Signage, Signage, Signage...
In the Farragut Press there is an article about the Cook's Grill which closed after being open 10 months. The owner, Walter Cook, cites the restrictive signage as a reason for failure. Well, you know what? I'm inclined to agree with him! How many businesses has Farragut lost due to its residents not even knowing that they exist? How many more are struggling? Well, I think it's time to make uniform signage a reality! I don't care if the signs are 6 feet, 10 feet or 100 feet high! Just make them uniform and in the same location in each and every business! Make the signs easy to change in cases where the business has changed, and even give business tax credits if need be, but get this done! Come on, this isn't rocket science. Just basic town branding. Also, halt all new commercial development until the current vacant sites are filled. It becomes rediculous to see boarded up businesses while new commercial buildings are built right down the street! And don't give me any 1/2 baked excuse that those businesses have unique needs that can only be filled by a new building. There are enough varied empty structures that can provide the needed space (and at a lower price than building new if truth be told)! Couldn't something like the Icearium have been done in the old K-Mart Building? How about that new Harley Davidson Dealership? Its time to think outside the box (and outside Turkey Creek)!
Just one man's opinion...
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Anonymous comments are allowed, but keep them clean, o.k. We don't want to become the editng police!
Just one man's opinion...
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Anonymous comments are allowed, but keep them clean, o.k. We don't want to become the editng police!
posted by Mike at 8:24 PM
8 Comments:
Creating more visual pollution...good restaurants make it and many do in Farragut without ugly signage. Cook should have bought a copy of Guerrilla Marketing. Creating massive signage just escalates into a war of ugliness.
There are many grand fathered signs in Farragut that were built before the sign ordinance. Look at the McDonalds sign for example.
It does bother me that a new business cannot have a temporary sign for a 30-day period. I do believe Cooks suffered because people did not know it was open.
It was a good restaurant but it did not generate the foot traffic. I read somewhere a new mall will be built in Loudon that will be bigger than West Town. What will that do to local retail?
Who says that signage has to be massive? I just want it consistent. Period! For those signs that were grand-fathered in, why not give them a tax incentive equal to the cost of the new signage? It's hard enough now to tell what businesses we even have in Farragut! Make it easier and our businesses should be able to actually do business. Think about this, the more shopping that gets done in Farragut, the more services that can be provided to the residents WITHOUT adding a property tax!
As always, just an opinion. I reserve the right to change my mind if I'm proven wrong...
Creating more visual pollution...good restaurants make it and many do in Farragut without ugly signage. Cook should have bought a copy of Guerrilla Marketing. Creating massive signage just escalates into a war of ugliness.
How about all those people that come through our town--whether for a visit or just driving through? How do you reach those folk without a sign? YOU DON'T! Every person that visits is not going to try a restaurant if they don't know it even exists. I like what Mike said about having consistent signage in the whole town. Why not consider it. It can only improve the way the town looks, right?
Personally, I believe that one of the reasons Cooks didn't survive is because the building he leased
looks awful.
I have a feeling that the same thing will eventually happen to Fat MO's (great burger, kind of expensive) however the building looks horrible!
First impressions...perhaps
Personally, I believe that one of the reasons Cooks didn't survive is because the building he leased
looks awful.
I have a feeling that the same thing will eventually happen to Fat MO's (great burger, kind of expensive) however the building looks horrible!
First impressions...perhaps
Anonymous said...
How about all those people that come through our town--whether for a visit or just driving through? How do you reach those folk without a sign? YOU DON'T!
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The disagree with the above...this is an interstate model not a model for a municipality. If the food were great, it would have worked.
King Tut's in South Knox is a great example of a thriving restaurant surviving on word-o-mouth. Ditto for Louis's in North Knox, Nama downtown, Tomato Head downtown, etc. etc. Creating more visual pollution is not the answer. A great product + great service + creative advertising would have worked.
Having done business within the town of farragut I can attest to the fact that signage is a deterrent for most restaurants. We selected restaurant sites just outside of farragut limits just for that reason. As far as the word of mouth businesses, just try that in farragut with the lease rates they are asking. You would have to be insane to locate there.
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