RTM not renewing lease for SIX businesses!

[JanMcBaker]

Happened to see a page in today's Daily News that the leases for six businesses in the Market are NOT being renewed! GM Paul Steinke feels that new blood is needed to keep the Market alive as an urban farmer's market. Due to be out as of January 31, 2006, are the Sandwich Stand, Franks-a-Lot, Tokyo Sushi, Braverman's Bakery, Nomad Trading Co., and A. A. Halteman Poultry and Meats. According to the article, merchants coming in are to include a Jewish Deli, a German butcher, and a bakery that bakes on the premises. To say the least, merchants are stunned, per the article.

[etalanian]

Wow! Some of those vendors are institutions at RTM. I am also stunned at this decision.

Eileen

[mrbigjas]

which one's the sandwich stand? is that the one behind dinic's?

[JanMcBaker]

which one's the sandwich stand?  is that the one behind dinic's?

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Yes-- it's right across the aisle from DiNic's. It sure was a surprise seeing that in the paper about six places going!

[Rich Pawlak]

Holey Shamoley. Haltenman's is the only surprise to me. What are these clowns at RTM thinking? Ive never been impressed with Franks a Lot or the Sandwich place, and I like the German butcher idea, and the on-premise bakery one, too. But at what cost to the fabric of the place? Yech.

[rlibkind]

Here's the link to the article. You may have to register to view it.

Some quick thoughts, subject to changing my mind or learning new facts:

The goal -- to preserve and expand the RTM's mission as a source for food and food products grown and/or produced regionally for at-home consumption -- is worthy. By and large, I think the moves will be good ones, and help the RTM to avoid become a mere food court, so long as the replacement vendors advance the mission.

Let's look at some of the individual vendors whose leases will not be renewed:

A.A. Halteman. An okay butcher shop, whose poultry is of better quality than its red meats, but still nothing spectacular. Won't be missed.

Braverman's Bakery. A well-known Philadelphia name in baked goods, but the product doesn't live up to the reputation. Pedestrian sweets and pastries. They occupy a prime location at the RTM that will be coveted by others.

Franks-a-Lot. I happen to like this stand because, every once in a while, I crave one of their various dogs. But it's just a hot dog, no great loss. (Now, if they had offered a true North Jersey deep fried Italian dog, well, that would be different; then I'd be starting a protest movement. But they don't.)

Nomad Trading. A trinket vendor. They have no business being at the RTM.

Sandwich Stand. Never had any of their sandwiches. (Why would I when they're across the aisle from Tommy DiNic?) One less unremarkable sandwich vendor won't be missed. And, again, they occupy a primo location which can be put to better use by another vendor.

Tokyo Sushi. Yes, it's the only place to get sushi at the RTM, but no one makes a special trip to the RTM for sushi. The vast majority of those who buy raw fish at the market want to cook it at home. This stand occupies a prime location that can be put to better use by another vendor more in keeping the market's mission.

As for the new vendors Paul Steinke said he's bringing in -- a Jewish deli, a German wurstgesheft (is my German spelling correct?) and an on-premises bakery -- they are welcome.

We haven't had a really good German butcher/sausage maker since Siedfried left, although Dutch Country Meats has made a worthy effort to pick up some of the slack, and L. Halteman has always offered a selection of some German style cold cuts.

Likewise, in my memory there hasn't been a Jewish deli type operation except for a short-lived period in the mid-1980s; it was passable. It was located in a large but out-of-the-way space where the Down Home Diner now thrives. A Jewish deli at the RTM has one problem, however: it's pretty much impossible for them to be kosher because to do any business, they have to be open on Saturday, which automatically makes that non-kosher. In addition, traditionally Jewish delis and "appy" stores do their best business on Sundays, a day the RTM is closed.

In addition to Braverman's, the RTM has four other bakeries: Beiler's (the Pennsylvania Dutch bakerty), Metropolitan, LeBus and Termini. Except for some minor items at Beiler's, none bakes at the market. I've talked to Paul Steinke before about how good it would be if one of the bakeries at least did some items there, for example, donuts of better quality than you'd get at DD (not that I don't enjoy an occasional Drunk'n Duncan). Heck, in the early 1980s there was even an on-premises bagel bakery at the RTM.

It will certainly be difficult for the merchants whose leases will not be renewed, and no one wishes them ill. One would hope that in moving on, they will be even more successful.

But anything that moves the RTM away from devolving into a food court and more towards a mecca of quality, locally produced food products is welcome. Although the changes have promise, the proof is in the (blood) pudding.

Note that three of the vendors whose leases won't be renewed -- Braverman's, Sandwich Stand, Tokyo Sushi -- occupy prime real estate along the center court. Replacing them with vendors more in keeping with the market's mission (and perhaps generating more revenue for lease payments) is not a bad thing.

Side note: One has to wonder what will happen to the A.A. Halteman space. Will Iovine's expand? Iovine probably does the biggest volume at the RTM today and could probably make good use of additional square footage.

[rlibkind]

Holey Shamoley.  Haltenman's is the only surprise to me.  What are these clowns at RTM thinking?  Ive never been impressed with Franks a Lot or the Sandwich place, and I like the German butcher idea, and the on-premise bakery one, too.  But at what cost to the fabric of the place?  Yech.

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Rich, I think you're confusing A.A. Halteman with L. Halteman. Two different stores, two widely different levels of quality. L. Halteman sells Pennsylvania Dutch cold cuts as well as fresh meats and local produce; A.A. Halteman sells lesser qualtity fresh meats and low grade Dietz & Watson cold cuts.

Edited October 27, 2005 by rlibkind (log)

[rlibkind]

But at what cost to the fabric of the place?  Yech.

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I don't think the loss of these six merchants at all tears into the fabric of the RTM. One sells trinkets; one sells pedestrian baked goods; one sells sushi (hardly a traditional RTM product); one sells ordinary sandwiches; one sells hot dogs; one sells supermarket-quality (at best) meat.

Now, if they weren't renewing the leases of Harry Ochs, or John Yi, yes, that would be significant. The vendors whose leases aren't been renewed are peripheral players. It hits the affected merchants hard, and life won't be easy for them. But they are not critical to the market's mission; in fact, some of them are counter-productive to that mission. I suspect that over time, other merchants whose goods don't fit into this criteria will find their leases not renewed, too.

[jmbrightman]

I will miss franks-a-lot. I remember when they opened. It was my first "bacon-chili-cheese dog with mustard and raw onions...a great sandwich. their chicken was good enough to inspire occasional cravings. Their picture is featured on my RTM Centennial poster. the sandwich stand has had multiple owners, and won't be missed, except perhaps by conventioneers. the shame of losing the hot dog stand is, it was a low cost lunch choice for those with kids in tow.

[mrbigjas]

Holey Shamoley.  Haltenman's is the only surprise to me.  What are these clowns at RTM thinking?  Ive never been impressed with Franks a Lot or the Sandwich place, and I like the German butcher idea, and the on-premise bakery one, too.  But at what cost to the fabric of the place?  Yech.

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Rich, I think you're confusing A.A. Halteman with L. Halteman. Two different stores, two widely different levels of quality. L. Halteman sells Pennsylvania Dutch cold cuts as well as fresh meats and local produce; A.A. Halteman sells lesser qualtity fresh meats and low grade Dietz & Watson cold cuts.

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a.a. haltemann carries eberly's organic chickens, though, which no one else does.

[rlibkind]

a.a. haltemann carries eberly's organic chickens, though, which no one else does.

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You're rigvht. And that's about the only thing I've bought there. Their poultry is generally of better quality than their meats.

[MarketStEl]

Holey Shamoley.  Haltenman's is the only surprise to me.  What are these clowns at RTM thinking?   Ive never been impressed with Franks a Lot or the Sandwich place, and I like the German butcher idea, and the on-premise bakery one, too.  But at what cost to the fabric of the place?  Yech.

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Rich, I think you're confusing A.A. Halteman with L. Halteman. Two different stores, two widely different levels of quality. L. Halteman sells Pennsylvania Dutch cold cuts as well as fresh meats and local produce; A.A. Halteman sells lesser qualtity fresh meats and low grade Dietz & Watson cold cuts.

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Thanks for setting me straight as well, and I guess I owe Paul Steinke an apology. Upon reading this post and the Daily News article, I didn't think that the other five businesses were that essential, although Braverman's was a longtime tenant. (As far as sandwich stands at the RTM go, the original article is Spataro's, which has been there since 1947. However, Spataro's original location is now occupied by a florist.)

Agreed that what's coming in to replace them improves the overall mix.

[ellencho]

a.a. haltemann carries eberly's organic chickens, though, which no one else does.

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You're rigvht. And that's about the only thing I've bought there. Their poultry is generally of better quality than their meats.

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Where will we buy our chicken hearts from now?

[mrbigjas]

Where will we buy our chicken hearts from now? 

i reckon we'll take a number and wait in line at godshall's.

come to think of it, though, i've seen the pan of livers, and of gizzards, but i haven't seen the feet or the hearts there. that's weird--they must have them...

[Rich Pawlak]

Holey Shamoley.  Haltenman's is the only surprise to me.  What are these clowns at RTM thinking?   Ive never been impressed with Franks a Lot or the Sandwich place, and I like the German butcher idea, and the on-premise bakery one, too.  But at what cost to the fabric of the place?  Yech.

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Rich, I think you're confusing A.A. Halteman with L. Halteman. Two different stores, two widely different levels of quality. L. Halteman sells Pennsylvania Dutch cold cuts as well as fresh meats and local produce; A.A. Halteman sells lesser qualtity fresh meats and low grade Dietz & Watson cold cuts.

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Ahh. You are correct, sir.

[mrbigjas]

quoting rlibkind from the other thread:

A1t 11 a.m. today Tokyo Sushi Bar did not show any signs of life. This is one of the vendors whose lease will not be renewed. Wonder if they've already given up the ghost?

if you ask me, these folks had given up a long time ago. their sushi pretty much sucked, even for food court sushi.

as an aside, bruce schimmel wrote a column about this in this week's city paper:

"Terminal Politics"

[rlibkind]

I couldn't agree more with Sandy's Smith's (MarketStEl) Food Media and News Forum analysis of Schimmel's City paper piece. I posted some further thoughts on that forum, but realized they would be more pertinent in this topic on the PA board. So here goes:

The merchant who is crying the loudest, at least according to Schimmel, is Rick Olivieri, even though he is not one of the six whose leases aren't being renewed. Rick is crying for good reason. The very idea that he would have to let market management know how much money he is minting is anathema to Rick. He runs a very, very profitable business. And he doesn't want anyone to know how profitable.

What's funny is that it wouldn't take too much effort to figure out his gross. All you have to do is count the cartons of rolls delivered each morning and multiple that by what he charges per steak and add in soda (translation: pure profit) sales. He has a relatively small staff, largely predictable costs and long lines of lunchers and tourists waiting to fork over some greenbacks for what is, at best, a passable chesesteak. My guess is that his gross is second only to the Iovines, but that Rick's margins far surpass the produce guys.

If the RTM's goal is to foster locally produced foods, which have difficulty competing with industrial products, then it makes perfect sense to be a little bit socialist about it and take from those who can to subsidize those who can't. Using revenue as one of the factors in determining rents is no crime, and could significantly support the market's larger goals.

No one, certainly not me, would deny Rick the opportunity to be as profitable as he can be. But, indirectly, the smaller vendors of the market are subsidizing Rick's profits through their rents. If Rick had to run his business in a private-sector building elsewhere in Center City, the landlord would have jacked up his rent a long time ago. He should be grateful that he pays sub-market rents at a very high traffic location with a very amenable environment for his business.

It's not in market management's interest to price Rick out of business through an exorbitant rent increase. The market needs a cheesesteak vendor for both the tourists and the lunch crowd. But highly profitable businesses like his need to pay rents that help suport the less profitable vendors who are the very fabric of the market. Otherwise, we'd be left with nothing more than a quaint food court.

[mrbigjas]

hey it's like profit sharing, like in baseball!

so olivieri's is like the yankees, supporting, say, the cookbook stall, which is like the twins or something...

[rlibkind]

hey it's like profit sharing, like in baseball!

so olivieri's is like the yankees, supporting, say, the cookbook stall, which is like the twins or something...

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Actually, I think one of the issues is that, indirectly, it works the other way now. But it should work the way you describe.

In case anyone missed it, a more balanced piece than Schimmel's in today's Inquirer. You might have to register to see it.

My favorite quote from this article:

"There's no reason we have to be making as much money as the food court at the Gallery," said Rick Olivieri, owner of Rick's Philly Steaks and president of the merchants' association. "It's a not-for-profit."

As I mentioned earlier, I would be surprised if any other vendor at the RTM comes close to Rick's margins.

[MarketStEl]

In case anyone missed it, a more balanced piece than Schimmel's in today's Inquirer. You might have to register to see it.

My favorite quote from this article:

"There's no reason we have to be making as much money as the food court at the Gallery," said Rick Olivieri, owner of Rick's Philly Steaks and president of the merchants' association. "It's a not-for-profit."

As I mentioned earlier, I would be surprised if any other vendor at the RTM comes close to Rick's margins.

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Nice story, and well balanced.

It doesn't surprise me at all that the Market's own history and traditions are proving to be a stumbling block in the current management's efforts to keep it healthy and true to its mission. I've noticed over the years that Philadelphians seem deeply resistant to sudden or radical changes in time-honored practices or traditions, whether those practices and traditions are good or harmful.

A lot of the changes Paul Steinke is advocating strike me as nothing particularly onerous. If the market is going to be open from 8 to 6 six days a week, then the merchants within it should be as well. (Yes, exceptions for the Amish should continue, and I'd also make an exception for the restaurant-only vendors, whose business is almost all lunch except for Jack McDavid, whose Down Home Diner already stays open past regular Market hours.)

I agree that what is being done here is an effort to manage the market more like a shopping mall. But mission aside, that is exactly what the market is: a shopping mall for food lovers. It doesn't have to keep the same hours Whole Foods does, but its merchants should keep uniform hours. Mall owners and other farmers' market operators strive for what they consider an optimal mix of tenants; why shouldn't the RTM? "Nonprofit" ought not mean "money-loser."

[Rich Pawlak]

When I began my tenure as Dir of PR and Marketing at The Bellevue back in '99, we faced the same issues of retail hours and reporting, especially with the Downstairs Food Court. It was the wild, wild west. I had to play the bad cop and enforce hours, signage, revenue reporting, etc. But after some PR initiatives and some real publicity for those Food Court vendors especially, and the attendant increases in traffic and revenue, it was easy to convince them to stay open for the advertised hours. I suspect Paul Steinke will need to do something similar, generating positive stories and PR tidbits for both the new and existing merchants. Nothing like positive publicity to get everyone on the same page. It sounds trivial, but it is not.

[Mummer]

...revenue reporting...

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I'm sure they were meticulous with that one!

[Rich Pawlak]

...revenue reporting...

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I'm sure they were meticulous with that one!

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Actually, and surprisingly, it became quite competitive between merchants, and most of them couldn't wait to show how they were capitalizing on their new notoriety. Bragging rights became a huge motivator, especially at monthly merchant meetings. You had to be there, but they were exciting times.

[JanMcBaker]

My favorite quote from this article:

"There's no reason we have to be making as much money as the food court at the Gallery," said Rick Olivieri, owner of Rick's Philly Steaks and president of the merchants' association. "It's a not-for-profit."

As I mentioned earlier, I would be surprised if any other vendor at the RTM comes close to Rick's margins.

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"it's a not-for-profit."??!! Oh please-- while the overall RTM organization may be a not-for-profit, you're NOT going to tell me that the merchants aren't in business to make a profit! And Rick is probably profiting better than most of the merchants in the Market!

[MarketStEl]

Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, I am not following myself up.

With the permission of the sender, I am posting a reply I received in e-mail to my post in which I said, among other things:

A lot of the changes Paul Steinke is advocating strike me as nothing particularly onerous.  If the market is going to be open from 8 to 6 six days a week, then the merchants within it should be as well.  (Yes, exceptions for the Amish should continue, and I'd also make an exception for the restaurant-only vendors, whose business is almost all lunch except for Jack McDavid, whose Down Home Diner already stays open past regular Market hours.)

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Market Blooms owner Steve DeShong wrote me the following note:

Hi Sandy,

Was reading your comments posted in the EG Forum concerning the Reading Terminal Market. I was wondering why you thought that "exceptions for the Amish should continue"  with regards to the hours of operation at the RTM. Anyone shopping at the market this week will find nearly all of the Amish vendors there selling their wares on Monday and Tuesday. You'll see them again for Christmas week and again during the flower show, and again and again anytime they think there's a buck to be made. Why shouldn't they follow the same rules regarding hours of operation that everyone else is being asked to adhere too?

Many Market tenants find this "exception" for the Amish offensive and flat out discriminatory. While I agree that all tenants should keep the hours posted on the door, I don't agree that the Amish merchants should be exempted.  While Paul Steinke is making a lot of good moves in his efforts to strengthen the market in it's mission of remaining a traditional farmer's market, not addressing this issue is not one of them. The lunch vendors are being told that they must pay higher rents and maintain longer hours to help achieve this goal. What is being asked of the Amish vendors? I'll tell you, nothing whatsoever. If Paul succeeds in making the market a more popular shopping destination, the Amish vendors will simply continue to skim the profits on the busiest days and during the busiest hours like they do now. Contributing no effort to the cause but reaping the rewards.

Some argue that if the Amish vendors are "forced" to be open on Mondays and Tuesdays, or "forced" to stay until six o'clock, they will leave the market. I think this argument is ridiculous. They are business people like the rest of us. People must get over this "simple religious folk" image they have of the Amish.

Thanks for hearing my views. Please feel free to share them with others in the forum if you like. I am not a member, or I would have done so myself.

Steve DeShong

owner, Market Blooms at the Reading Terminal Market

I found this note useful because I was under the impression that the limited hours for the Amish section had to do with some sort of religious stricture. Certainly the commute time from Lancaster County has nothing to do with it, for it is no shorter on Monday or Tuesday than it is on any of the other days of the week.

As for the lunch vendors, unless they have a takeout business or sell ingredients or other items for use off-site, I don't think that I would require them to keep the same hours as all other Market merchants if I were Paul, given how the dining cycle breaks down. If they did want to remain open for dinner the way Jack McDavid does, though, I would certainly try to take steps to make that possible. (McDavid's diner is located on either side of one of the Filbert Street entrances to the Market, so it is easy to cordon off his space after the rest of the Market is closed. Except for the eateries on the 12th Street side, there is no similarly easy solution for the other prepared-foods vendors/dining spots at the Market.