Berkeley's Cafe has been open for a few weeks now, so I stopped in to see how life on war-torn Silver Spring was going.

Answer:  Pretty well.

Anecdotally, I've heard from a number of people who have eaten there, finding Berkeley's a tough table to get on Fridays and Saturdays during the hour.

Sadly, my wife and I have not gotten to Berkeley's, as our twice weekly dinner outings have been sharply curtailed by the birth of our second child.  However .. after helping my neighbor, they thanked me with a Gift Certificate from Berkeley's, so we should be dining soon.

And to show how well Berkeley's is doing .. the manager told me their first printing of Gift Certificates was sold out.  Pretty good first month.

Other bits:

First, you can read Berkeley's entire menu on their website: http://www.berkeleyscafe.com

They are open for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, all of which are available for take-out (Phone: 897-8624), and of course, have a nice bar for drinks.

They also have a quick to-go menu (see picture) with coffee, espresso, soups and salads, ready for a quick purchase.

 

Here's a sampling of their menu items:

Breakfast:

• Egg Croissant or Wrap 
• Belgium Orange Waffle
• Huevos Rancheros Omelet
• And all the basics .. Eggs, pancakes, bacon.
• Prices: $5-$9

Lunch:

• Appies: Cheese Plate, Fondue, Wings, Nachos, Samosas $6-12
• Soups: Tomato Rosemary, Whitefish Corn Chowder $4-5
• Grilled Burger / Chicken
  
• Tuna Salad
  
• Mustard Egg Salad
  
• 1/2 Soup, Sandwich
  
• Prices: $8-10
  

Dinner:

• Most of the Lunch menu plus..
• Roasted Pork Loin
• Apple Duck Confit
  
• Chicken & Mushrooms
  
• Fish & Chips
• Cafe Meatloaf
• Prices: $14-19

They have a great, cheap kid's menu, if I do say so myself:

• Chicken Strips
• Grilled Cheese
  
• Pasta & Marinara
• Mini Burgers
• Fruit Cup 
• Prices: $3-5
• They have high-chairs, crayons, the usual kid-friendly stuff
  

Deserts:

• Warm Sugar Donuts
• Chocolate Bouchons 

Now listen up, Whitefish Bay Villagers:  Many of us, myself included, have been waiting for a decent restaurant on Silver Spring.   It has arrived.

It's about a 3 minute drive from wherever you live.

And YOU and I have to support it.   Silver Spring is going through tough times right now.  With the economy in the tank, times will get tougher.  It is now more important than ever to support these local merchants, or .. guess what?  They'll close. 

Imagine if Berkeley's succeeds, turns a profit, and has some spill-over customers for the rest of the Silver Spring merchants, from 7am to 11pm.  That would be fantastic.  Imagine a 2nd restaurant (Hooters!) .. and an ice cream shop.  Bingo.  Silver Spring is back on track.

So how do you support it?  Take the pledge:  Eat at Berkeley's every 3 months.  Something, anything, a breakfast here, a dinner there.  4 times a year, once a season.  If you have kids and can't make it out, fine.  Do take-out.  Here's the phone again:  897-8624.

Marija Whitman, co-owner passed along this bit:  

Kevin, it has been the most wonderful feeling to see the outpouring of support and sincerity from customers.  What a warm welcome. We thank them sincerely for coming, and they thank us sincerely for being here. 

It makes us want to try harder to never let our amazing community down!

 

Make sure you read other items:

1. Election Prediction wrapup
2. Why is the NY Times picking on WFB?
   
3. Local Election Predictions
   
4. WFB Scam Alert
   
5. One less bad guy on WFB's streets!
6. Silver Spring Blame Game
   
7. Solicitors DO NEED PERMITS

 
 

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Sorry I haven't written in a while.   Sometimes the blogging well goes dry.  Here's a few bits:

SUNDAY - LAST CHANCE TO BUY BREAD AT GREAT HARVEST

As previously reported .. Rodd Hall, the owner of Great Harvest, closed up his retail shop in early October.  However, he is keeping his annual commitment to let the kids of Richards hold a fund raiser for the Hunger Task Force.

The bakery will open from 9am - 2pm, with kids helping out, staffing the cash register, the works.  A musical tribute for Hall will be going on from 11am to noon.  

This is a great event.   Get down there, support your local merchants, buy some bread, raise some dough for Hunger Task Force.  Seriously.  I mean it.

iPIC iTroubled

The iPic movie theater at Bayshore is going down the tubes.   It never paid rent to Bayshore, and the lease was terminated last month.  Looks like Bayshore is allowing them to continue operations under some other agreement.  

But .. iPic has bigger problems, as they owe $3m to the company that constructed the movie/bowling complex.

This does not surprise me.  Previously, I'd written about the preposterous $15/ticket price, which gets you unnecessary valet parking, assigned seating, and some popcorn.  Anyone surprised that formula didn't work?  Shocking.   

This is a reminder:  GO TO THE FOX-BAY.  It's GREAT. Support WFB businesses.  They will need every ticket sold in this economy.

School Referendum Postponed

News came out of the school board that because the economy is down, they will not go ahead with a $14-41M referendum on the April 2009 ballot, and perhaps move it to November 2009.

One could guess that if the economy isn't much better in 6 months (probable) that the referendum would be moved back again.

I find this to send mixed signals .. if you need capital improvements, you need capital improvements.  Looks like we can put them off for 6 months.  Probably 12 months.   I'm not saying I support or don't support the idea of the referendum .. it's just that moving it back undercuts the argument that they are actually needed.

Berkeley’s Café

Berkeley's has a grand opening ribbon cutting this Thursday.  That's great news for Silver Spring.

Sorry I haven't posted in a week.  The situation on Silver Spring, and the economy in general .. is depressing.  Onward.

Over the past few months, I've received a number of emails from readers decrying the situation on Silver Spring, often blasting Whitefish Bay officials (Trustees and other leaders).

Here's a few snips of one I got this week:

Where is the local leadership???  What about our 2 new Trustees??  Have you heard from them? ..  This has a bearing on all of us. (Property values, hello people!)  .. I think its time the people take over this issue and start telling the village to get out of the way...they are the friggin problem.  Maybe someone can find wherever Katie Pritchard is hiding and get her leadership on this issue.  Keep on this Kevin!

To answer that .. you need a "Silver Spring Status Update"

1. Silver Spring is being torn up to replace sewers, roads, curbs and sidewalks.  By the start of next summer, Silver Spring's physical status will be vastly improved.
2. A Business Improvement District has recently been created and staffed.
3. A "recruiter" has been contracted to find new businesses to move into the many vacancies.
   

Now, while you could argue those three items are long overdue, the current crop of Trustees have made them happen.

So .. if you're asking who to blame?  I think it breaks down to two groups:

1. WFB Officials who were in power from, say, 2001 to 2006.  In 2001, the Bayshore expansion was announced.  That was the moment we all should have been looking to the future, planning for tougher times for area merchants.  After 2006, with a steady drumbeat of business closures, the current crop of Trustees started taking Streetscaping, BIDs, and recruiting seriously.  Could they have acted more quickly?  Certainly.  But they ARE acting now.
   
   
2. Ourselves.  While mostly drowned-out in the past two years, Whitefish Bay has a segment of vocal long-timers who want to party like it's 1959.  They are resistant to change, whether that be new development, or tearing down what's old and familiar.  A great example of this was in 2006, when "The Bay" was proposed, and met with extreme derision.  Honest to god, people actually voiced their opinion by BOOING.  It's one thing to not like a development and want it changed in some respects .. but to yell out "boo"?  Childish and embarrassing for Whitefish Bay.  -- Imagine if a shorter version of The Bay, with the proposed ground level retail complex, had been built.  New Land Enterprises would have spent lots of time recruiting new restaurants and businesses to their new digs, which would have had a very positive effect on all of Silver Spring.
   

So .. what else is there to do?   I'd say that breaks into two items:

1. Find a way to help the current businesses stay afloat, especially while SS is under construction and the economy is stressed.  I don't know how else to say it, but the Trustees must meet with business owners, and examine every ordinance and eliminate all business un-friendly codes.  The obvious example is to strike the $164 violation for sandwich board signs.
   
   
2. Start with the subject: How can we be 100 times more aggressive in finding new businesses to move to Whitefish Bay?  Years ago, Shorewood hosted a "conference" of sorts, inviting local leaders, business owners, developers, and landlords, asking them the question:  How can we get you to move here?  Let's follow Shorewood's, very successful, path.
   

That being said, we all need to mentally prepare for the worst.  With a brutal economy and banking situation, plus SS's road construction .. one can guess we might see a dozen more business closures in the next 6-8 months.   

Even with a Silver-Spring Manhattan Project, we are headed for tough times for the foreseeable future.  

Make sure you read:

1. One less bad guy on WFB's streets!
   
2. Solicitors DO NEED PERMITS
   
3. WFB Picks New Trustee 
4. Grim Silver Spring Prediction .. a Local Merchant's thoughts..
5. Bits & Pieces (New Engineer, Leaf Collection, Crime .. Fire)

 

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Ouch.  Got this email today from Rodd Hall, the owner of Great Harvest:

October 1, 2008

 To My Great Friends and Customers,

I have made the very difficult decision to close the Great Harvest bread store in Whitefish Bay, effective today.

We'll be open for business just one more time, for the Richards School 3^rd Grade "Baker For A Day" event, Sunday October 26, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., to benefit the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee. I hope to see you then!

Finding conscientious and loyal employees has always been a challenging part of running this store. Over the past year it has become so difficult that it has just plain worn me out.

You know the people who work here have always been the best! I couldn't possibly be more proud of them. The problem is that I can no longer find enough of "the best" people to be able to offer you the kind of service you and I expect from Great Harvest.

As an eternal optimist, I've been fighting this decision for a long time, believing things would improve. The last straw was the recent last-minute decision by the Village of Whitefish Bay to close Silver Spring Drive during its reconstruction, a reversal of their long-standing promise to keep Silver Spring open in both directions throughout the project. I know from experience that this would be bad for an already suffering business district at any time; it will be devastating since it's happening during the holiday shopping season.

I'm going back to my first "bakery love", the reason I opened this store 18 years ago ... baking great bread. I'll still be baking, just not running a retail bread store.

So all is not lost. You will still be able to buy Great Harvest bread at the Pick ‘N Save stores at 4145 N Oakland in Shorewood and at 11300 N Port Washington Rd in Mequon.

I hope to add other stores to this list. If you can't buy Great Harvest bread at your favorite grocery store, please talk to the store manager and give them my phone number.

I'd love to talk with you in more detail about the store closing if you want. Please phone the bakery at (414) 963-9690 and leave me a voicemail with your name and number. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. And if you know anyone who might be interested in running a great retail bread store, please have them give me a call.

Thanks for 18 wonderful years! I'll miss you.

Warmest regards,

 

 

Ouch.  Didn't see this one coming, even after reading this from Rodd last week. Great Harvest was one of the jewels of Whitefish Bay.  Very sad day.  Silver Spring is turning into a slow-motion car accident.

Hall mentions he will continue baking .. not sure if that means he'll continue in his prime spot, or find a new kitchen.  I'll update that later.

 

Make sure you read:

1. One less bad guy on WFB's streets!
   
2. Solicitors DO NEED PERMITS
   
3. WFB Picks New Trustee 
4. Grim Silver Spring Prediction .. a Local Merchant's thoughts..
5. Bits & Pieces (New Engineer, Leaf Collection, Crime .. Fire)

 

---

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And the umpteenth store to close on Silver Spring is ... Creme Boutique.

In an email to customers, Creme owners reported:

We are very sorry to tell you that Creme Boutique will close on October 29.  We had hoped that adding Kid's Consignment to the store would help business, but the economy and other factors have made continuing impossible.
 
We will be having a store wide sale (excluding consignment clothes) starting on October 1st.

Sad.  Another small business bites the dust on Silver Spring.

Prepare for more.  We've been skirting around an "official" recession in 2008, but it's hard to believe the economy will improve any time in the next 6-12 months.   On top of that .. with the credit market crisis, it's going to be nearly impossible for any new businesses to open.

And, of course, Silver Spring is now undergoing street construction, which will eliminate parking, and frustrate the very customers that merchants are depending on.

The latest gut-punch to arrive, is that WFB officials had been telling merchants that SS would remain open in both directions, so Silver Spring sort of looked open.  In an email sent to merchants this week, that's no longer the case.  Silver Spring will be down to 1-lane Eastbound. 

Yes, construction will be suspended from Thanksgiving to Jan 1.  Raise your hand if you think that will make a difference.  What does "suspended" mean, anyhow?  I'm guessing it'll still be 1-way traffic with no parking.  How is that going to help?  UPDATE:  Trustee Fehring has commented below .. the contractor is required to close up all trenches, put down temporary asphalt.  Sounds like 2 way traffic plus parking.  Great to hear.

November and December are the two most important months for the local merchants, many who are just skating by.  The timing of this construction will push a few over the edge.

SHOP LOCAL!

Make sure you read:

1. One less bad guy on WFB's streets!
   
2. Solicitors DO NEED PERMITS
   
3. WFB Picks New Trustee 
4. Grim Silver Spring Prediction .. a Local Merchant's thoughts..
5. Bits & Pieces (New Engineer, Leaf Collection, Crime .. Fire)

 

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I traded emails with Rodd Hall, owner of the Great Harvest Bread Company .. he was so kind as to allow me to publish his thoughts:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:     A Silver Spring Construction Prediction
Date:     Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:35:20 -0500
From:     Rodd Hall
To:     <KevinBuckleyWFB@gmail.com>


Kevin,

In your 9/20 Village Spillage blog you refer to the effect of Silver Spring construction between October and January on the merchants in the area. You couldn’t be more correct. Most retail businesses barely make a go of it, sometimes even expect to lose money from January through September, knowing the holiday shopping season will provide the bulk of their profits for the year.

I know from experience the devastating effect road construction can have on shopping habits and on the fortunes of a small business. During the 1994 reconstruction of Lake Drive, I lost 25% of my customers and income. It didn’t matter that at least two lanes were open at all times; it didn’t matter if construction was actually happening anywhere near my store on any given day; it didn’t matter that my customers still had easy access to some of the best parking around. They still stayed away in droves.

Combine these two phenomena and I have a prediction. The planned construction on Silver Spring, if it is truly started any time before January, will ultimately cause some Silver Spring merchant to finally decide it’s just not worth it and to close their doors … probably more than one.

And I say started because it won't matter if construction is stopped between Thanksgiving and January 1. If they so much as put up a single orange sign or traffic barrel, it will look like a road construction zone, and too many customers will stay away.

Rodd Hall
Great Harvest Bread Co.
Whitefish Bay

He had a few other nuggets that should also be shared:

 I know this is very much a minority opinion, but as a business-person I can't understand why everyone gets so excited about 'streetscaping'. Sure, a nicer looking Silver Spring wouldn't hurt.  

(snip)

Why not instead spend the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of dollars on attracting new, exciting merchants to the street. Better yet, why don’t we spend zero dollars on finding every possible way for the Village to make it easier, rather than increasingly more difficult, to run a business on Silver Spring? (emphasis mine -kb)

I'd say we need to do both.  With some luck, perhaps contracting with Kilduff will help recruit businesses to Silver Spring.  Unfortunately with the economy, the timing, which is certainly years late, may not work out for us.

Finally, this:

What most people don't understand – and rightly so; I certainly didn't until I tried it myself – is that most small businesses, no matter how strong they may appear from the outside, spend most of their time just one bad decision or one bad break away from failure. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for sympathy; I chose this life and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

There are a lot of advantages, but the constant disadvantage is that you are always living life very close to the edge of disaster.

I think if the Village government had a better understanding of this basic fact of small business life, priorities might change.  (emphasis mine -kb)

This comment got my attention.   Great Harvest sure looks like one of the top 10 businesses on Silver Spring.  Great product, great location.   It honestly did not dawn on me, that a seemingly thriving business like GH would ever struggle, as he suggests.

What did we learn this morning, children?

1. The timing of Silver Spring's construction is not optimal for business survival.   The holiday season is make-or-break time for merchants.
   
2. Hall is probably correct.  Even though construction will be "stopped" from Thanksgiving to Jan 1, Silver Spring will most likely be thought of as a construction zone.  There WILL be less parking.   It WILL be tougher to get around SS, for cars and pedestrians alike.
   
3. While I believe Street-scaping is important, Hall has a point, that we should (have been) spending dough on recruiting businesses.
   
4. As I've called for before, the Village Trustees must look through all codes and eliminate merchant-unfriendly items NOW.  Not November, not December, not 2009.  NOW.
   
5. Finally .. SHOP LOCAL.   Make an extra effort to SHOP LOCAL when Silver Spring is under construction!

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I've let drop a number of WFB stories over the past few weeks.  Let's get to it.

Farrenkopf Hiring

Whitefish Bay hired retired Menomonee Falls Village Manager Richard Farrenkopf as Mary Jo Lange's semi-temporary replacement as director of public works and village engineer. 

I checked with the Village Spillage - Menomonee Falls office, and they couldn't say enough good things about Farrenkopf.   

Sounds like a home run hire for Whitefish Bay.  

Leaf Collection

The Village Trustees voted to end the seasonal curbside leaf pick-up on November 17th of this year.  If I recall correctly, this had something to do with the timing of the DPW getting leaves versus cleaning the storm sewer inlets.

Uh, guys?  You can't fool with Mother Nature.   I have three enormous Maple trees in my back yard, and they only start falling in November.  I rake every weekend, and the weekly pile I create is about the size of a Honda.  November 17th is about the 5th inning of a 9 inning game.   I realize you can still bag the leaves, but stopping that service so early is very unhelpful.

Oh, and guess what?  Most people will just rake the leaves into the gutter anyhow, regardless of the new date, as they will assume pick-up goes until Mother Nature says it should stop.   Eventually, the snow plows will scatter the piles unless they are picked up.  Just saying.

New Condos?

I haven't commented yet about the condo plan behind the Fox Bay.   I can't say I have a strong opinion either way. 

I've heard some suggest "Retail follows Residents" .. I just don't see that applying here.  Silver Spring has 5,000 people within a 3 minute walk.  An extra 50 people living in condos will do zero to attract businesses to Silver Spring.

Oh .. and don't we already have a half-empty Condotastrophe on Silver Spring and Lake?  Do we need more?

On the other hand .. as far as I can tell, this is an "off-Broadway" production.  This is more of a Santa Monica / Beaumont project.  It's behind Silver Spring.   If condos go up there .. the only possible negative effect on Silver Spring is perhaps the loss of parking for the future droves of customers that SS may generate in the future in a galaxy far away.

Let's see what the people on Santa Monica and Beaumont think.  They're the ones who will be staring at this sucker.  

Silver Spring Construction

Silver Spring will start to get ripped up in the next few weeks, first for sewer work, then early 2009, for Street-scaping .. seriously.  I'm not kidding. 

No, no, really. 

No, my pants are not on fire right now. 

Ok, fine, don't believe me.  I'm not sure I'll believe it until I see some orange barrels out there.

Amazing that we've been thinking and thinking about this for years, and here we are, starting in October.   Call me crazy, but wouldn't it have been better to do road construction well before winter?  

Apparently, they'll be blocking off one block of SS at a time, stopping from Thanksgiving to January 1st, to allow the SS Merchants some semblance of a holiday shopping season.  

New Trustee Interviews

Next Tuesday, Sep 23, the Trustees will meet to interview the seven applicants for Trustee Brennan's vacated spot.   So far, none of the seven have taken me up on my offer to give them an opportunity to discuss their candidacy with the public.  Offer still stands.

Crime

About 3 weeks ago, two cars from the same house were stolen one night, near my house.   How?

One car was unlocked, and had the keys inside.  FOR BOTH CARS.  Easiest grand theft auto those guys ever saw.

Safety tip #1: Come on, people.  Lock your cars.  Don't leave your keys in there.  Bad guys are cruising around Whitefish Bay with regularity.

Interesting .. I was talking to a guy in Tosa .. they have a neighborhood block watch .. I asked him what that really was, as I doubted he "walked a beat" .. he told me they just learned some simple things, like everyone should leave their outdoor lights on, etc. 

The most interesting thing he told me, was that Tosa police want you to call 911 for ANYTHING, no matter how minor, anyone who looks out of place.   An example he gave was .. if a solicitor comes to your door, ask to see their permit.  If they don't have one, call 911.   That sounds odd, I would have thought they'd suggest a non-emergency number.  -- I do not know if the same rule applies in Whitefish Bay, so don't go calling 911 on odd looking Girl Scouts.

Fire

There was a fire last week a block over from me, at 3am.  Everyone got out safe, but the dog died from smoke inhalation.  Tragic.  Firefighters found that there wasn't an operable smoke detector in the house. 

Safety tip #2:  Check your smoke detectors right now.    Seriously.  I'm done here, so stop reading and go check them.   Make sure you have a CO detector, too.  We have two in my house, and we might not be here if it weren't for that.

 

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This just isn’t helpful.

Last week, Silver Spring merchant Tom Harris, owner of the Great Frame Up, received a $164 citation for .. drum roll .. trying to do business.

His crime?  He put out a 3 foot tall "sandwich" board on the sidewalk in front of his shop.   

Horrors.

Whitefish Bay’s building inspector saw it, and warned Harris that the sign was in violation of Whitefish Bay zoning code.   Harris then moved the sign from the sidewalk to private property.

Later, an inspector came back, saw the sign was now on private property, suggested Harris was “screwing with him” and wrote out a $164 citation. 

Sure enough, section 16.18F, #6 prohibits the following signs:  Advertising vehicles, changeable message signs, electronic signs, flashing signs, portable signs, off-premises signs, roof signs, swinging signs, and, you guessed it, SANDWICH SIGNS!   

Jesus, Tom, the law is the law.    Who do you think you are?

The Great Frame Up has been a solid business along Silver Spring for 15 years, and they've donated generously to Whitefish Bay's civic events and programs over the years to the tune of over 6-figures.  A couple times a year, for 4-5 days, they want to put out a sign to market themselves to passers-by.  Their reward?  A $164 ticket.

We're not talking some crappy easel, paper, and crayon sign.  This is a professionally made quality sign.  It's not gaudy, it's not impeding traffic, and it's pretty small.  (See picture).

Uh-oh, Patricia’s.  Uh-oh, Sendik's.  I’m sure these scoff-laws also got $164 tickets, too.  (See pictures below.)   Or did the building inspector single out The Great Frame Up?

NOTE TO VILLAGE TRUSTEES:  THIS IS THE KIND OF CRAP THAT MAKES IT TOUGHER FOR MERCHANTS TO STAY IN BUSINESS.   The Trustees need to go through the ENTIRE CODE, and declare a moratorium on every merchant-unfriendly ordinance.   Two more businesses closed this month, there are rumors another two are going belly up within weeks. 

The Silver Spring merchants need the green light to do everything they can to eek out a living and stay afloat.   I don't care if they want to have daily elephant rides and fireworks.     We're close to, or in a recession, unemployment is up, inflation is up, Silver Spring's physical condition is abysmal, and theoretically, the Village is going to dig up the street going into the holiday season, suppressing business.

We are at DEFCON 1.  Call up the Whitefish Bay Professional Association, ask them how you can help, and make it all happen at the very next board meeting.

 

Lastly .. if the Village wants to give out tickets .. how about giving citations for the hideous collection of weeds growing at the Talbots property?    Aren't landlords responsible for their property?   It looks like abandoned lot, and makes Silver Spring look even worse.

Picture courtesy of Gordy Lang:

 

 

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Stay informed .. make sure you read the 22nd Assembly District Forum Recap, the Race for Wasserman's open seat.

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 And the next Silver Spring Merchant into the deadpool is...

Bella Donna.  BD closed their doors yesterday.

Here's some irony .. as you google Bella Donna, you get a Journal-Sentinel article about Silver Spring from 2006, right after Bayshore opened:

Bay Shops Want to Keep Up With Neighbor:

..notable vacancies have appeared (on SS) lately: last week's closing of Heinemann's restaurant, and the departure of Talbots women's clothing, which will close its Silver Spring Drive store and reopen Thursday at the new Bayshore Town Center, in neighboring Glendale. Another restaurant, Ciao Café, shut down in July.

"It really disturbs me right now with all the people on Silver Spring leaving," said Cardone, who invested $30,000 to open Bella Donna a year ago. "We've got to change it around somehow."

"If we play our cards right, we can easily piggyback off of (Bayshore)," said Chris Breyfogle, who owns Murray's Wine and Spirits, a specialty beer, wine and liquor store in the middle of the Silver Spring Drive strip.

Bayshore is a threat "if we stand idly by and fail to improve our business district," said Jim Roemer, a banker and treasurer of the Whitefish Bay Community Development Authority.  (Roemer is now a Trustee.)

If smart improvements occur, Roemer said, the business district "could be a real cool, eclectic complement to the more mainstream retail in Bayshore."

...street improvements have been discussed since 2001, when Bayshore announced its expansion and redevelopment plans. But that proposal has moved slowly, Harris said.

The streetscape project, which could include new sidewalks, lighting, benches and decorative planters, didn't happen immediately because village officials wanted to make those improvements and other changes in conjunction with a planned street reconstruction, said Ray Krueger, an attorney and Community Development Authority chairman.

...Meanwhile, plans for some of the sidewalk improvements are now proceeding, Krueger said. There is no specific timetable or cost estimate yet, but the project is "high on the agenda," Krueger said. The village also has created a program to provide facade improvement grants for commercial building owners on Silver Spring Drive.

Still, things have moved slowly, said Brian Henry, who operates Fox-Bay Cinema Grill, one of the street's largest businesses.

"It was sleepy when I got here seven years ago," Henry said. "It's gotten sleepier."

..."I think Whitefish Bay needs to open its eyes," Cardone said. "That's all I'm going to say."

Wow! 

TWO YEARS have clicked off since that article was written.

Two of the three merchants who were quoted ARE OUT OF BUSINESS. 

The streetscaping project has been talked to death, and as far as I know, has no start date. 

Brian Henry said "it's gotten sleepier" in 2006 .. what is it now?  Comatose?

Beyond sad.

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Stay informed .. make sure you read the 22nd Assembly District Forum Recap, the Race for Wasserman's open seat.

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Ok, who had "Balia Wellness" in the Silver Spring Dead Pool? 

Pick up your winnings. 

Word of their demise is on their website, they closed up shop last week, but are refunding gift certificates.

Note to CNI Newspaper staff:   Let me save you some time.  I can write your official five paragraphs on Balia's closing.

It's kind of like a Mad-Lib:

___________ is the latest East Silver Spring Drive business to close. It began a liquidation sale early last week.

In addition to the larger economic pressures, ______ said he believes the opening of Bayshore Town Center in Glendale has hurt businesses on Silver Spring in Whitefish Bay.

"Foot traffic on our street is close to half of what it was," ______ said.

_______ questions if the village could have done more in getting businesses onto the street that would have increased foot traffic, like approving the Silver Spring streetscaping plan to improve aesthetics and other development projects, or allowing attention grabbing temporary outdoor signage.

A Village Official responded, “Businesses don’t go out of business because of trees on the street.”

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Stay informed .. make sure you read the 22nd Assembly District Forum Recap, the Race for Wasserman's open seat.

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Hecker's

There's an article in today's NOW about the demise of Hecker's shoes, the latest victim of Silver Spring's decline. 

Here's a few clips:

"(Marcia Hecker) said an increasing number of Internet shoe stores and a lack of foot traffic in the East Silver Spring business district added to the company’s demise."

"Hecker questions if the village could have done more in getting businesses onto the street that would have increased foot traffic, like approving the Silver Spring streetscaping plan to improve aesthetics and other development projects."

What was Village Manager James Grassman's response?

“Businesses don’t go out of business because of trees on the street.”

Wow.

How's that theory working out for you?

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Make sure to read Homeowner Rights Suffer Blow.  and ARC-ARGH.

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Hecker's

Just got word that Hecker's Shoes,  on Silver Spring since 1957, is closing.  My neighbor visited the shop and confirmed it, that they would stay open as their inventory depletes.  

Ouch.

Looks like their website was abandoned a long time ago, but I was able to dig into the archives:

For four generations Hecker's Shoes has been a destination for families who care about quality footwear.  Abe and Ann Hecker opened the store in 1957 focusing on men, women, and children's shoes, relying on the motto "proper fit and service makes all the difference".  Hecker's Shoes has evolved into a children's shoes store based on the traditions and philosophies of the late Abe Hecker.

Now owned and operated by Marcia Hecker, Abe and Ann's daughter, the store specializes in children's footwear but carries a small selection of women’s shoes.  The store stocks infant through *** shoes in narrow, medium, and wide widths, this is what sets them apart from other stores.  According to Marcia Hecker shoes need to be fit properly to prevent irritation and discomfort.  It is particularly important for young walkers to have the correct support while learning how to walk. 

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Sorry, I've been recently lazy with my blogging efforts. 

You get what you pay for.

The Village put out a "Request For Proposal" a few weeks ago .. I tried to find it on the WFB website, but it's either buried, or simply not published (which is odd), so I post it here for all to enjoy.  The deadline is in 3 short weeks.  It will be very interesting to see the substance and volume of proposals for WFB's business district.

More details, including some thoughts on hiring a Business Development "professional" (which is a great idea) can be found in this article from a couple weeks ago.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

FOR RETAIL RECRUITING & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

   

The Village of Whitefish Bay, WI is seeking proposals for services associated with active retail business recruiting and development on behalf of the municipality.

 

Attached is a map showing the commercial business areas in the Village, which are the target areas. The primary goals are set forth in the Master Plan for the Silver Spring Business District which can be found on the Village’s website at www.wfbvillage.org under Boards & Commissions / Community Development Authority.

 

Silver Spring Drive is the active commercial core in a highly desirable North Shore Milwaukee suburb. It has numerous retail and service-oriented businesses, including a Sendik’s market, a multi-screen movie theater and Winkie’s, a local landmark. The main business district is also located just east of the newly renovated and expanded regional Bay Shore Towne Center. Building on these strengths and attracting complimentary retail stores, including when vacancies occur, presents a unique opportunity on which the Village seeks to capitalize.

 

Interested parties should respond with the following information:

 

-          Description of the retail recruitment and development activities that will be undertaken. Note the emphasis of this RFP is active retail recruiting and development, and not further studies, although some preparation is expected.

-          Resumes of the person or persons that will be directly involved in providing the retail recruitment and development activities identified, and their roles.

-          Estimated number of hours involved by each person for each activity. It is recognized some efforts may be concentrated, some may be ongoing, and some may be sporadic.

-          Proposed rates of compensation and estimated costs.

-          References.

 

Responses should be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on June 30, 2008 to:

 

James R. Grassman, Village Manager

Village of Whitefish Bay

Whitefish Bay, WI 53217

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I was forwarded an email from a loyal reader with news from Eric Bahr, the manager of Sal's Pizza in Cedarburg. 

Sal's Pizza will not be opening a new restaurant on Silver Spring, nor anywhere else.

I've received a few updates .. Sal's was concerned about the usual things.  Downturn in the economy .. they've noticed less volume at their Cedarburg joint .. plus high rent demands = cold feet.

I'd say that Sal's Pizza in WFB is a victim of $4 gasoline.  More money spent on driving, less on eating out.  Plus fuel costs driving the cost of pizza ingredients, flour, cheese, tomatoes way up.

DAMN!  I really thought that was going to be a huge hit for Silver Spring.   Note to the landlord: What are there, 500 pizza places in a 25 mile radius?  One of them could be talked into expanding to a pizza-starved location.  Start calling.

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As I drove back from dinner tonight, I noticed Hollywood Video on Silver Spring (technically in Glendale) has closed.

I'm partially responsible for driving it out of business.

Two months ago, I subscribed to Netflix.  And I love it.

I think the primary reason I wanted to join was that .. I miss a lot of movies I want to see.  I hear reviews, see trailers, and have a desire to see many movies each year, but we just never get around to seeing a tenth of them, whether at the Fox Bay, or from renting them at the now defunct Hollywood Video.

The solution is Netflix's queue.  See a movie you want to eventually watch?  Put it in your queue.  Once it comes out on DVD, it'll show up in your mailbox like magic.

I started out on the $5/month plan, where you get two DVDs each month.  I figured I could easily find time to watch one movie every two weeks.  After I put 25 movies in my queue, I realized, crap, it's gonna take a year to see all those movies.

So I bumped my plan to the $14/month deal that gets you two DVDs at a time, with no monthly limit. My evil plan is to blow through the list in 2-3 months, then drop back down to the $5 plan.

How to pay for it?   Well, do you get HBO?  Do you actually watch it?  Turns out, we didn't.  Even with a dozen HBO channels, neither my wife nor I find movies we want to watch on HBO, except on rare occasion.  Do a household survey and count up the number of movies you actually watch on HBO.    If it's less than 5 or 6 .. cancel it.  Quit HBO, and pick up Netflix. 

Netflix is extraordinarily easy .. DVDs are shipped to you in one day, you watch 'em, and stick them in their postage-paid return envelope for your mailman to take.  They receive them in one day, and ship a new one to you immediately for the next day.  Pretty slick.   Netflix sends over 1 million DVDs in the mail every day.

So .. sorry, Hollywood Video.   Gosh, I sure hope Aurora Health Care doesn't find out, abandon their plans for the WFB clinic, and take that newly empty spot in prime Glendale, wink, wink.  

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Just read the May 20th WFB Plan Commission agenda.  There's one item of interest:

* Ryan and Marija Whitman (Gracious Events Corp), 342 E. Silver Spring Dr., (Full service restaurant and café, name TBD). 

342 E. Silver Spring used to be Murray's Wine & Spirits liquor store.

Gracious Events is a catering company .. here's their website.

I think we're all excited to hear more about the mystery "TBD" restaurant!

UPDATE:  I emailed the hopeful owners, and got this response back:

Welcome, TBD!
 

At tonight's standing-room-only Plan Commission meeting, 80+ people attended to hear the application of conditional use by Sal's Pizza, who will move in to the location formerly occupied by Ciao Café in July.

After little debate, and a unanimous vote, Katie Pritchard announced "Welcome to Whitefish Bay, Sal's Pizza!"

(Oh, yes.  In other business, the Plan Commission thricely voted unanimously to permit Sendik's to expand their offices, Skin Guru to open, and Aurora/Advanced Health to open a clinic on the old Talbot's/Famous Footwear property.)

What can I say?  I knew it would be extraordinarily difficult for the Village to turn down a multi-billion dollar corporation to occupy a long-vacant location on Silver Spring.  Tremendous kudos goes out to Boulder Venture, who fought the winning fight, holding out for years to find that one solid renter with deep pockets, regardless of its benefits to the Village as a whole.

I remain in belief that the Village lost a tremendous opportunity tonight, not just to hold out for something better, but to send a signal to prime property owners that they are required, by the decision of the people, to find tenants that move the district forward and do better than "not hurt."   -- In the end, Sal's Pizza, with its tiny footprint, will benefit Silver Spring and surrounding businesses far more than the health clinic.

(In other news, a reader emailed me that a single buyer will purchase all three units on the top floor to create one residence in the 5600 Lake Drive condo building.  Who owns 5600 Lake?  None other than Boulder Venture.  With Aurora winning tonight, the champagne is flowing down at BV headquarters.)

(Thank you to KM for tonight's photo.)

I've written many times on the debate over whether Aurora/Advanced Health Care should be granted permission to move in to the old Talbot's / Famous Footwear location owned by Boulder Venture.

Tuesday, April 29th, 7pm, at the Village Hall, the Plan Commission will decide our fate.  (See Agenda)  The public is invited to appear and speak.   You may also send statements to the Village Manager (Manager@WFBVillage.org) who will forward them to the Plan Commission.  (Do so quickly.  The meeting is tonight!)

Since I've already written a half-dozen articles on this subject, I'll summarize:

1. Silver Spring Drive needs help, having lost 9+ businesses over the past year and a half.  While its infrastructure will be renewed in the next 18 months, the true cancer is the lack of broad-appeal retail and service offerings on the Drive.   

2. Because of this decline, we need aggressive action to improve the district, with a strong vision for the end goal of having a thriving business district full of entities the Villagers find necessary and interesting.  The Plan Commission (and CDA) should allow or deny businesses on the basis of whether said business moves us closer to that vision.   "Aurora won't hurt" signals a terrible policy direction: we've given up.  When prime locations are vacant, the Village must ensure they are used optimally.

3.  A medical clinic is not bad for the area; It is simply a poor use of prime land.  A clinic does not fill a need for Villagers, as there are over 200 physicians in a two mile radius.   Silver Spring needs businesses that provide spill-over from one establishment to another.  People who visit doctors do so for a clear reason, because they are unwell.  This means there will be little customer spill-over, as people will see their doctor, then depart the area.   Silver Spring needs businesses that "turn night into day" adding to the economic health of the street, past 5pm, at which time, a medical clinic will be a big, dark building.

4. For these reasons, I urge the Plan Commission to understand that the granting of a conditional use for Aurora on this prime land WILL impede the normal and orderly development and specifically impede the improvement of surrounding property in the district.  

As an additional note .. I am not anti-Aurora.  I am confident they have hundreds of caring professionals serving thousands of people in the area.   I would welcome them to other locations in Whitefish Bay that aren't front and center, signature opportunities.

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If you'd like to read another letter sent to the Plan Commission, two residents have forwarded theirs for your perusal.

In today's NorthshoreNOW there was a "Public Forum" letter titled "Village could not dream of better proposal" .. which professed glowing support for the Aurora Advanced Health Clinic, to be discussed at the Plan Commission next Tuesday, April 29th.