Has the Plaza fallen off?

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Wed May 14, 2003 10:30 am

There's been grumblings about the quality of Highwoods management on this board and, most recently, in the Star by a businessman setting up the new restaurant on Brush Creek. As some questionable leasing choices (Bed Bath and Beyond, Casual Corner Superstore, California Pizza Kitchen) have not gone unnoticed, the question to be asked is...

Has Highwoods made the Plaza vulnerable of losing its claim as KC's end-all, be-all of shopping and dining?

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Wed May 14, 2003 10:33 am

Not yet (even though I dropped their name from this board

)...but Highwoods needs to be careful who they bring in....the Plaza is still the envy of almost any metro area and still a destination....if the Plaza were in another city, we would be amazed, it's just we're so close to it, we see the finer weak points that most miss. We're also more critical because it is ours and we want it to improve instead of fall to medicority.

Even with the chain stores, they are still higher end and with the unique setting, it makes the Plaza stand out.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 9:18 am

I realize the Plaza has the location, environment, residents, and demos to remain dominant, but Highwoods seems to have stopped evolving the property. They've remained strong in restaurants by bringing in new to the market restaurants (CPK, and Kona Grill) but there have been no shake-ups in the retail part in more than a year. I'm not sure if the "no news is good news" is true when it comes to retail. It seems like every time I go to Oak Park there are new stores being put in or taken out. And now there are only a handful of stores(Saks, Mark Shale, FAO, etc.) at the Plaza that can't be found elsewhere in the Metro or even moving into Omaha or Des Moines.

I don't have an issue with the Plaza becoming just a nice, upscale neighborhood, but if they don't bring in the tenants (Tiffany, Crate and Barrel, Louis Vitton) that prove it to be the "end-all be-all" to KC retail, they might just become one.

KC_JAYHAWK · Post by **KC_JAYHAWK** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 10:05 am

A lot of it probably has to do with the economy. Retail just isn't expanding like it was 4 years ago. Most upscale retailers are just holding on for the ride or even downsizing expansion plans and closing less profitable locations. The Plaza will continue to pull in name brand stores, but I agree, I would like to see a little "shake-up" in the retail variety. Hall's, Mark Shale and Sak's are still big draws to outsiders. Personally, I would like to see a Diesel or DKNY store on the Plaza.

KC_JAYHAWK · Post by **KC_JAYHAWK** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 6:12 pm

****Exciting News****

Beauty Brands is now on the Plaza....hooraah...way to go Highwoods. Get those exclusive stores.

KCgridlock · Post by **KCgridlock** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 6:17 pm

KC_JAYHAWK wrote:****Exciting News****

Beauty Brands is now on the Plaza....hooraah...way to go Highwoods. Get those exclusive stores.

You have to be kidding me.

tat2kc · Post by **tat2kc** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 8:08 pm

this must be a joke.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 10:41 pm

No...it's next to Kona Grill, this isn't a joke. Maybe a Supercuts will come in next to Mark Shale.

Post by **bahua** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 3:23 am

Or maybe a BEST BUY, with a big convenient parking lot where Mill Creek Park used to be!

tat2kc · Post by **tat2kc** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 7:00 am

Sephora also carries beauty products, but a much higher end line. That would have been a great fit for the plaza.

On the other hand, beauty brands is a local company..... isn't it?

Brooksider · Post by **Brooksider** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 12:08 pm

Beauty Brands is owned locally by Bernstein-Rein.

KC_JAYHAWK · Post by **KC_JAYHAWK** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 12:41 pm

I know David Berstein who operates the Beauty Brand stores. Next time I run into him at the rec center at UMKC, I'll ask him what the heck is up.

tat2kc · Post by **tat2kc** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 2:18 pm

for the plaza site, they should have come up with more "elegant" name, and stocked higher end products that are difficult or impossible to find in KC. I am not against a store like beauty brands, but it should have be redesigned to re-marketed for the shopping center it is in.

Its a tough call, now that I have time to think about it. The plaza used to have a bowling alley, and Sears, and such. It also used to have more locally owned stores. It now has another locally owned retail space, which is good, but not necessarily a high end store, which is what they are striving for.

KCgridlock · Post by **KCgridlock** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 4:37 pm

Look on the bright side of things, the Plaza will always be a great urban neighborhood and as long as major destination tennants stay away from the Plaza (ESPN Zone, HOB etc) the more of a chance it will happen Downtown.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Mon Sep 29, 2003 6:34 pm

The Pitch rips on the Plaza for Beauty Brands and Panera. I think they're right on the Beauty Brands, but the location for Panera is pretty awkward all the way around (it's not very prominant) and seems like a good spot for a coffee shop, corner store or deli.

From pitch.com
Originally published by The Pitch Sep 25, 2003
Â©2003 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved.

Shear madness
Nothing says Plaza glamour like cut-rate beauty supplies and soggy soup bowls.
BY JEN CHEN

Recently, while driving down Ward Parkway on the Plaza, trying not to hit one of those pink-pumpkin horse-drawn carriages while avoiding the clusterfuck caused by valet parking (what, are you too Manolo-ed out to park a block away and walk?), we noticed a sign that made our noses wrinkle as if we had gotten a whiff of Flush Creek after a hard rain: "Opening Soon: Beauty Brands." Why, we wondered, was this combo salon, spa and hair-crap peddler -- and mainstay of the suburban strip mall -- about to take up 5,700 square feet of our beloved Plaza, the crown jewel of Kansas City? Then we remembered: Oh yeah, the Plaza is fast becoming little more than a glorified swap meet.

Latest evidence of the Plaza's meltdown: Pantera Bread Co. , purveyors of bland soups and bread bowls named after a four-man Texas headbangin' lineup of 1980s metal gods -- no, wait, there's no T in the store's name. Scratch that. We don't know what the place is named after, but it hardly matters.

It's not that we're virulently anti-chain. We shop at the Gap. We were excited when Anthropologie moved in. And, yes, the Pitch itself is part of a chain. However, with the rampant Starbucks-ing of America, can't the Plaza keep itself from turning into Anymall, U.S.A.? The Plaza's Web site describes the area as "one of this country's architectural and cultural treasures" and "a virtual outdoor museum with over $1 million in art work." But Plaza bigwigs don't seem to understand that art and architecture don't mean squat when you're letting Thomas Kinkade and Cheesecake Factory into the neighborhood. Can The Icing, As Seen on TV and Nothing Over a Dollar be far behind?

According to Beth Book, market supervisor for Beauty Brands, the behemoth one-stop shopping experience is slated to open around Thanksgiving. "There's a great need on the Plaza for what we have to offer," she told the Pitch.

A great need? Really? We decided we needed a second opinion on that and called Salon Latifa, the chi-chi house o' curl on the Plaza that, incidentally, isn't named for Queen Latifah. We asked stylist Myra Simmons if she thought Plaza shoppers were really dying to get a perm at a place like Beauty Brands. "I myself don't have a problem, but some people might think it's not appropriate putting it down there," she said. "I think that, for the most part, they do good work and are on the higher end of chains," she said diplomatically, though she agreed that the Plaza was turning into Strip Mall Central.

Then we called similarly chic Mario Tricoci and got put on hold for five and a half minutes. When the manager referred us to corporate offices in Chicago, we asked why it had taken her so long to pick up the freakin' phone just to blow us off. Well, we were slightly more polite than that; it was Miss Manager who got snippy: "You were actually waiting to talk to me, and I was on the line with someone else," she snapped, then abruptly hung up.

Undaunted, we called back the next day and asked to talk to a stylist. Again, we were put on hold for six minutes, after which Miss Manager once again gave us an earful. "I felt you were short with me yesterday," she bitched. After berating us for not following directions by calling the salon's corporate spokesperson, she hung up on us again. Rehhrrr!

Thus chastised by a day spa manager, we felt like throwing ourselves into a vat of hair-perm solution. Oh, wait -- did we say "ourselves"? We meant "her."

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 12:11 am

As far as retail goes, the plaza is losing it, big time, and as I continue to say, I hope this is a blessing in disguise, because KC can only have one â€œmajorâ€

KCforumer · Post by **KCforumer** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 1:10 am

GRID wrote: The more lame retail gets on the Plaza the better the chances of a new regional shopping district developing Downtown.

....or in the suburbs

Post by **dangerboy** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 6:44 am

Anyone ever been to Room & Board? Nice classy stuff and reasonable but not cheap prices. It's a small chain, in places like Cherry Creek in Denver and Michigan Ave. in Chicago. Might be good for the Plaza.

http://www.roomandboard.com

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 3:34 pm

Shopping districts and retail go where rooftops are. Downtown will only develop comparable retail to the Plaza or Town Center when its demos are equal. The only exception is tourist districts which only require a good location and tons of visitors.