Retail Watchers

Can we please stick to facts and avoid the exaggerations? Subway is not "eliminate(ing) customization." They are adding an order-by-number system like many other fast food chains to make it easier and faster to order sandwiches. But -- per their PR team -- "guests are still able to or...

Caveat that my info is 20+ years old ... we had a "HAACP" checklist that each shift manager was supposed to run through. It was a written sheet of paper where we recorded a temperature from a burger that had come off the broiler, in the steamers, of the friers, in the fry bin, etc., that w...

Super S, my knowledge is 20+ years old. I can't speak to current procedures. 20+ years ago, Burger King had breakfast croissan'wiches and breakfast biscuits, with either ham, bacon or sausage on them. So you basically had six sandwich choices (or the French toast sticks and Cinni-Minis) for breakfas...

To be clear, just about everything on sale at a Burger King has been frozen -- at least that was the case 20+ years ago when I worked at one. Whopper patties, chicken patties, fish patties -- all frozen. French fries, onion rings -- all frozen. Egg patties, sausage, bacon -- all frozen. Chicken Tend...

With the closure of Jonathan's several years ago, that Vons is the only supermarket in La Jolla Village and is always full of some of California's least price-sensitive shoppers. Even Eddie Lampert could make money running that store. Taking it a bit more upscale is a good idea. What they really nee...

I was in Seattle a few weeks ago and visited the Sears at the Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila. I'm assuming this was the last time I will visit a full-line Sears store. I spent about an hour wandering around. Here's a long list of notes: * The entire third floor was closed off. The escalator was bl...

Super S -- I'm not an expert in zoning rules in Hamilton, but I assume that if Walmart was willing to operate in the existing building, they would be grandfathered in as an existing use. I would think that there is a huge difference in perception between opening a 200,000 square foot supercenter and...

I understand that conceptually this store doesn't make sense. However, Hamilton sits in the middle of the Bitterroot Valley, which has something like 40,000 people. For the majority of those people, it makes more sense to drive to Hamilton than Missoula. And the Bitterroot Valley is gorgeous. There ...

Agree. 15 years ago I would have told you that I thought Jack in the Box had higher standards than the typical fast food chain (to be clear -- not really high, just noticeably higher than average). I'm not so sure any more. The location here is operating a reduced schedule. Paint has been peeling of...

Some of the quotes in that article are highly disingenuous. A large store on a large lot in urban San Francisco is expensive real estate. Simply from the perspective of earning a return on that asset, Safeway would want to be open whenever there is enough demand. There's no way that they want to hav...