Price Cutter proudly opened its new prototype store two years ago to rave reviews and big crowds. In recent months, global retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has discovered center city’s thousands of residents, and now downtown has become a Wild Bill shootout for Springfield’s burgeoning grocery market.
I’m a proud card-carrying “Bistro booster” at Price Cutter’s Bistro Market at the busy corner of South Avenue and Walnut Street. I’m in the store almost daily, and it’s one of the first places we take guests and prospects to demonstrate how far we’ve come in our revitalization efforts. It’s a vital amenity for downtown’s loft residents, an important retail segment and a social gathering place for our community.
However, the excitement has waned since its opening, and the store lacks the edginess and energy it had two years ago. The threat of competition from Wal-Mart’s proposed Neighborhood Market at Campbell Avenue and Grand Street has brought the store to a crossroads. Price Cutter CEO Erick Taylor said at a city Planning and Zoning Commission hearing that the increased competition would likely result in the closure of Bistro Market, as well as its store at Sunshine Street and Campbell Avenue.
It’s a classic case on the role of government in the marketplace.
A similar issue arose with food trucks less than a year ago. A zoning change was requested to allow mobile vendors in certain areas. Some of the downtown restaurant and bar owners objected and raised concerns about the potential impacts, especially on the already competitive lunch business. The ordinance was passed to give the public more choices and then let the free marketplace determine who will attract customers, serve them, and earn their return business. Urban Districts Alliance has seen no detrimental effect on downtown restaurants.
A 40,000-square-foot Neighborhood Market is a far cry from a food truck, but the free market principal remains the same. Bistro Market’s ultimate fate will rest in its relationships with customers.
Keep it freshBistro Market introduced an entirely new urban grocery concept to Springfield after months of research across the country. At the time of its August 2010 opening, Taylor predicted to Springfield Business Journal that Bistro Market would generate $10 million in annual sales and net profitability in its first year. When the year closed, the store had topped $3.5 million in sales, good enough to meet a third-party consultant’s projection.
The store should continue to be the showplace of the latest industry trends for Price Cutter, as the company finds answers to these questions: Which of the feature areas (gelato, olive bar, dry goods, etc.) are doing well, and which areas need to be changed out with something new? How are customers reacting to the new food bar pricing by the pound?
Just as Bass Pro Shops’ Outdoor World concept is the pride for the company and the entire Springfield community, Bistro Market should be Price Cutters’ incubator in the spirit of the IDEA Commons.
Additionally, two new loft projects are under way that will grow the number of residents by approximately 10 percent, and more than 600 apartments for student housing were added in the fall. How could Bistro Market work more closely with developers and residents to capture a higher percentage of their grocery shopping?
Sunrise Communications recently brought more than 100 employees to the Yellow Bonnet Building, and Lathrop & Gage attorneys will return to downtown in the next few weeks. Now, 25,000 employees work within a mile of center city. How could Bistro Market entice them to regularly swing by when they need those forgotten dinner items?
The adjacent Club Fresh nightclub closed earlier this month. How could Price Cutter work with developers and downtown advocates to attract complementary retail stores to the first floor and fill the second floor with new lofts? This could be a dramatic improvement for all of Walnut Street.
Clean, safe and friendlyThe most effective role of the city is to concentrate on core services. The Bistro Market has been affected by the livability issues outlined in the Park Central Square Task Force recommendations. Springfield City Council should work with the Police, Public Works, Downtown CID, Rare Breed, Community Partnership of the Ozarks and other groups to implement as many of the suggested changes as possible.
City Council is not responsible for the fate of Bistro Market. Customers have the opportunity to vote with their pocketbooks every week and the responsibility to voice opinions on what they like and what they want different. Price Cutter can continuously listen to customers and provide them with the latest services and products in ways that larger companies won’t. For its part, the company has started a Save The Bistro Web campaign via BistroMarket.net, Twitter and Facebook.
May this crossroads be a shining example of our free market system at its best.
Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.
