07/14/2025
A Linkedin Local Interest and commercial real estate post courtesy of Kristin Geenty.
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🛠️ My hometown had two grocery stores. One of them just closed its doors after Forty Years (40 Years!), a beloved, family-owned IGA where you’d run into your neighbor in the cereal aisle and their kids rang you out.
Now the rumor mill’s spinning at full tilt. Folks are anxious. No other grocery options for 5 miles in any direction—and for the neighborhoods north of the store? It’s more like 10. It's the unheard of suburban food desert.
But here’s the tough part: despite the need, it’s going to be hard to fill that vacancy. Why? Because retail site selection isn’t based on hope or history. It’s based on math. And the math here is challenging.
⚙️ 6,600 cars per day on the main road. That’s not a lot.
⚙️ No second anchor to draw dual-purpose trips.
⚙️ Lower population density on this side of town.
These factors matter, especially to grocery stores. This is why retail investors love grocery-anchored centers. They’re consistent drivers of traffic. That’s also why it’s unfortunate that a deal couldn’t be struck with the Landlord (allegedly) before Robert’s closed up shop.
Let's pause. Celebrate what deserves a spotlight: Forty years. Three generations. That’s a legacy. Bravo to the Fusco family for building something so many people cared about.
In commercial real estate, especially retail, site selection is more science than sentiment. We study:
⚙️ Traffic counts
⚙️ Inbound/outbound commuter patterns
⚙️ Co-tenant mix
⚙️ Population density
⚙️ Household income
⚙️ Education levels
Just for starters.
In this center, there’s a package store (liquor store for the non-Nutmeggers 😉), a sit-down restaurant, Chinese takeout, a 24-hour gym, a pizza joint, some solid service businesses, and a bank. These are great co-tenants. They bring traffic, but they may not meet the threshold that grocers need to see.
Every retailer has their own matrix of what makes a site viable. "Four decades of Legacy success” isn’t on most spreadsheets. Even more confounding? This site is on the wrong side of the road. In the morning, commuters would have to take a left to stop in, same in the evening. In a dense market, that wouldn’t be a deal-breaker. But in the north end of town? Friction.
It's too much to unpack in one LinkedIn post, but if you’re not in real estate and curious why a grocery store doesn’t just “move in,” it all comes back to the data.
⚙️ Aldi looks for 15K–20K cars/day.
⚙️ Trader Joe’s wants 20K–30K.
⚙️ 15K is generally the floor for small-format grocers.
We’re not in that range.
**Final Note: I have no dog in the fight. But hey, Market Basket Basket? Dollar General General-DG Stores? If you’re looking and need someone who knows the territory, give me a ring. I’d be glad to help. 🛠️
