Good point. The consumer, market and actual neighborhood demographics will ultimately have more say than neighborhood groups if business "X" expects to keep their doors open. The role our neighborhood groups should play is to help facilitate our businesses to be as successful as they can.
This is why some businesses are closing/dying - Gold Coin on Main, Carribean Stone, Springfield Station - the consumer is speaking already. The businesses that are closing are doing so because they aren't adapting to the changing marketplace. SPAR and residents have made efforts to reach out, support, and give meaningful feedback to businesses, but many just haven't been open to change (I'm hopeful this will end!)
Here's an example: the store on 3rd & Market. They have made some attempts to improve the store through carrying wine, getting some products customers have requested, and keeping parking area cleaner. It is an improvement, and I shop there for certain items to show I appreciate the changes they have made. However, they also continue to carry some products that are out of date, won't remove the bars from the windows or improve exterior with a paint job and an awning or two, and improve some of their product lines/offerings. Will they be able to compete with the Uptown Market that opens 2 blocks away at 3rd & Main? Time will tell.
It depends. From the look of it, 3rd & Main is setting itself up to appeal to a higher end demographic. One that's willing and has the means to spend a little more for experience and high end product. If this is the case, the community is large enough to potentially support both since the higher end demographic is smaller in numbers than the value driven one. Plus its helping fill a niche in the market that has not been met.
Also, competition can be a good thing. When I lived in Lakeland, I had a neighborhood who made his wife mow his yard twice a week. The guy next door then hired a lawn service company to keep his yard pristine. I hated spending my Saturdays in the yard, but I also didn't want to have the poorest maintained yard on the street. One guy's actions caused the rest of the block to invest more time in maintaining their yards and in the end, the visual condition of the entire street improved because of it. I'm hoping spots like 3rd & Main and Premier Pharmacy will have a similar impact.
Getting back to 3rd & Main and 8th & Main, perhaps its time to look at these areas as two that cater to different groups. 8th & Main is value driven while 3rd & Main will appeal to higher end demographic. If we view things in this manner it will help move forward the idea of clustering similar type development together.
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