We all know about Whole Foods Market and PetSmart opening on Victory Drive within a few months.
And all signs point to Anthropologie eventually setting up shop at the corner of Congress and Montgomery streets.
A huge new outlet mall will begin construction in Pooler this summer.
And other chains have Savannah in their sights.
The Mediterranean-inspired Zoes Kitchen has a strong presence in Atlanta, a store in Columbus and a couple of locations in Jacksonville, but there are no stores in the immediate Savannah area. Look for one soon on Victory Drive.
Zoes Kitchen serves soup, salad, sandwiches, pita, hummus and some tempting entrees. (A word of caution to readers: I’m pretty easy to tempt when it comes to food.)
And it looks like Chipotle Mexican Grill might be coming to Victory Drive as well.
Chipotle is among the growing chains riding the wave of interest in fresher, healthier and more sustainable food. The company website even has a page about sourcing meat from “farmers and ranchers who are doing things the right way.”
The Metropolitan Planning Commission recently looked at an application from Kate Spade New York for a Broughton Street storefront. A few women with whom I’ve spoken think the arrival of Kate Spade would be a game-changer in terms of fashion and shopping in downtown Savannah.
Kate Spade has stores in St. Augustine, Charleston and in metro Atlanta.
Kate Spade is interested in a space that seemed poised a couple years ago to be taken by Free People. Both Free People and Anthropologie are under the corporate umbrella of Urban Outfitters, which opened on Broughton Street in 2008 during the worst of the recession.
There has been no formal announcement, but don’t be surprised to see Free People take over one of Broughton’s other empty spots.
Keep in mind, of course, that business plans can change quickly and dramatically.
What can we say about this latest surge in chains interested in Savannah?
First off, it’s worth noting that some corporations are sitting on piles of cash. As the economy slowly strengthens, those companies will be expanding as long as they have a reasonable chance of enough sales to keep investors satisfied.
And Savannah is an increasingly attractive market.
There’s steady population growth here on the coast. We have a significant percentage of wealthy retirees and seem likely to attract more in the future.
We have booming tourism, with considerable upside there too.
Savannah also garners national and international media attention wildly out of proportion to its small size. Many folks forget that metropolitan Savannah has about 340,000 fewer residents than metro Charleston.
Many higher-end American chains have already established themselves in the larger markets like Charleston. If they wish to continue growing, they will inevitably be looking at Savannah.
Whole Foods is a good example of this last trend. Local naysayers couldn’t believe the chain would open a store here, but they were ignoring steps the company was taking to open with more moderate prices in less populous metro areas.
So what other chains might be in the offing?
There is no indication Apple or Trader Joe’s is headed our way, but it seems only a matter of time before more exclusive stores like those expand their reach.
Apple is far and away the nation’s most successful retailer when measured by sales per square foot. That has prompted some analysts to wonder why the chain doesn’t dramatically expand its footprint, which would certainly boost net profits.
Trader Joe’s is opening a store soon in Asheville, N.C., which by several measures seems just one big step up from us in terms of demographic attractiveness.
The public clamor is unlikely to make any difference, but the Facebook page devoted to bringing Trader Joe’s to Savannah now has about 1,500 “likes.”
And at this point I’m sure a fair number of readers fear Savannah’s uniqueness will be lost and independent retailers will be driven out of business as these chains and others move in.
As I’ve noted here before, recent and long-term history tell us locally owned businesses are capable of thriving alongside national chains.
All of the businesses that I have noted here are moving into spaces that have been sitting empty for some time. The higher-profile shops bound for downtown seem likely to increase overall traffic and spending.
I’m not trying to dismiss concerns completely, but this column has been peppered recently with mentions of new businesses that are locally owned. You’ll be reading about even more soon.
If we’re really concerned about the little guys remaining competitive, we need to be doing everything possible to avoid the kind of bureaucratic delays and zoning hassles that some would-be entrepreneurs have faced recently.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.