Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
This artsy photo from the Twitter machine captures the spirit of the season at our ersatz downtown. On the odd chance you haven't stopped by in the past month or so, it's actually quite pretty!
But we're writing with the exciting news that that RTC is not the only place to get into the last-minute Christmas spirit! Confidential Restonian Operative "Joel" shared these exciting and festive photos of the Tall Oaks
"Joel" writes:
Crowds of shoppers will find the holiday spirit alive at Tall Oaks Village Center, where light posts are festooned with new seasonal banners.
"All four seasons are represented," "Joel" adds, and indeed they are. We'd like to think that Susie de Los Santos would be proud.
We hope that this inspires you to go out and do some last-minute Christmas shopping, except that there aren't really any establishments at Tall Oaks to shop from per se, unless you want a gift card from one of its (seriously excellent) restaurants, or maybe to do some Christmas dry cleaning, the end.
I beat the crowds this year, and did all my Christmas shopping at Tall Oaks. Pizza and spine adjustments for everyone!
ReplyDeleteIsn't a Yuletide spine-crackin' what every right-thinkin' Ratstownian's craving this year? When I spied those ludicrously festive signs, I wondered aloud what was so special about a mailbox...
ReplyDeleteHundreds of shopping malls will need to be demolished. Tall Oaks may be among the first to go!
ReplyDeleteBut do the Walking Dead still come if the mall is dead?
http://www.businessinsider.com/hundreds-of-american-shopping-malls-must-be-demolished-2012-12?
"Green Street Advisor, an analysis firm that tracks REITs, has forecast that 10 percent of the roughly 1,000 large malls in the U.S. will fail within the next 10 years and be converted into something with far less retail.... A report from Co-Star observes that there are more than 200 malls with over 250,000 square feet that have vacancy rates of 35 percent or higher, a "clear marker for shopping center distress." These malls are becoming ghost towns. They are not viable now and will only get less so as online continues to steal retail sales from brick-and-mortar stores. Continued bankruptcies among historic mall anchors will increase the pressure on these marginal malls, as will store closures from retailers working to optimize their business. Hundreds of malls will soon need to be repurposed or demolished. Strong malls will stay strong for a while, as retailers are willing to pay for traffic and customers from failed malls seek offline alternatives, but even they stand in the path of the shift of retail spending from offline to online."
But not to worry -- Tall Oaks has yet to land so much as an honorable mention on a website that tracks dead and dying malls:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.deadmalls.com/features.html