Downtown Minneapolis Retail News

[VAStationDude]

I swung through Walgreens earlier. Like the article Grant linked states it definitely falls short of their marquee store in Chicago. I can't exactly articulate why but it just felt unfinished.

[Wedgeguy]

I swung through Walgreens earlier. Like the article Grant linked states it definitely falls short of their marquee store in Chicago. I can't exactly articulate why but it just felt unfinished.

The last I walked by the upper floor, it looked like a white hospital ward. Probably the lack of color threw you off? It looks like they primed the walls but did not paint them.

[Minnehahaha]

Things did feel a bit... sparse. But I have to admit, I don't think I've ever ridden on such a pristine escalator!

[mnmike]

It's clearly not finished yet...especially the grab and go food area and the sushi area, which doesn't even exist yet aside from the label on the wall. They have a bit of work left to do.

[xandrex]

Walked in on Friday and was definitely not impressed. Several of my friends who went along for the walk commented on how they seemed to take everything that would normally fit on one floor and spread it out across two. The lack of color and sterile/fluorescent-light feel was definitely off-putting. We walked the extra few blocks for Target instead.

[minntransplant]

Walked in on Friday and was definitely not impressed. Several of my friends who went along for the walk commented on how they seemed to take everything that would normally fit on one floor and spread it out across two. The lack of color and sterile/fluorescent-light feel was definitely off-putting. We walked the extra few blocks for Target instead.

I was, also, let down. Felt cheap to me. They went with a tacky looking vinyl flooring that would be okay in a basement area, but certainly not in a "semi flagship" retail store in a high-rent area. The landing on the staircase was very uneven, and the railings were covered in construction dust (I guess I should have taken the escalator). Not having the sushi area open was also strange, but consistent with the rushed, half-effort vibe of the store. The staff were very nice and abundant, but otherwise my experience was very, very disappointing.

[Silophant]

The Minneapolis Visitor Information Center on Nicollet and 5th will be opening October 12th. The Commuter Connection storefront that currently operates in the backside of the USBank Plaza skyway level will move there at that time.

[Wedgeguy]

Time to start a pool on how long the old Commuter Connection space will sit empty? Will it's proximity to DTE help it find a new tenant sooner than later? As far as foot traffic, it does not really get a huge amount of traffic at this time. Maybe the K/A development will help add some traffic for those going north from the Ameriprise Tower.

[grant1simons2]

Literally just gave visitors information in front of the future visitor information center. This cant open soon enough.

[Wedgeguy]

Walked thru the Walgreen's today for the first time and felt like I was in a Hospital. The ambience makes you want to get the F**K out as soon as you can. The old adage was the longer they stayed in the store the more that they might buy. Guess Walgreen's did not get the memo. Or my marketing classes are now very out of date! It had the potential to be a great store, but someone at corporate dropped the ball big time.

[MSPtoMKE]

I went in today as well, pretty underwhelming. Agreed that the selection wasn't particularly good, there seemed to be a lot of duplication of products on the first and second floors. There was a whole 3' wall bay section of selfie sticks on the first floor, then an entire endcap display of the same 3 options on the second floor. Everything just seemed spread out thin to fill the space. But more pleasant than the old store, perhaps.

[mngreg]

I went in the other day for the first time and was also underwhelmed. However, it's definitely better than the old location! I'm hoping that they rushed to get it open and will add more to fill it up over time. Definitely a closer walk than Target for me, so I'm happy that it's there.

[grant1simons2]

http://www.journalmpls.com/news-feed/go ... nter-store

Gophermods signed a lease in the skyway level of IDS. They do a lot of variety tech repair. I got my Xbox 360 all fixed by them after I thought it was done for sure.

[Silophant]

Great! They fixed my phone last year, but their shop tucked away off of East Hennepin was a little tricky to find, even for someone who lived in the area.

[mnmike]

Visitor center open...

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis- ... 332184642/

[grrdanko]

Visitor center open...

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis- ... 332184642/

From reading the comments on this article it appears this will be very bad for the city.

[FISHMANPET]

I feel like the more innocuous the article, the more vitriolic the comments are.

Why do these people that DESPISE the city so much hang out on the Strib website looking for articles about the CITY they DESPISE so they can hang out in the comment sections to let you know how much they DESPISE the CITY.

[Wedgeguy]

I see it as the right Location, Location, Location for this visitors office. It is on the corner of the Mall and the main DT LRT station where many will get off when they take the light rail into the city. It is half way between the Convention Center and the River which are two of the big draws for the DT. A majority of the DT hotels are with in easy walking distance to find out things about the city. Contrary to the trolls, this will be an asset to the city as a whole.

[Minneapolitan]

Guys. We were expecting this



But we got this

[Minneapolitan]

Visitor center open...

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis- ... 332184642/

Cute