A week or two ago I wrote about the co-owner of T. Hee Greetings, David Ferris who, along with the proprietors of Highlands Cafe, was rallying neighbors to sign a petition that will hopefully grab the attention of some attractive tenant or tenants for the shopping center at Walnut Hill and Audelia where T. Hee and Highlands Cafe operate side by side. Read more about that here.
I just received word from Ferris that they have secured 1,260 signatures. He wrote in an e-mail this morning, "It is important to note that those signatures were collected between the café and our store, T. Hee Greetings, during the last 2 weeks of December which included days closed for Christmas and New Year’s — what an incredible turnout!"
Incredible turnout indeed. As he noted before, no one knows what or if this will directly have an effect on the business or potential tenants … but that type of energy when properly directed can’t help but have some sort of positive effect — even if it’s just enough pressure to get the landlord to hold out for something better when another dollar store or quick loan comes calling.
If you’re thinking the Town Center development up the road is too much to compete with, well, comparing the two might be a little like comparing apples to oranges. Something to think about: Ferris told me the other day that the asking price to lease Lake Highlands Town Center space was about three times the rent he’s paying at the Walnut-Audelia spot.
