The big winners of 2007

The year 2007 was a good year for the Greater Grand Forks business scene. The swarms of Canadians that have routinely been swamping Grand Forks' commercial districts each weekend have pumped new money into the community. On top of this, several new businesses opened their doors this past year.

Interestingly enough, the big success stories in the 2007 Grand Forks business community were not those of corporate giants like Wal-Mart. That having been said, of course the big-box retailers in town not only held their own, but flourished during the past year. However, I would argue that the big success stories of the year came in the form of a long awaited project that has been viewed as an integral part of this city's economic success and in the form of a homegrown entertainment venue that is giving the "big boys" some serious competition and pumping new life into a part of the community that needed it.

Of the new business in town, the Canad Inn certainly is the hardest to ignore. The 13-story tower on 42nd Street has become a visible landmark for the community and the big parking lots surrounding the complex are routinely near capacity. Discussion went on for years concerning whether or not such a complex would be a success. In the end, the Canad Inn has become a huge success story - not only for the company but for the community as well. The flocks of Canadian shoppers that have been coming to Grand Forks have been helping to fill the hotel's rooms. A drive through the parking lot on any given weekend will show that more than half of the cars bear Canadian license plates. So far, the success of the Canad Inn has not spelled doom for existing hotels in town. In fact, a new 100-room hotel is currently being built not very far south of the Canad complex and Canad itself has apparently not even ruled out a second hotel complex in the metropolitan area.

The state of Greater Grand Forks' movie theaters has been a common complaint on this blog. Many readers have complained about what they see as dirty theaters, poor management, and high prices coupled with Carmike Cinema's local monopoly. For those disgruntled moviegoers, their "savior" arrived this year in the form of local businessman Bob Moore and his new River Cinema 12 located in East Grand Forks' Riverwalk Centre. According to virtually anyone you ask the new movie theater has been a resounding success in its first month of operation. Not only is this theater giving new options to residents; it is also pumping money and vibrancy into our metropolitan area's central business district.

In 2007, the "winners" were not the Holiday Inns or Carmike Cinemas of this community. Instead, the real winners were the homegrown businesses such as the Canad Inn and the River Cinema. Many readers of this blog routinely chastise some of us for focusing too much attention on national chains. I'm happy to say that 2007 saw successes in both chains and locally-owned ventures. Let's hope that healthy mix continues in 2008.

Poll results: high hopes

When asked "In your opinion, will the new EGF movie theater be a success?", a majority of the 172 voters answered "yes." Check out the full results...

Selection		Votes
Yes	56%	97
No	13%	23
Too early to tell	30%	52

Poll: EGF movie theater

The new poll question is "In your opinion, will the new EGF movie theater be a success?" Please vote and then share your opinions in this post's comment section.

Open Thread #9

What's on your minds?

Finished your Christmas shopping, decorating, baking, etc. yet? I'm guessing the answer is "No"...am I right?

Topics covered: RiverWalk Center troubles, Texas Roadhouse opening date, Denny's coming to town

What's up at the Riverwalk?

I'm sure we are all well aware of the poor financial record of East Grand Forks' city owned mall, The Riverwalk Center. The city purchased the mall after the Flood of 1997 with the hopes that it would attract businesses and people to the downtown area. It did that...for about a year. The first year or two after the flood actually was a pretty good time for the mall. It had low (or no) vacancy and there was a steady stream of shoppers. Then, that all but dried up overnight. Today, this very small mall has high vacancy, few shoppers, and tenants who haven't paid their bills for literally years (does the city seriously think they will ever see any of that money???). The city would like to sell the property, but this isn't possible at least until next year because federal funds were used to purchase the mall and federal law requires the city to keep the property for at least ten years after the flood...which brings us to 2007. East Grand Forks mayor Lynn Stauss has publicly lamented that the Riverwalk Center was one of the city's...and his...biggest mistakes in the wake of the flood.

Now comes news that "something" is up at the Riverwalk Center. There is a persistent rumor going around that many of the mall's tenants will be leaving the mall and moving over to the Grand Cities Mall in Grand Forks. However, the rumor also has it that it wasn't the businesses decision to leave the Riverwalk Center...the city is asking them to move. Word is that "something" wants to come in and take over most of the mall space. A new store? Perhaps a department store? I know that Herbergers has been sought in the past. Also, it seems that a couple of the tenants do not want to leave the mall and it is plausible that the largest tenant in the mall...I think we all know what that is...would simply close up if they were forced to leave the mall. Like I said, this is all just a rumor right now. However, it is a very interesting rumor in light of all of the construction and development going on in the downtown area of Grand Forks. A department store down there could bring more people to the area. Guess we'll have to see just how true this rumor is.

Update - 5/17/2006
Jack's Shoes appears to be in the process of leaving the Riverwalk Center and moving to the Grand Cities Mall. Also, WDAZ just aired a story about the mall's woes, but didn't say anything about any possible new tenants. I should not that reporter Lacey Crisp was wrong when she said that the city would keep the mall for ten more years and then maybe sell it. As stated in my original post above, the ten years that the city is talking about started in 1997...not 2006. That means that the ten years are up next year...not 2016.