Some Uptown Village shop owners find sense of community in living there, too
Developers and commercial property owners recognize a relationship between the success of their tenants and how far they live from their businesses.
"In general, retailers who live and breathe the place where they have a business have a higher chance of succeeding," said Brot Bishop, who has owned several properties in Uptown Village for the last 10 years. "They know their clients, they know the environment and can adapt to changes very quickly."
Uptown Village, positioned between Mill Plain and Fourth Plain boulevards and bordered by Broadway and Columbia streets just north of downtown Vancouver, is a prime example.
In the last handful of years, the district has undergone noticeable changes.
While a few still exist, many vacant storefronts have been filled by funky, independently owned shops and restaurants, run-down residential buildings have been spruced up and mixed-use retail has brought activity to the sidewalk near Fourth Plain.
A rough VBJ poll showed that as many as half of the business owners in Uptown live within walking or biking distance of their shops.
This connectivity fosters a shared vision for the area, enthusiasm and support, many say – even when a business could have fared better in another location.
Albert Angelo III, junior executive for The Al Angelo Co., said there is no 100 percent conclusive evidence that living where a business is located will make it succeed, but said it couldn’t hurt. The company owns several commercial properties near Uptown Village.
"Owners that are in daily contact with their business have the ability to really watch over it and have it be a hands-on experience,"
Angelo said.
Knowing the need
Lisa and Peter Dougherty, who opened La Bottega restaurant in October, have lived near Uptown for 13 years. Peter Dougherty has been in the restaurant industry for 21 years, mostly in Portland, and the couple knew they wanted to start a café in Uptown.
"We picked where we wanted a business and built the concept around it," said Lisa Dougherty.
In the planning stages, they asked business owners up and down the street what they wanted in a new eatery there. The resounding answer was deli.
So the Doughertys incorporated deli, retail and approachable high-quality dining in the European-style restaurant, trying to cater to the neighborhood’s mix of incomes and tastes.
The combination has proved to be popular – the restaurant has been busy since it opened. As many as 40 people attend wine tasting on Wednesdays, and many of them are walkers from surrounding neighborhoods.
The couple is tied personally to Uptown and knows its needs – making it personal, said Lisa Dougherty.
Uptown Village has been lucky with the crop of tight knit retailers who genuinely work together and want what’s best for the neighborhood, Bishop said.
"Vancouver hasn’t had the luxury of people lining up to lease space until recently," he said. "Therefore, you want a retailer to be successful and understand the nuances of the market they’re trying to do business in. I find that if they live in the area, they tend to know the market and be more successful than if they live outside and think it’s hip and try to make it on an impulse."
It’s personal
"You know your customers and neighbors on a personal level," said Jenna Eckert, who has owned Mint Tea Imports with her husband Abdul Akdi for more than four years. "We have like-minded interests, and as a community, look out for each other."
The couple came to Uptown Village from California’s Bay Area, where at least two hours of their day were spent commuting. When they decided to open the shop, they thought seriously about doing it in Portland.
Dollar for dollar, Eckert said Mint Tea would likely make more money in Portland because of a larger population and more tourists, but the couple’s commitment is to the neighborhood because of family obligations and friends.
"It feels like it has not happened as quickly as it may have somewhere else," she said. "But it’s not one-sided. This community has supported us, and we have chosen to support them."
Simply put, a stronger community makes for a stronger business, said Chris Jochum, who has owned The Urban Eccentric for four of the eight years the vintage clothing store has been in Uptown.
The first year Jochum owned the shop, she seriously considered moving it to Portland – not because business was bad, but because Vancouver didn’t seem like the place for a young, single woman to live. But after weighing the lease rates and the fact that vintage stores open and close with regularity there, she opted to stay and get involved.
And she loves it.
"I see this community as a big opportunity," Jochum said. "Things are happening here."
Attorney Steven Lenzkes runs his practice out of his Uptown townhouse and said knowing his neighbors and the community is an effective way to bring in business in an increasingly isolated society. He is within walking distance of the courthouse, his bank, Walgreens, entertainment.
Lenzkes is also the president of the Uptown Village Association, which he said, is working to petition Trader Joe’s to come to the area. What the neighborhood needs, he said, is a couple of big draws up and down the street to attract visitors.
"I know everyone down the street," he said. "I’m not isolated on my commute, then at another office. As I do spend more time here, I’m more apt to be involved."
Carrie Winters lived in the neighborhood when she opened Moe’s Barbering & Styling and said knowing friends and family in the area helped with the startup process because they would hang out in the shop to get haircuts – and the illusion of business is business, she said.
On the other hand, Brian Wassman, who has owned Mermaid Music for 15 years, refuses to live in Uptown.
When several houses were put on the market directly behind his shop, he considered buying one, but quickly changed his mind.
"Everybody knows there is instant money to be made in this store by trading in guitars, CDs, cassettes, records, DVDs, stereo equipment," Wassman said. "At the end of the day, when I’m getting in my car, I get people coming up, wanting to trade their stuff for money for food, cigarettes, a bus pass or a hunting license. I can only imagine what it would be like when it got out that I was living right behind the store."
Even living in the Clark College area was too close.
There has to be a point at the end of the day, said Wassman, when an owner leaves work and drives home, and life away from work begins.
