Saturday, May 16, 2009

We Got Game

Uptown has the video game market cornered! We have Game Stop at 4883 N Broadway and now, according to this sign outside the rehabbed retail building at Broadway & Irving, another Game Stop coming soon. Don't forget we have another gaming store opening in the upcoming "small business incubator" of Wilson Yard with "Play N Trade." They allegedly will be joined by AT&T, a nail salon, and a Subway Sandwich shop, all of which will surely revitalize that stretch of Broadway.

15 comments:

  1. This is cool! You can cash your gubment check, get your nails done, collect more cash via cup outside the coffee shop and then rent a "game" to teach you how to shoot down whatever is bothering you at the moment. Marketing at it's best. Chicago eats it up!

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  2. No different

    Do you take pleasure in being a horse's ***?

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  3. One only has to look north to Mary Ann Smith's ward and Andersonville, or south to Tom Tunney's ward and Southport (a former 46 ward dead retail street), or west to Gene Schulter's ward and Lincoln Square to appeciate how thriving, bustling, safe retail corridors are the life-blood of a community.

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  4. Nice to see nice upgrades to ANY ward! But for the record, this "complex" is NOT located at "4883 N Broadway" as stated. It is just SOUTH of Irving Park Rd - 3983 N Broadway just south of my favorite breakfast/lunch deals at Arnold's Restaurant 4001 N Broadway!

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  5. David, I think UU is saying that there's already a GameStop at 4883 Broadway, and that now another one is coming to Irving and Broadway, where the currency exchange and Dunkin Donuts are already open.

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  6. Yup, and next ya'll will be complaining about "food deserts" because the dry cleaners and wig shops have taken up all of the retail space. It's called Supply/Demand. HELLO!

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  7. More importantly, what is Del Mar's Baja Grill? Is that a chain? Anyone familiar with this?

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  8. UptownR, there website is http://www.tacodelmar.com/company/index.html

    It looks like it is a chain based on the West Coast. Should be interesting to see if they make a dent in Taco & Burrito House's business. I'd love to support the local business place over the chain, but Taco & Burrito House is very hit or miss. I've actually started going to Angela's Burrito Style down by Clark & Wrightwood to get my Mexican fix.

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  9. around here one cannot have too many taco houses. there are already 2 near irving and sheridan.

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  10. Um, why are people upset about a Game Stop? I mean, I'd like local businesses too, but its nice to see something that isn't a payday loan place, liquor store or a methadone clinic. When you've got empty storefronts you need all the help you can get to approach critical mass.

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  11. I don't understand all the hostility towards Game Stop, it's a business that's actually prospering during the economic downturn. Some people buy video games, some buy books, some buy coffee & some buy wigs. Beggars can't be choosers.

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  12. I don't read it as hostility. I think the point they are trying to make is the retail in Wilson Yard was meant to be a "small business incubator," using Shiller's fave buzzwords. It's meant to grow business there. We are getting businesses we already have nearby in Uptown, besides AT&T. Another nail salon in WY? What happened to the great retail that was promised?

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  13. The businesses that are opening are businesses that are proven in Uptown. Is it really smart to take a risk in Uptown in the current economic climate. A property owner is more likely to rent to a chain store rather than a one of a kind boutique. If you don't sense hostility from a few please look it up in the dictionary.

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  14. I expect some effort on the part of our chamber of commerce and our alderman to get a little moe diverse retail. Helen goes on a business trip to Las Vegas every year (that we pay for) so it's not a lot to expect a few results based on the many years she's been making these vacations, I mean business trips.

    It's a fair expectation that after over 20 years in office, we see a little bit better retail and that's with low expectations. Someday perhaps, but not while Helen is in office.

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