Garrett's Market closed!

cdschofield · Post by **cdschofield** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:01 pm

Went to have lunch today at Garrett's and there was a guy I didn't recognize at the front door telling us it was closed. He wouldn't offer an explanation but he wasn't part of the Garrett's crew. As we left I noticed a flyer on the door thanking everyone for their support over the years.

Anyone know what happened?

Post by **staubio** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:05 pm

This is horrible if it is true. Garrett's is/was a great place and an asset to the River Market -- an investment in taking KC back to the river.

It looks like the website isn't available anymore either. What happened?

Crazy, I just went to that site last night to get their phone number and was going to drop in for happy hour.

Post by **staubio** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:12 pm

No answer at their phone number. This is really disappointing.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:12 pm

that sucks for the city market people...seemed like a nice shop that covered a lot of needs.

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:38 pm

Ok, what's going on?

I drove by City Diner earlier today... closed.

Kim Son has been closed for at least the past few days each time I have driven by.

And the Conoco on 5th is just straight up completely gone.

Anyon have any idea what is happening??

KCLofts · Post by **KCLofts** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:22 pm

The Conoco on 5th is being removed to make way for the Bridgeworks lofts.

Surprising news about Garrett's.

Post by **staubio** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:34 pm

Garrett's is indeed gone. There is a farewell note on the door.

Pardon my lack of eloquence, but that really sucks. I want to know what caused its demise. It seemed to be doing well and was a great aspect of the River Market.

My only thought is that a larger developement is starting to take over, but it all seems a little bit fishy. A place isn't just going to disappear like that. I hope that whatever is going on doesn't destroy the organic development that has made the River Market what it is so far.

I guess we'll wait and see, and see what we can dig up from other sources.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:47 pm

get hearne christopher on it...seems like his type of deal. That or Joyce Smith who follows small businesses....

snramsey · Post by **snramsey** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 10:57 am

I sent a couple of e-mails and made a phone call to one of the former employees to see if we could maybe find out what was going on. I'll let you know when I hear something.

Slappy the Wang · Post by **Slappy the Wang** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:35 am

Let's face it, somehow Garrett's gained infamy as a River Market Institution in lieu of the fact that it sucked. Sure you could get an average quality meal (including a bag of freaking potato chips), but the "market" section was a joke. There were more choices in 1985 USSR than there ever were at Garrett's.

If you guys really liked Garrett's here's a place that will BLOW YOUR MINDS.......QUICK TRIP! They even have gas (but you don't drive).

KCLofts · Post by **KCLofts** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:40 am

I spoke with Tucker, the owner. He said there may be 2 or 3 people interested in buying the place and reopening it.

Post by **staubio** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:40 am

Slappy the Wang wrote:Let's face it, somehow Garrett's gained infamy as a River Market Institution in lieu of the fact that it sucked. Sure you could get an average quality meal (including a bag of freaking potato chips), but the "market" section was a joke. There were more choices in 1985 USSR than there ever were at Garrett's.

If you guys really liked Garrett's here's a place that will BLOW YOUR MINDS.......QUICK TRIP! They even have gas (but you don't drive).

Ya know, the food was pretty good. Again, you don't get it. This place was a gathering place. It was a staple of the neighborhood. It was friendly and comfortable and when you were there, you felt as if you were part of something.

The market wasn't intended to serve all needs, but I'm sure it was convenient for when someone in the River Market needed to pick something up quickly without making a long trip.

Garrett's was committed to the River Market and gave it a cozy, friendly place and people in the River Market were committed to it. If you had ever been there and aren't completely naive to the concept of community, you would be sad to see it go as well.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:44 am

I will agree a Quiktrip somewhere between 5th & 20th street would be awesome.

Slappy the Wang · Post by **Slappy the Wang** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:45 am

I agree. Garrett's was at least as cozy and fun as the bus stop at Armour and Main. I miss it.

**Kleenex please**

snramsey · Post by **snramsey** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 12:37 pm

I'm sorry. This negativity is ridiculous.

I've managed to lurk here long enough and read your comments.

Please appreciate Garrett's for what it was: a place where one could go, grab some good food, talk to some people, maybe pick up a few things and feel good when they left. It wasn't just about the market part; it was the whole concept. Instead of being so down on it, it might be a good idea to simply look at it for what it was.

Garrett's Corner Market will be missed; simple as that.

Post by **staubio** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 11:49 am

KCLofts wrote:I spoke with Tucker, the owner. He said there may be 2 or 3 people interested in buying the place and reopening it.

Do you know anything about what caused this? Was it financial difficulty that lead them to shut the doors? Did they just want to get out of the business? Would a future owner be taking on a venture that has some precedent for success and profitability from past experience?

I wonder if a future owner would keep the same format.

This still doesn't explain what is going on in the rest of the Market.

KCLofts · Post by **KCLofts** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 7:44 pm

It sounded like finance problems. Sales were good, but couldn't recover the initial investment required to open the place. The numbers may be good enough for someone to be successful. The place is cleaned up and ready to go. Someone just needs to restock the perishable items.

snramsey · Post by **snramsey** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 10:31 am

It made the Star today.

Downtown's sole grocery store closes

By JOYCE SMITH

The Kansas City Star

Downtown's only grocery store, Garrett's Corner Market, has closed.
Owner Tucker Graves referred questions to his attorney, Cynthia Grimes. She said the store's lender hoped to find someone to take over the store and reopen it. Graves has not filed for bankruptcy at this time.
"All of the vendors, lenders and landlord have been very good to work with, very supportive," Grimes said.

Garrett's opened at Third and Delaware streets in 1999, but in mid-2002
moved to the northernmost section of the River Market area at 201 Main St. and quadrupled its space - from 1,200 to 5,000 square feet. It added an 84-seat restaurant serving three meals a day, along with the grocery and retail area stocked with everything from toilet paper to white truffle oil to more than 400 bottles of wine. It also held monthly wine club gatherings.

"It's definitely a loss for the market," said Mel Mallin of Mallin/Gibson
Family Properties, which owns and manages loft apartments in the area. "He tried hard, but I imagine the location is not where it should be. You can't find him unless you know where you are going."
Mallin/Gibson handed out $10 Garrett's gift certificates to 120 of its loft
tenants at Thanksgiving to help support the grocery.

Surveys by the Downtown Council have shown that 90 percent of downtown residents polled list a full-service grocery as their top priority. An Olathe developer, Fishman & Co., is pursuing a $62 million retail
development at 18th and Main streets that would have a 30,000-square-foot grocery as its centerpiece.

Garrett's customer base stretched beyond the market. For example, employees of Naturally Salon and Day Spa in Crown Center often ordered box lunches from Garrett's. The grocery offered delivery service in the downtown area.

"A lot of us get tired of the restaurants downstairs, and this gave us
variety,'' said Emily Tipton, manager of the salon and spa. "Sometimes we can't get away, so lunch can come to us."

Slappy the Wang · Post by **Slappy the Wang** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 10:54 am

It WAS NOT A GROCERY STORE! It was a bombed out 7-Eleven without Gourmet items like Slurpee's and GAS.

KCK · Post by **KCK** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 11:41 am

They should build a wal-mart neighborhood market downtown.