Miners used to use canaries to detect carbon dioxide in mines. If the canary went kaput, then there was bad things to come. … Commercial space has been the canary in our recession. Remember the mall closest to where you live? Those big-anchor tenants (i.e. Macy’s, Sears, Lord and Taylor) were always there. They never left. Maybe they closed a portion of the store for renovation. But for the most part they survived for years and generations of shoppers. Big retail is/was not the canary.
The canary is/was the little stores. It’s those one-door store fronts in every suburban downtown. You know the ones. It was the Nail Salon that was there for six years. Before that it was a small printing shop. And before that it was a small smoke shop. It’s these small store fronts with the door in the center and two big pain glass windows that are the canaries. When you see those “For Rent” signs replaced in these small 500-square-foot commercial spaces with “grand opening,” then you’ll know we’re pulling out of this prolonged economic downturn. These small shops….they’re the canary coming back to life. Look for them.
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