Erin Bradley doesn’t know what the new year will bring for Preen, the vintage boutique she owns on Congress Street.
In late October, Bradley and her business partner, Emilie Marchand, got the news that they would be evicted from their storefront near Fifth Avenue to make room for a new restaurant and bar run by Kwang C. An, of Sakura fame.
Just keeping up with all of the alterations and other tasks that come with the business are tough enough, Bradley says. Trying to find a new location is something they’ll have to work out later.
“We just decided to put it on the backburner and start focusing on our work again, doing what we do, and enjoy our space as well … and kind of make decisions (around) the first of the year,” she says.
The strip of storefronts—which included downtown’s long-running artist collective, Dinnerware Artspace, as well as Metropolis Salon—will be replaced next year by a restaurant and bar called An Congress.
The spin on the development has been nothing less than disastrous for An and developer Scott Stiteler, who owns the property.
Stiteler, with his business partner Don Martin, had already been involved in a court battle to evict the Rialto Theatre Foundation from their offices earlier this year after a complex downtown development deal with the city fell apart.
Stiteler’s shaky reputation only grew worse at an October press conference at which he and An announced their redevelopment plans.
The conference was interrupted by Metropolis owner Emery Nicoletti, who complained that he had to learn from a TV news reporter that he was being evicted from the space he had rented for 13 years.
The ensuing days were not happy ones for Stiteler and An. David Aguirre, manager of Dinnerware, put A-frame signs declaring “Bar Open” in front of each of the businesses being kicked out. The sidewalks ran pastel with chalked sayings like, “Art is dead, get drunk instead.”
It wasn’t long before protests expanded past the storefronts and onto the Internet. Within days, a Facebook group to boycott Stiteler and An gained more than 1,000 members.
Some voiced concerns about the cultural implications that came with eliminating the eclectic block, while others angrily pointed the finger at An.
The restaurateur, who sold Sakura in 2008 but still owns Great Wall China, says the negative reactions have been discouraging.
“You know, right now, honestly, my gut feeling (is) I want to pull out,” he says. “I want to cancel everything. I want to pull out … but I’m in too deep right now.”
An says construction will begin in April, with an opening planned around Sept. 15, 2010.
“Right now, I’ve got enough money to retire,” he says. “But I want to take a chance with my life a little bit for the last time. I want to take a chance. And I know that’s going to (lead to) good things for Tucson.”
With four months remaining until construction is set to get underway, the chalk protests have washed away, and many tenants have decided to move sooner rather than later.
In late November, Aguirre announced that Dinnerware gallery would be moving immediately.
“I realized I just wasn’t feeling the inspiration,” Aguirre says. “I told my interns, ‘We’re moving. We’re moving in 48 hours.'”
Aguirre now plans to move Dinnerware—along with other galleries—into a warehouse on the corner of Toole and Stone avenues that was recently purchased by Ron Schwabe of Peach Properties, a downtown management firm.
Aguirre says that in the three years Dinnerware was located at Fifth Avenue and Congress Street, he worked closely with Peach Properties to bring in tenants like Central Arts Gallery and Rocket Gallery.
“All those art galleries that sprung up—we did that together,” he says, adding that he knew the spaces were not permanent homes.
Dinnerware and Central Arts Gallery have moved to Citizens Warehouse, located at 44 W. Sixth St., while the warehouse at 1 E. Toole Ave. is renovated.
Nicoletti says he’ll be finding a new home for Metropolis as well.
“We’re picking up our toys and going home to the safety of the eastside, where our clientele is,” he says. “But I’m not going to say it’s an easy move for us, because I’m going to miss downtown.”
Nicoletti says that despite being kicked out of his Congress Street location, he hopes An’s new restaurant on Congress is successful.
“I hope it works. For us to leave and it not to work, that would be even worse … so I wish them luck,” he says. “And I think as bad as all the energy was, good things will happen.”
Bradley has been talking with Stiteler about the possibility of keeping Preen open on the block, but she doesn’t know if a deal can be struck. She notes that the changes now happening on Congress Street are just part of the cycle.
“Community comes and goes very fast,” Bradley says. “When we first opened up the shop, we were (basically) the only people on this block except for The District and Sharks and Metropolis, and now it’s totally full-circle—and it’s only been two years.”
This article appears in Dec 24-30, 2009.
kwang is a jerk. i love how he put up a new gallery on the corner in the old tooleys and has been collecting money and donations for the food bank to repair his image. maybe he should have a fundraiser for the artists and businesses he just displaced. lord knows there are plenty of other empty buildings and spaces all over downtown that he could have chosen from. i hope his restaurant fails and he leaves town with his tail between his legs.
Stiteler and Martin are beings of the lowest order…it’s a damned shame downtown Tucson has to endure the likes of their kind.
Just think, if Austin had this kind of attitude towards redevelopment they would be…. Tucson! Seen their economy lately it puts ours to shame. Have any of you been there? More than one of these types and sizes of places such as Buffalo Billiards on historic 6th street which is even bigger than this one. It adds to the diversity of choices in the area. The more choices the more people.
The SMART downtown displaced would just find the closest shop near the redevelopment and benefit from the traffic/customers it would bring in the area. Make friendships and partnerships and you could gain out of this. But noooo I am starting to think that some are just a bunch of whiners who couldn’t make it in business anyway under normal circumstances. These kinds of things happen, all the time.
MR AN don’t give up! I know that lots of the new Madden Media employees will be more than happy to frequent your business!
I agree with “observer”. Great idea to move your business down the street to take advantage of the new foot traffic that the restaurant will generate. Are there no affordable rentals downtown? Landlords won’t work with you to make a mutually beneficial deal?
Small businesses may be small but they are businesses, not charities or victims. Read and understand the terms of a lease before signing it.
The movement of Dinnerware and associated galleries isn’t out of downtown–the warehouse district is an integral asset. I’m sure the move will help entrench the arts footprint and stimulate more fertile cross polination.
People know that it is a pain in the butt to even drive through downtown let alone park. I don’t live there and I refuse to waste any time there. Downtown died 30 years ago with city sprawl and you can’t raise the dead no matter what you put there. If you do watch for drivebys, panhandlers and drug dealers!