Here’s the deal on reviewing neighborhood businesses. Some are great. Some aren’t. And a lot are somewhere in between. It’s not always very interesting to read about things that are between great and not great — try writing about it.
But I’ll post about ShopRite anyway.
ShopRite is the Hilltop Repair & Quality Fuel of convenience stores. Hilltop, for those of you who drive by but don’t utilize one of the last independent service stations on the planet, is great for a few simple reasons that we’ve written about in the past — proximity, honest answers, willingness to punt on too-complicated things — and not great for lots of others — prices can be high, offerings limited.
Seems ShopRite has a similar business plan. It is a hodgepodge of convenience and dollar store-type goods crowded into a small space — sometimes they have what you need, usually they don’t (but you’ll often note the appearance of said item in the future, your request clearly inspiring new inventory). And, like Hilltop, there’s a good chance you’ll end up paying a little more for the “local-ness” of it all. You didn’t have to drive to Home Depot, so maybe it’s a push when you pay 11 bucks for an $8 roll of painters tape. And you can’t score cheap cigarettes — one item ShopRite does seem to keep prices low on — at Home Depot.
Message board reviews mostly praise ShopRite — many, the voices of thankfulness following desperation, joy at deliverance from a lack of a cheap screwdriver set at 9 o’clock at night. I’m not here to bury the weird little store on 15th Ave but I am here to place it firmly in the middle between great and not great. What’s that calculate to? A 37.5% mark-up, it turns out, on painters tape you didn’t have to drive to Home Depot for.
If I were a betting man, I’d bet ShopRite is gone in a year or two. Half the store is party supplies and Red Balloon will eat their lunch. So what they have left is hardware.
I would love to see a real hardware store go in there.
I love ShopRite. Many people bemoan the lack of a hardware store on Capitol Hill but honestly, between ShopRite and the North Broadway QFC, I’ve been able to find everything that I’ve needed. This includes pieces to repair a faucet, wood glue, various tools, caulk and a caulk gun to reseal the shower. When you don’t have a car, local is always preferred over Homeo Depot.
I think it’s more likely that the owner will shift into new merchandising options–it’s been a pretty flexible business model so far (and I’m still trying to figure out why we’re getting a Red Balloon; I guess I should be more festive about it). When the store first opened, clerks at the little QFC would send me there (“No, we don’t have it, but you could check the ShopRite store.”).
The whole block is owned by one woman named Roberta, from QFC to ShopRite (the fire station is actually owned by Environmental Works). My guess is when QFC goes, Shop Rite goes.
hey K/J how about a post about the pretty new building at John Court and 15th?
Interesting. Roberta is a real estate genius!
You mean this place? Do we have to write more? :)
oh god no!!!
not that place!
farther south, where kidd valley used to be. there’s a hot retail opportunity there.