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Written on Sunday, August 13th, 2006 at 9:33am by Christopher Smith | 15 Comments

It's like a city, but not…

Galleria Mall Design

So, the new rage in mall design is the exterior “cityscape” look that strives to make suburban malls look like the cities they usually border and steal business from. Cheektowaga, always being on the cutting edge of new urbanism and architectural design has a plan to make the Galleria Mall suck less than it used to.

Six high-profile restaurants, all newcomers to upstate New York, are being added to the mall as part of a $60 million expansion. The new restaurants are Cheesecake Factory, Hyde Park Steakhouse, Bravo! Cucina Italiana, The Melting Pot, Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy and Bar Louie.

Improv Comedy Club also will join the lineup, offering after-dinner entertainment. That’s in addition to the previously announced 16-screen cinema, which will seat 3,000.

Now, as previously discussed, I’m a fan of The Cheesecake Factory for two reasons; A.) I’m fat and like cheesecake and B.) Avocado Eggrolls, Bitches.

However, Bar Louie? Improv Comedy Club? Let me go out on a long limb here and predict that neither of these two establishments are gonna play well in Cheektavegas. Bar Louie is an upscale chain of bars that started in Chicago where Yuppies have no problem paying $10 for a martini. When I think of Cheektowaga, I think of Alton’s, Anderson’s and early bird fish frys; not expensive drinks and cutting edge comedy. I digress…

The “thEATery” project also takes the mall’s appearance in a new direction. Along the west side of the shopping center, the exterior of the new collection of restaurants, shops and attractions will have a village-like streetscape of brick, stucco and glass facades, visible from the New York State Thruway.

“It’s not what you’d expect to see. These are Delaware Avenue-type build-outs,” Bovalino said.

Ugh. I’m sure the corporate demographic and business viability studies indicate that these types of restaurants and shops are more viable on the outskirts of the urban core but, it’s a troubling trend around the country that suburban developers are looking to recreate these soft and cuddly versions of urban reality. Typically, hybrid malls and streetscape designs are found in nouveau boomtowns like Charlotte, Phoenix, and Las Vegas; cities that lack a general sense of place and urban realness. Why must we create it here when we already have the real thing less than 10 miles away?

Is it impossible to believe that The Cheesecake Factory would succeed in the former Network Night Club in the Main Place Mall? That The Improv Comedy Club would do a brisk business on Elmwood Avenue?

What does the city need to do to locate these types of businesses downtown? Continually increase population density in the city core? Offer incentives? Do we even want these kinds of businesses in the city? How would the hipster crowd on Elmwood react to a Bar Louie or an Urban Outfitters on the first floor of the new hotel at Elmwood and Forest?

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15 Comments

  1. Derek J. Punaro says:
    August 13, 2006 at 10:30 am

    I can’t speak for the other restaurants, but I’d gladly let them put a Cheesecake Factory anywhere they want to open up. Now, if I could just convince them to bring back the Straw & Hay pasta…

  2. Michele J says:
    August 13, 2006 at 11:01 am

    As one of my best friends Kristy always says ” Fat is where its at” Dont trust the skinny people they are too hungry to hear what you are saying over their growling stomaches!

  3. Jennifer says:
    August 13, 2006 at 11:46 am

    Cheesecake factory. That’s all I hear…

  4. mark says:
    August 13, 2006 at 1:22 pm

    its ironic…i just started a committee that was going to focus soley on bringing in retailers downtown…after this project, forget it.

  5. BuffaloPundit says:
    August 13, 2006 at 7:11 pm

    I drove to Beachwood, OH on Saturday to get avocado eggrolls. How’s that for (1) a coincidence, and (2) sheer insanity with a 6-week old in the car.

    I also got White Castle.

  6. Jaquandor says:
    August 13, 2006 at 7:14 pm

    Does this have to be an “either-or” kind of thing? Sure, Cheesecake Factory and the other places are probably looking to only open one Buffalo location for now, but every time I’ve heard them mentioned anywhere, it’s usually in the context of a mall like the Galleria. I don’t think they expect to serve just Cheektowaga, but the whole region. And if that is the case — if they really mean to draw sales from people the region over — it makes sense for them to locate in or very near the region’s premiere shopping destination, which, like it or not, is the Galleria Mall. You may think of Altons and the like when you think of Cheektowaga, but when most people go to the Galleria, they’re not thinking of going to Cheektowaga. They’re thinking of going to the Mall.

    And I have to admit that I like the spiffing-up of the Mall’s facade. People just driving by Buffalo on the I90 don’t see downtown, but they do see our biggest mall. You never know, maybe this will get some people driving from, say, Cleveland to Boston to stop and say, “Hmmm, this place looks nice.”

  7. BuffaloGeek says:
    August 13, 2006 at 10:30 pm

    I do think it is an “either-or” issue. I know what the demographic and market studies are going to say about site selection for these types of business but, I just wish these types of businesses could be city-centric rather than in the suburban malls.

    I know, shit in one hand, wish in the other and see which fills up first…

    The fact is that suburban development does not spur urban development, it simply creates more sprawl. It’s a beast that feeds itself and continues the drain on the urban core.

  8. westcoastperspective says:
    August 13, 2006 at 11:25 pm

    So will Cheesecake Factory carry their ‘Buffalo Blast’ appetizers???

    Cheesecake does have urban locations- San Fran and Seattle come to mind- would have made a great addition to downtown or the inner harbor. Guess there’s always House of Blues, ESPN Zone, PF Changs, Magiano’s, and Ruths Chris. Or will that be in Galleria III?

  9. Buffalopundit says:
    August 14, 2006 at 9:03 am

    WCP: Since hyperlocal is the fashion nowadays, they should rename them “Cheektowaga Blast” apps.

    /kidding

  10. gabe says:
    August 14, 2006 at 4:26 pm

    Geek, check out my BuffaloRising post on this same topic:
    http://www.buffalorising.com/city/archives/2006/08/faux_main_st_malls_vs_the.php

    We seem to share many of the same sentiments.

    I make the argument that in the long-run, these businesses would actually do much better locating downtown.

  11. jeffy the penguin says:
    August 23, 2006 at 11:44 am

    bad-ass! a good comedy club!

  12. STEEL says:
    October 9, 2006 at 2:30 pm

    Here is my take on the issue

    http://www.buffalorising.com/city/archives/2006/03/is_authenticity_dead.php