Reader says A garage won’t bring shoppers to Ridgewood if you don’t have a product they desire.

I’m sure if you ask any commercial real estate broker, they will tell you that if a particular store is not a ‘destination’ (anchor), the others rely upon ‘foot traffic’ generated by those ‘anchors’ for their success. For those of you newbies here, we lost many ‘anchors’ years ago, despite their size. McHughs, Sealfons, Winchells, Drapkins, Bobby Knapps, Purdues, and lets not forget Al and Harrys’. Whether due to pressure from malls, rising rents, or changing shopping habits, these were all stores that attracted my family members to come into town. None of them remain, so our shopping takes us to a mall, and I can’t recall the last time I went into town to purchase anything other than an occasional meal. Its a sad commentary on how a CBD has evolved into its present state. Years ago there were gas stations on every corner of Franklin Ave. The only one remaining is getty. We had mobil, Sinclair, arco, Phillips 66, Texaco, amaco, exxon, , and a few more that I forgot. (11 total). On Ridgewood ave there was a liquor store on almost every corner. Now we have banks, that I’m guessing will vacate upon lease renewals leaving more space. (its a lot easier to use a drive-in bank) It’s anyones guess what the future holds, but these small shops ‘treading water’ to remain in business are looking for taxpayers to subsidize their failing business models. Its no different than re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Fix/change/adapt or fail. A garage won’t bring shoppers to town if you don’t have a product they desire. Take a walk in town on recycling days. At least half the homes have cardboard amazon boxes waiting for pickup. Another HUGE factor.