The efforts of Bagelsaurus – whether intentionally or not – is cultivating even deeper brand loyalty. It’s probably stating the obvious here, but the net result of people who are buying gift cards and swag and who have put forth above average efforts in trying to support restaurants are going to come out of this extreme loyalists whether they realize it or not.
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Retailers along the first blocks of Newbury and in Copley Place Mall rely heavily on Boston tourism and students to generate sales. Unfortunately, both tourism and the student population will be minimal for the duration of the short term. When it does return, it is still uncertain that consumers will be in a monetary and emotional position to make large purchases from these retailers.
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Today, unlike in March, it is safe to say with certainty that COVID-19 has touched all businesses selling anything to the public, whether online in or in-person. Every single retailer in the past two months we have spoke to — and we are talking to a lot of retailers — is thinking about changing their business model in some way. The scale of the collective rethink in retail is just nuts.
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Some chefs and owners have decided to remain “open,” providing takeout and other essential services to Boston diners. Recently on his website, Brian began sharing his ongoing project, Covid-19 Portrait Project, which features local chefs and owners while they are making the best of a very difficult scenario.
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There are many good reasons to rethink the drinking age (and for sure some on the other side too), but top of mind right now is that this move would add legitimate revenue to bars and restaurants, especially in places like Greater Boston.
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Working at Graffito and learning more about how our neighborhoods and cities are shaped, it’s become even more apparent to me how design has the power to affect our daily interactions in public spaces
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The question many want to know is what will be lasting impacts of the COVID-crisis for our public realm and design of ground floor spaces? How can the line between storefront and street be designed for both porosity and protection? And how will this be reconciled with the inevitable changes inside and around the building, with the public realm and streetscape?
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Landlords will continue to seek out breweries for their projects, but like restaurants, the paradigm as it relates to the transactional nature of these deals, may be forever changed.
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Most of the news is dominated by extreme – and likely effective – measures in East Asia, but I’m not optimistic that the US will embrace similar strategies given American attitudes, behavior, infrastructure, city design, and political will. That said, Boston’s sensibilities and design are more reminiscent of places overseas than in other parts of the US.
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Any “reopening” of our gathering spaces and retail establishments will be only a partial return to what things looked like pre-coronavirus. But despite this, our spirits are high here at Graffito, because it does feel that we are collectively entering a new phase in responding to this crisis: shifting from panic and shock to problem solving and opportunity assessment.
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