University North Park

[MikeLucky]

PF Changs is going to oversaturate the market like Taco Cabana did and I'm about as impressed with Changs as I was with Cabana.

Wha..... PF Changs has one location in OKC and two Pei Wei locations. Calling the addition of a Norman location is oversaturation is quite a stretch.

And comparing PF Changs to Taco Cabana is like comparing Western Sizzlin' to Saltgrass Steakhouse...... Norman needs a PF Changs or at least a Pei Wei.

[Spartan]

Wow I can't believe someone just compared PF Changs to Taco Cabana.

I must need my reading glasses...

[BG918]

I remember reading in the Tulsa World when the Brookside Pei Wei was announced that they were looking at locations in Norman. I haven't heard anything since. I think somewhere like downtown would be better for Pei Wei, it doesn't really fit the pad site restaurant stereotype and downtown could use more restaurants. A Pei Wei alone would bring more people down there.

[traxx]

Wha..... PF Changs has one location in OKC and two Pei Wei locations. Calling the addition of a Norman location is oversaturation is quite a stretch.

And comparing PF Changs to Taco Cabana is like comparing Western Sizzlin' to Saltgrass Steakhouse...... Norman needs a PF Changs or at least a Pei Wei.

I wasn't comparing PF Changs to Taco Cabana as far as food is concerned, idiot. I was comparing it as far as market saturation is concerned. I was under the impression that Changs was supposed to be something special and different, but if they start putting one in every little shopping center like they did with Cabana, then they'll oversaturate the market and it'll lose it's cache. Putting one in at University Northpark makes it appear that it could go the same way as Cabana. However, if they stop after putting in this Changs, then I'll stand corrected. But I just don't see them stopping anytime soon.

I've eaten at Changs and was unimpressed as I was the first time I ate at Cabana. I've never eaten at Pei Wei, but from what I've been told it's got better food.

[MikeLucky]

I wasn't comparing PF Changs to Taco Cabana as far as food is concerned, idiot. I was comparing it as far as market saturation is concerned. I was under the impression that Changs was supposed to be something special and different, but if they start putting one in every little shopping center like they did with Cabana, then they'll oversaturate the market and it'll lose it's cache. Putting one in at University Northpark makes it appear that it could go the same way as Cabana. However, if they stop after putting in this Changs, then I'll stand corrected. But I just don't see them stopping anytime soon.

I've eaten at Changs and was unimpressed as I was the first time I ate at Cabana. I've never eaten at Pei Wei, but from what I've been told it's got better food.

oh, so now I am an idiot?

Since I wasn't the only one to do a double take on your "comparison" then I will assume you meant to call anyone else who took your post that way an idiot as well....

right now there is 1 Changs and 2 Pei Wei locations in Edmond/North OKC. Even if they do put both a Changs and a Pei Wei in Norman, that certainly is a FAR stretch from oversaturation. Do you know about any other plans for a Changs or Pei Wei in the metro that would cause any alarm for possible "oversaturation?" This idiot would certainly like to be enlightened.....

[poe]

I agree. Oversaturation is becoming synonymous with Chili's and the like. As big as the Oklahoma City area is, I think there's enough of a fanbase to support two full-service PF Chang's restaurants.

[traxx]

I don't think that I ever said that Changs is already oversaturating the market, I just said if they continue the trend of putting them in all the shopping centers and strip malls then they will oversaturate the market.

When it was announced that Changs was coming to OKC everyone was hyped about it because it was a restaurant that big cities had and it had a good reputation and we would finally be getting one of our own. But if they start putting in several, then it's just a strip mall chain restaurant and not anything special.

I've eaten at Changs and all the people I've talked to that have eaten there have said that it was okay, not great, especially for the price. If more and more people feel this way and people stop going there, then two Changs would be oversaturation because the population wouldn't support just one very much. So oversaturation doesn't mean that you have to have 100 locations within a 25 mile radius.

I'm not saying that nobody likes Changs, I'm just using that as an example of what constitutes oversaturation.

[venture]

I think oversaturation when it comes to comparing locations....OKC/Memorial to Norman...it is nonexistant. There are few people that will continue to drive over an hour to the north side from Norman to eat and what not. I use to do it a lot, but I find myself more and more staying in Norman. I rarely even go to Bricktown anymore and that use to be a weekly thing.

Once UNP reaches its full potential in a couple years, it will definitely cut off a lot of the traffic going up I-35. Of course, Norman is also over 100,000 people (3rd largest in the state) so it can sustain itself pretty well as is. The extra 20,000 or so transplants with mom and dad's money at OU don't hurt either.

[allure]

Who, besides rich college kids with their daddies credit cards, are going to be able to afford all of these 'upscale' stores?! I really don't know where you people get off thinking Norman is going to produce a Utica square. Why would you put a Williams Sonoma in podunk Norman?!...you wouldn't! It's not realistic and these companies realize that. Better get used to the Wranglers from Wal-Mart and your Ed Noble Parkway type stores....they define Norman & Oklahoma in general, so shut up and embrace it.

[MrZ]

Somebody has some issues... **cough*allure*cough**

[Easy180]

Who, besides rich college kids with their daddies credit cards, are going to be able to afford all of these 'upscale' stores?! I really don't know where you people get off thinking Norman is going to produce a Utica square. Why would you put a Williams Sonoma in podunk Norman?!...you wouldn't! It's not realistic and these companies realize that. Better get used to the Wranglers from Wal-Mart and your Ed Noble Parkway type stores....they define Norman & Oklahoma in general, so shut up and embrace it.

Yeah...There aren't any wealthy people in the south metro and Norman area...Welcome to the forum

[traxx]

Who, besides rich college kids with their daddies credit cards, are going to be able to afford all of these 'upscale' stores?! I really don't know where you people get off thinking Norman is going to produce a Utica square. Why would you put a Williams Sonoma in podunk Norman?!...you wouldn't! It's not realistic and these companies realize that. Better get used to the Wranglers from Wal-Mart and your Ed Noble Parkway type stores....they define Norman & Oklahoma in general, so shut up and embrace it.

Let me guess; you're daddy's not rich, never gave you his credit card, probably doesn't have one and you shop at Target because it's so much more posh than Wal Mart.

Don't be fooled, there's money in Norman/Moore/S. OKC. Plus, these type of shopping areas are often set in a suburb not in the middle of a large metro and the establishments bring in people from all around not just from the town in which they are built. Eg. Gainsville, Texas. There's not much there but people from the surrounding areas in Texas as well as Southern Oklahoma travel to shop the outlets.

But, I don't even know why I'm responding to you, because you won't be back to listen, and I can tell by your post count that you're obviously a troll with self esteem issues.

[allure]

Traxx,

You guessed wrong. Sorry.

My Daddy is rich, very wealthy in fact, and the use of his credit card is never denied. And for the record, I shop anywhere and everywhere, including Target AND Wal-mart...because I can. (That's really none of your business though, as I was referring to the 'daddies credit card' kids as a whole and never mentioned anything about myself).

On the other hand, my original response was in regards to what you posted about Norman missing out on "upscale stores" and being dealt the same old "big box stores". How many people do you know that live in Norman shop at Saks Fifth Avenue on a regular basis? Are you going to go out and buy your wife/girlfriend a purse from Coach when they open here in Norman? The point I was trying to make is that they wouldn’t put those type of upscale stores in Norman, so Norman shouldn’t hold it’s breath for a Utica Square. And the only thing that would even make them think twice about it, would be because of the University and the huge market of rich students who would keep it afloat, and that’s it.

However, comparing the Gainesville Factory Outlets and Utica Square is an entirely different thing, just as your comparison of P.F. Changs and Taco Cabana was….they aren’t even in the same league. I do think Norman would do really well if they had “Big Box” stores and that’s why I said to embrace it. Sure, Norman may have some money, but not enough to put luxury shopping at its fingertips without a fight.

Also, P.F. Changs and Pei Wei are owned by the same company and have almost an identical menu, so No, it does not have better food, it’s just designed to be a more casual and less expensive version of Changs.

And Traxx, my post count is low because I am a new member, not a troll.

[Easy180]

Traxx,


On the other hand, my original response was in regards to what you posted about Norman missing out on "upscale stores" and being dealt the same old "big box stores". How many people do you know that live in Norman shop at Saks Fifth Avenue on a regular basis? Are you going to go out and buy your wife/girlfriend a purse from Coach when they open here in Norman? The point I was trying to make is that they wouldn’t put those type of upscale stores in Norman, so Norman shouldn’t hold it’s breath for a Utica Square. And the only thing that would even make them think twice about it, would be because of the University and the huge market of rich students who would keep it afloat, and that’s it.

That's a little nicer explanation of why you don't think Norman can support "Utica Square"...I disagree as I lived in Tulsa and people came from all parts of the city and the surrounding 'burbs' to shop there

W/o googling the income comparisons I would think OKC matches up well with Tulsa...Don't you think shoppers (mainly women) will come from all around the metro to support Saks, Nordstroms etc?...You can argue that Norman itself can't sustain these stores, but that is ignoring the fact that the bulk of their customers will come from OKC, Moore, Mustang, Yukon, Edmond and other nearby cities

Hell just the ladies in Nichols Hills might be sufficient to make these upscale stores successful

[Luke]

I smell another candidate for the "ignore" feature of the board.

[allure]

I smell another candidate for the "ignore" feature of the board.

Likewise. Do you have anything to say about the actual topic?

[Spartan]

I smell another candidate for the "ignore" feature of the board.

Yes. I won't put up with this fellow...he's not even fun to make an idiot out of, like Giggles is.

[soonerliberal]

So in unrelated news, I just heard Chick-Fil-A was taking over the Krispy Kreme that closed in Norman.

[OUman]

^Funny you mention that, it's in this morning's Oklahoman that Krispy Kreme is in a bad spot, sales have plummeted by 18% each year the last two years.

[Midtowner]

^Funny you mention that, it's in this morning's Oklahoman that Krispy Kreme is in a bad spot, sales have plummeted by 18% each year the last two years.

It did enjoy an interesting honeymoon period in which people lined up at the front door.

Obviously, they shouldn't have expected that to continue.

I'd assume that KK stores here in OKC would fall within the national average in terms of business and profitability.

If they built out in response to the initial glut of business and find themselves to be overextended, we might be able to rightfully accuse them of being overoptimistic in that OKC would outperform any market they had previously occupied.

[traxx]

How many people do you know that live in Norman shop at Saks Fifth Avenue on a regular basis?

Not many. Because there's not one in the area.

Okay, so I was wrong, you're a rich, spoiled, brat. Yeah I know, now you're gonna come back and say how you had to work hard and fight for everything you have.

But you do have issues. You're very first post is to tell us that Norman is a podunk town and insinuating that all we can afford is Wal Mart stuff because we're so poor and podunk except for the college students that come here. Sound like a troll to me.

BTW, if they don't plan on doing something different with University North Park, then why do it at all. We already have a ton of big box stores on Ed Noble Pkwy. So, they're gonna have two Petsmarts two miles from each other?

As for us all being poor podunks in Norman who can barely afford Wranglers at Wal Mart, I think a Mr. Keith and a Mr. Stoops and the crowd they run with would have to disagree with that.

[allure]

Yes, you’re right, the closest Saks is in Tulsa, but if they were going to put one in the area, they would put it in OKC/Nichols Hills, not Norman. All of Saks Fifth Avenue locations are in extremely wealthy areas, and they don’t just put them anywhere either.
If you want to argue more about it, I really suggest you visit their website so you can compare their other locations with Norman…Boca Raton, Beverly Hills, Palos Verdes…I’m not being mean, it’s just realistic.

Also, there are a ton of big box stores that haven’t been introduced to Norman and I already said I thought those would do really well.
And just because it’s not as upscale as you hoped for, doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same as Ed Noble.

As for the Petsmarts, I don’t know, maybe there is a big pet population. Haha.

[OUman]

^True, but then again, Norman's far from being a poor town. People here spend tons of money on upscale goods. And I doubt there will be another Petsmart in Norman, especially in UNP.

And actually, if you say it's the college students who squander money, you need to go out there and check it out, most college students can't afford pricey goods (electronics and football stuff aside-and yes, they'll squander it there) since whatever they get goes to books and other college-related expenses. Even paying for a month's food supply eats quite a bit into the budget. I graduated college this May, so I definitely know what I'm talking about.

[aintaokie]

Taking "Gainesville" off the Factory Outlet would greatly improve the image of this "retail" outlet. Gainesville is a Walmart/Tractor Supply kind of town full of Podunks and gang bangers. Norman/Moore/South OKC on the other hand, can support a upscale shopping center. Norman, has a lot more upscale citizens than most towns (Drive around the town and see the beautiful neighborhoods and large homes). Also a lot of the horse rancher folks ($$$)from out in the sticks will come to North Park and shop at the "upscale stores".

[Spartan]

allure
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