As Disruptors Disrupt, Strategies Shift
Site Selection
BY DANA TANYERI
S
ite selection is and always has been
about two simple objectives: pick-
ing darlings and avoiding dogs. But
that's where simplicity ends.
Finding right-size sites that offer
affordability, visibility and accessibility in
areas with ideal customers, complementary
competitors, and the magic mix of retail,
business and residential is increasingly
challenging. Demand for traditional A+
endcap locations in premium develop-
ments far exceeds supply. The availability
of attractive second-generation sites
has tapered off significantly from high
levels seen after 2008 when brands with
access to financing went into real-estate
vulture mode. Rents and construction costs
continue to rise, and with the lines between
some industry segments blurring, the field
of competitors vying for sites with similar
attributes has mushroomed.
Add to that laundry list the fact that
seismic shifts in consumer usage patterns
are rapidly changing both the restaurant
and retail landscapes — and, in some
cases, what darlings and dogs now look
like — and the challenges become
even more complex.
So what's an operator to do? Real
estate pros at growth-oriented companies
say they're sharpening their site-selection
strategies with bigger data, stronger
relationships, more flexible formats, and
a proactive approach to mining new and
emerging opportunities.
"The restaurant space is challenged
and has been for the past 12 to 18
months. There's a lot of discussion in the
industry that there are too many units, es-
pecially fast casuals, and
issues like minimum