CRE - Best ideas to fill vacancies in small markets these days

[Jon Haft]

Looking for any and all ideas on types of businesses to fill up some of our vacancies during these uncertain times. Besides groceries, guns, and liquor stores which seem to be the only ones doing well these days

[Joseph Gozlan]

Have you considered talking with the current tenants?

A god mix is super critical in a retail strip. it makes no sense to have 3 hair salons and 2 nail salons in a 5-6 units strip. 

We like to include the current tenants in the conversation and ask them what businesses THEY would like to see in the strip. What would complement their business and have overlap of customers. 

For example, if you have a GameStop anchor in the property then complementary businesses could airsoft store, kids hair salon, skateboard shop, cannabis store (you'd be surprised), etc. 

Even in today's COVID world, I'd still go to the tenant with the same question. Not only they can come up with ideas you might not have, they might even have a friend that run such business they could refer!

More specific ideas for business that still operate these days: scrubs shop, medical equipment, bikes shop, pet stores, hardware stores, nurseries, beauty supplies, dollar stores, cannabis store (if legal in your state) or CBD products store, vape/smoke shops, doughnut stores, Fitness equipment store, pop-up COVID testing centers.

Bonus round:

If your location has a big parking lot, you can set up a "movie drive-in" on some nights and have the businesses in the strip serve the food/drinks. Even the great Walmart started doing this!