Retail Watchers

Are outdoor malls doing better in Southern California? The indoor malls are empty up here, but downtown outdoor malls are doing ok.

I have noticed that malls are really empty these days in California. Even Walmart stores are eerily empty now. The crowds are gone and the parking lots are very empty. Is it an economic downturn? Or is it that more people are at home sick. I have friends who work at various retail stores and there a...

Walmart has a Neighborhood Market and a Division 1 store in Pleasanton, California and another Neighborhood Market a few minutes away in San Ramon. This has caused the Division 1 store to drastically lose business. They have cut employees and work hours at the Division 1 store. The Neighborhood Mark...

Many Pizza Huts in the San Francisco Bay Area recently closed. There are so many abandoned Pizza Huts. The closest is 30 minutes away.

The new logo is nostalgic, but it doesn't make me want to go there any more than before.

I went to a San Francisco Bay Area Walmart today during the middle of the day and it seems like the store is unusually empty of customers. The toilet paper and kleenex aisle was almost fully stocked. Normally the crowds would be out of control. What is going on? Are people actually obeying the stay-...

An Applebee's in Texas will open its first drive thru. I am surprised that it took this long. Applebee's has been struggling for a while. A drive thru will actually get people to go back there. The take out and pick up options are not as convenient as a drive thru. I still find Applebee's to be over...

The gas station was in San Ramon, California which is not too far from the closed Marathon Refinery in Martinez. Marathon is not a trusted brand here. Whenever I see the name Marathon I think about the clouds of smoke that were coming from that ugly refinery in Martinez. The towers of the refinery w...

Doordash drivers are not required to have refrigeration. This could lead to spoiled food, but usually Doordash deliveries do not take too long. A Northern California Safeway representative told a local news station that Doordash will take over this region too. Safeway will try to place impacted asso...

Hilltop Mall in Richmond, California is now called The East Bay Science and Technology Center. Not kidding. Sears closed in April 2020 and JCPenney closed in 2017. The only anchors left are a Non-Supercenter Walmart that is 3 levels and a 24 Hour Fitness. The 24 Hour Fitness is closed due to pandemi...

I finally saw a Marathon gas station in Northern California. It was in what I believe was a former curved roof Cheaper station. It must be a newly branded Marathon. The logo is black and red. This was previously National Gas. Cheaper convenience stores look like mini Marina Safeway stores with a cur...