.
While I began this with a “farewell” it would be more appropriate to use the Austrain version of “AUF WIEDERSEIN” (Until we meet again)!
Love and many thanks,
Kathy & DaveP.S. Kathy, Dave and all our “GREAT” associates will be looking for jobs.
First I want to give Dave and his wife Kathy credit for giving it a try. Unfortunately Winghaven was billed as New Urbanism but it was really only a half-assed attempt at true New Urbanism. Blame can be pinned on the City of O’Fallon, the lenders afraid of something new and the developer for not pushing for the real thing. I would guess than when Dave signed on as a tenant he was sold a bill of goods.
We have only one true example of New Urbanism in our region and that is New Town at St. Charles. It is everything that Winghaven is not.
– Steve
This should be a lesson for all of us–If you want a grocery store or any other business within walking distance, you must be prepared to patronize it. If the prices are a bit higher, learn to accept that you may have to pay a bit more for the convenience and other benefits it provides.
Customers walking the nearby sidewalks are policing your neighborhood. It’s good for property values if there are viable businesses in your neighborhood.
So really, is it costing you that much to patronize the little guys to the tune of a few bucks a week? Balance that with the expense of driving to a supermarket and maybe you’re not spending as much extra as you thought. Then factor in property value increases (if you own property) and the security pedestrian custormers provide for the whole neighborhood.
As I see it, it is costly to the neighbors when a local business dies.
I have few friends who live in Winghaven and know a person who works for the developer, McEagle, so I have a somewhat different perspective.
Even though it is close, most customers do not walk the nearby sidewalks on daily errands to the boardwald, they drive there. Their are two major grocery stores (not to mention a Walgreens and several convenient stores) within five minutes which are convenient for most commuters. Dave’s tried to provide most things of a grocery store, which doesn’t make sense. It was not convenient enough to make up for the costs. For awhile, I did not know Dave’s had groceries, most Winghaven residents raved about the meat counter. When McEagle offered the services of their business and financial planner to figure out how to keep the establishment open, such as concentrating on meat and fresh produce, the owners refused. I believe that if Dave’s could have refocused their business plan to meet the wants and needs of their customers, they would have survived. The owners seemed to refuse to let go of their dream of a nice corner grocery, instead of trying to meet the needs of the community.
This is just my take.
[REPLY – Thanks for the feedback. No doubt some valid points. Having the traditional sprawl shopping so close but away from the “center” means residents are drawn outside rather than to the Boardwalk.
I like your point that sometimes businesses will stick to their dream rather than adapt to changes in the marketplace. As you indicated Dave’s might have done well serving the public as a specialty grocer. The old fashioned butcher shop. My own residence was a corner storefront meat market (w/some groceries) from about 1917 to the late 1950s.
Most disturbing is that people don’t walk to the area. Why not? Granted, it is not awesome like our great old city neighborhoods or like New Town at St. Charles but it is far better than most areas in suburbia. Too bad… – SLP]
This spurred an interesting discussion on the STLtoday forums. One poster made a similar point to howl “The problem was the business model not the location”. The problem is Winghaven was marketed as a New Urbanist community. Here is a copy of my response:
Poster 1 Quote: “Bottom line is that it failed because it didn’t cater to the community around it.”
Location was the problem. The only types of grocery stores that can cater to the community around that location is a Dierbergs/Schnucks (wide selection, nice atmosphere, regular prices), or a Sams (large quantities at low prices). A small grocery store like that just isn’t going to be able to provide what you or your neighbors are asking for.
Poster 2 Quote “10%? That’s it? If it were a real neighborhood, a 10% markup to be able to walk to the corner grocery would be a steal.”
Poster 2’s point is a good one. The business model they used would be successful in many urban neighborhoods. No matter how hard the developers try to market the new urban thing, Winghaven isn’t urban or new urban, so it wasn’t going to work.
This isn’t a slam on Winghaven residents, given the same options I would likely go to Dierbergs too. The point is you can’t just put up a faux town square, stick a little grocery store in there and call it New Urbanist.
Whittaker and New Town are doing it the right way. It would be interesting to see the store go in there and see how it does. It would be a better test of New Urbanism. I suspect it would be more successful there.
How wide are the sidewalks in NewTown St Charles?
Gotta have wide sidewalks for today’s wider people. Just a little joke but the sidewalks definitely need to be wider. Folks should be able to walk two abreast and not have to give way to another couple walking the opposite way.
Opening a grocery is a very, very tough gig in today’s environment. Lots of work and the margins are very slim. If you’re going to open a grocery you had certainly better get to know every single one of your customers and talk with them about what they want and like.
They, not your inventory, are your best assets.
Depending upon when Winghaven stepped in to offer help is a big factor. The last thing they need is for half empty rows of storefronts.
Who is the anchor among the storefronts in Winghaven? In other words, which store has the most traffic? If it’s the coffee shop, Winghaven might be ok. If it’s the video rental place, you’ve got problems.
I may have to backtrack on a few of my earlier comments. The layout for the businesses in Winghaven really stinks! Just the lack of outdoor seating is really bad. At this point, they should prob configure the street as one way and expand the sidewalks greatly.
Dave really messed up with “Dave on the Boardwalk” though. Tough to even know at a glance that it’s a grocery store. However, he’s got a lot of years in the grocery biz so it’s prob the traffic and layout in general.
Part of the problem you have these days with retail is the fact that rent and taxes are so darn high that you have to really make things up in volume, thus the big box. I’m not a big fan of the big box but if you’re going to make a go of it in any small retail storefront, the place has to look vibrant–Winghaven all look like small big boxes in some ways.
Any reviews on thoughts for New Town Steve? What does the layout look like? Like it from the design so far or not?