A squandered opportunity on Greenwich Avenue

No room at the inn

Greenwich Time has an article on the retailer Richard's thriving business, a success that defies the general downward trend of brick and mortar businesses. I'll confess to abandoning the store way back when, after Ed Mitchell's bought the original store, moved it across the street and went ultra-high-end, but that was because I had no need for $5,000 suits and $100 boxers. Friends who do have those needs tell me that the personal service, already impeccable, has only gotten better, and customers love it.

Which is great: I love success stories, but it was this part of the article that caught my eye:

Richards’ shoppers know they’ll always have a spot close by, while many business owners across Greenwich’s commercial districts worry that they suffer from customers’ inability to find parking.

“That’s a huge, huge, huge competitive advantage for us,” said Mitchell.

Back in the mid-90s, after Mitchell's had purchased Richards and was building a new store and that underground parking space, it offered to let the town build our own two-level municipal lot below theirs. It would have been (relatively) inexpensive, since the pit was already going to be dug, and our parking fund had the cash to do it, but the RTM, in its wisdom, rejected the proposal. We'd have a healthier lower Greenwich Avenue today had we accepted the offer, and in view of Mr. Mitchell's comments, he must be delighted we declined.