This Just In...

While I could definitely share your optimism, I can't help but be concerned about the fact that Target and Sendik's will be competing against each other.

Do you think Sendik's can beat out Target?

What an interesting comment from Mr. Kowalski.  Sendiks specializes in meats, produce, deli and offers other grocery items as a convienence.  Target is a general merchandizer with a relatively small amount of grocery items, but no meats, no produce, no deli.  

Does he know something that the rest of the community doesn't?  Is he smarter than the Balestrari's?  Is he smarter than the Target real-estate people?

Or does he have an opinion that is not backed up by fact (again)?

Robert - I wouldn't say their food section is a small amount...and while you are correct in saying Target doesn't really focus on deli, produce, and meat, a lot of other items Target would carry.

For once I'll stand with Kevin and say competition is a good thing. I just don't want to see an empty building in 5 years, that's all.

Mr. Fischer,

I think you raise a good point here.  I am concerned that Franklin will not be able to support two upscale grocery stores, but time will tell.  I know that I will certainly be a customer.  You mention that "the folks at business-savvy Sendik’s would never have entertained  the prospect of opening two markets within miles of each other if they didn’t have the greatest of assurances they would succeed."  I thought that these stores were being opened by two different families, and that it was not a coordinated decision.  I might be wrong about this however.  This being said, I agree that success for these stores would be great for the community.

Tara

While I join Kevin in rooting for Sendik's to succeed at both locations (I predict huge success at 51st and Rawson), I think it's a mistake to underestimate the effect of TARGET on Sendik's AND the outlying non-restaurant businesses in the "Shoppes" complex (Drexel and Hwy. 100).

This is a fact: Sendik's and Target WILL be competing to a great extent. While Target may not stock meat or produce, they will carry the other staples that bring shoppers into a store like Sendik's, the sorts of high-margin incidentals that keep a store like Sendik's afloat.  

While they may be a charitable company, the Target business model makes no concession for integration into a community of retailers. They are set up for one-stop shopping.

For instance, Target will have a Starbucks right in their store. You don't do that when you are supporting a larger commercial area or attempting to energize a public space (i.e. a locally owned coffee shop in one of the outlying buildings).

This is part of the reason people look askance at Mark Carstensen's attempt to have his cake and eat it, too; he claims to be building a "high end commercial center," but he has made Target the ultimate arbiter of the site plan (which is very poor as a result). This is lucrative for Carstensen, but the high end commercial center concept is effectively sacrificed in service to "The Deal."

Target is absolutely fine in its place, but it does not "play well with others" in close quarters; in an area as key to Franklin's future vitality as the City Civic Center district, we should have found a way to make SENDIK'S the main anchor - - or, Target should have been limited to a LEASE arrangement so the site plan could be locally determined.

If you were to sit down with the Balestraris, I wager that in an unguarded moment they would reveal more than a little apprehension at being put into this situation. They are sitting next to a shark waiting to gobble them up, and they have NO recourse if Target becomes predatory; Mark Carstensen now refers to "their part of the development" when referring to Target.

Also, no one has yet factored in the WOODMAN'S being built in Oak Creek. I used to shop at Woodman's near Madison about 15 years ago. It is a truly awe-inspiring experience - - - different from anything you're used to - - - that will bring over a huge number of mainstream Franklin shoppers who have little or no interest in a "high-end" meat department but love the idea of having 46 varieties of peanut butter to choose from.

I hope I'm wrong. I'm on record at the URL below; tell me "I told you so" in 5-or-so years:

fullyarticulated.typepad.com/.../index.html

To address Tara's questions: The Sendik's stores are being opened by separate branches of the Balestrari family. They do not regularly communicate with one another, and I think it's worth wondering whether one or the other of these stores would have gone beyond the planning stages if one were aware of the other's store location.

Thanks for the clarification John.  That's what I thought.  

Woodman's over Sendik's? How depressing, John!

Can't Franklin residents just shop at BOTH?

I would have to agree with Fischer. It would be like saying can Sendiks compete with Menards with it's close proximity and large selection of food! The food items are an after thought to a Target shopper as is the Starbucks coffee shop.