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I will be opening a shop this summer and I have narrowed my search to two locations near a large shopping complex in a suburban area of 35,000 people who have an average household income of $105,000/yr. The complex is in a prime area on the busiest road in the state, with traffic backed up for 3 miles during rush hour without exception.
There are 7 other pizza joints within 3 miles of my shop, all located on the same road, but they are well upstream, in a commercial area, inconvenient for pick-up and at least 15 minutes away during rush hour. The only pizza shop within 1 mile of my location is a Chicago style joint that has a great pie but an average serving time of 45 minutes.
Lastly, there are an additional 20,000 commuters who live within 5 miles downstream of my potential location who pass by the shopping center each day. Since this shopping plaza is at the very end of development along the road, the commuters are “home free” once they pass this area.
I would like to focus on carry out to serve the commuters. I plan to offer limited casual dining and delivery as well. My product will be superior to other pizza places nearby, but I understand I need to be convenient, not just better.
I have 2 lease options:
I will be opening a shop this summer and I have narrowed my search to two locations near a large shopping complex in a suburban area of 35,000 people who have an average household income of $105,000/yr. The complex is in a prime area on the busiest road in the state, with traffic backed up for 3 miles during rush hour without exception.
There are 7 other pizza joints within 3 miles of my shop, all located on the same road, but they are well upstream, in a commercial area, inconvenient for pick-up and at least 15 minutes away during rush hour. The only pizza shop within 1 mile of my location is a Chicago style joint that has a great pie but an average serving time of 45 minutes.
Lastly, there are an additional 20,000 commuters who live within 5 miles downstream of my potential location who pass by the shopping center each day. Since this shopping plaza is at the very end of development along the road, the commuters are “home free” once they pass this area.
I would like to focus on carry out to serve the commuters. I plan to offer limited casual dining and delivery as well. My product will be superior to other pizza places nearby, but I understand I need to be convenient, not just better.
I have 2 lease options:
- A former pizza place that would suit my needs perfectly. Formerly a small chain store that was mismanaged and closed quickly. (I know the former owner. She was never in the store and thought she could hire cheaply and the employees would run the store). They were only open a few months. The only drawback, and it is a big one I am afraid, is it is on the wrong side of the road and it would require commuters to navigate two u-turns on a very busy highway to get back on the road home.
- Another location is also directly on the main road with high visibility. It is located on the coveted “going home” side of the road with about as easy an access on and off as you can get. The only problem, it is about 1200 sq. ft. larger than I need and the rent would be almost double the first location. It would also require an extensive build-out which would leave me with little room for error once I opened unless I brought in a second investor (which I could do).
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