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Finally! Now if we could get
Finally! Now if we could get a CVS or some other convenience store, we'd be like a real Square.
CVS
Out of all the neighborhoods in the metro area.. I've always failed to see how CVS has always managed to NOT have a store in the Kendall Sq area. I know years ago, Kendall was a retail ghosttown for the most part. But with now, with new lower rise buildings with ground-level retail, you'd think that would change and some smart exec at CVS would team up with a landlord wishing to have a long term, regular paying tenant (a win win!) and open a store there.
There was an independent drug
There was an independent drug store right by the T stop for a long time. It's now the Fidelity office, I think. That probably kept them out for a while.
Kendall Drug closed a long time ago
At least a decade, maybe more. Replacing it with a useless Fidelity office was a bad move by MIT Real Estate.
And it continues
Many of those businesses will be tossed, as MIT wants to re-do that building's lobby to make it larger - so you may see Fidelity go anyway.
88 Ames St?
I heard a rumor that the new building at 88 Ames St will have a CVS on the ground floor.
I can't find any evidence for it, however.
"Fun-sized" grocery store
Does that mean they only sell bags of tiny Three Musketeers and Milky Way bars?
Not just the candy man
This size store fills in the space between a 7-11 and a "real" store. They'll probably do well. And if there is no CVS/Walgreens around, they should puff up their health and beauty section and really make a killing.
To quote Swirls
Whoosh!
great but
That's great, but we're probably gonna be priced out of the neighborhood by then.
Kendall Squared
Cambridge needs an affordablegrocery store. Roche Bros won't do it for those looking for affordable groceries. That's why Market Basket in Somerville is so popular (read: chaotic). If the City was serious about trying to help Cambridge families remain in the city, Community Development would be wooing Market Basket rather than these Whole Paychecks and other expensive choices.
No room for a Market Basket here
Market Basket has never built a small-format urban store. Maybe they'd like to try, but they have no experience doing this, while Roche Bros. does.
Market Basket
Not really apart of their business strategy. Although most older Market Basket stores are < 40k sq feet, which is pretty small by comparison to their new stores. (75k and up)
But yeah.. Market Basket, or rather their real estate arm, RMD Inc. likes to own most of the shopping centers where their stores are. Owning the property (esp if they out right own it) allows them lower overhead costs, and in some way if its a busy mall with lots of tenants, they can make money on the property. Combine that with a high traffic store, and happy mall tenants.. its win win. MB's business plan is part grocery store, and part landlord/developer. (hence the name.. RMD = Retail Management & Development)
Market Basket seldom has interest in leasing a store from somewhere else. Plus Im sure MB has many logistical issues with more urban locations. (MB's distribution logistics for their stores is simply amazing btw..). Its just not feasible to them.
I could be wrong but I just don't see urban stores being apart of their business model.
Is there anyone who counts as
Is there anyone who counts as remaining in Kendall Square, rather than newly arriving? I thought all of the residential buildings were built in the last few years. Plus they're modern and expensive.
Meanwhile, word is the MIT Star Market is on the way out. There's a place that could use a low-cost grocery store.