Some of my favorite businesses in Miami

 Hi everyone, this is part two of my series talking about my vacation I just went on. Some of my favorite businesses on the trip we visited were:

                                      

Our drinks at the House of Cuban Coffee

                                                               Old's Havana Restaurant

Little Havana: La Colada Gourmet Coffee: the House of Cuban Coffee, where we experienced drinking Cuban Coffee and Old's Havana Restaurant, where I first discovered Cuban food, which was really delicious. I especially enjoyed eating the Yucca and the Steak. 

Doral: 

Sam Ash Music at the Dolphin Mall, where I and my dad enjoyed trying out and jamming on the guitars. Unfortunately, I learned the night after I went there that they have been having a hard year, with the death of their CEO Sammy Ash and that they are apparently closing 18 of their 44 stores. I don't believe Doral is one of them. But anyways, I hope they make it and if you are near one of their stores, please support them because I enjoy fun guitar and music stores and I can't imagine what life would be like without them. Granted, there is still Guitar Center and mom and pop music instrument shops and that there isn't a Sam Ash store in the Sacramento area nor in Northern California as a whole. 

Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine was our second experience trying Cuban food and was also delicious. Maybe even more delicious than the first one I tried. Their portions were more than plentiful and we made leftovers for breakfast from this place, which was really good.

Fuddruckers. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Miami still has 5 operating Fuddruckers restaurants in the region and that there was one to eat at near the airport after a long day of flying. Speaking that many Fuddruckers locations have closed down including the one in Citrus Heights near home and there is only one still operating in California, in Concord. So I was pleasantly surprised and it was plenty tasty as it was from before. We also ate at the Pembroke Pines location a few days after.

Doral Marriott Villas. We stayed here on the last night of the trip and I thought it was a great way to end the trip being in a resort with several fun amenities, including a mini-golf course and a swimming pool.

Hollywood: Mermaid Queen. They had delicious fish tacos and it was especially fun being next to the beach and being able to see the beach and walk to the beach from eating here.

Aventura Mall: Shake Shack. We finally got to try Shake Shack's burgers and fries. And they were delicious, along with their dairy free shake. We actually ate at Shake Shack three times on the trip, with the other two being in Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise at the Sawgrass Mills. 

The Keys:

Lazy Lobster in Key Largo- I really enjoyed eating their yellowtail and hog fish. I was pleasantly surprised that this place is really friendly in catering to our gluten and dairy allergies. And that the food we ate was really delicious. I believe it was our favorite meal on the trip. 

                                      The harbor outside at World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada

World Wide Sportsman (Bass Pro Shops)- the store is at the harbor in Islamorada and I believed it was the nicest spot to hang out at the Keys. 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed learning about my endeavors in the past week and all the businesses I got to visit. Thanks for reading and God bless!!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.                                                John 3:16

My latest trip and what I observed

                                                                          Miami skyline

Hi everyone, as you may know or not know based on who is reading this, I have just come back home after spending ten days in the Miami, Florida area. It was a very fun vacation, and also a surprisingly a road trip between the places. I learned that the map does not tell the entire story of how this area is run. When we first planned the trip, with only planning on being in Miami and seeing the Keys south and seeing how close everything is, the farthest place we might visit would be 130 miles away in Key West, (which we actually didn't visit on the trip), I thought it would be a trip where we would stay at one spot and relax. But once we got there and drove around, I realized that wouldn't exactly be the case. We discovered that most of the freeways in the area are toll roads. And since toll roads are a no go, we took the city streets to go places. And the city streets are no joke. Doral, which is 13 miles west of Miami near the airport where we stayed at for 5 nights, took us 42 minutes to reach from Downtown Miami. Homestead, which the stopping point for the Everglades and the Florida Keys 30 miles south took 50 minutes to reach from Doral. And since we didn't stay in one place for the entire week, we mainly drove all around the area and every day usually involved being in the car for long periods of time. This was unexpected for an area that isn't all that large. 

                                                                  Driving on Miami streets

                                                      Map of the entire region we visiited

                                            Distance it takes from Downtown Miami to Doral

I was also surprised to learn how many malls operate in the area. I wasn't surprised because I knew about all the malls in the area as I know about all the malls in the US. But it felt more real about how large the mall culture is realizing the area we visited only has 6,000,000 people between Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach (which we actually didn't visit) counties. And there are 19 traditional shopping malls in the area, 7 of which I saw first hand. And there are several additional shopping districts and streets to add along with those malls. And most of the malls in the area are still popular. Aventura Mall, Sawgrass Mills, Dolphin Mall, Bayside Marketplace, and even the traditional Pembroke Lakes Mall and Miami International Mall. Dadeland Mall, The Falls, Merrick Park, Town Center at Boca Raton, Mall at Wellington Green, and the Gardens Mall are popular as well, but we did not visit them. Broward Mall was the only dying mall I saw on the trip, even though Southland Mall in Cutler Bay and Boynton Beach Mall in Boynton Beach are dying as well, as what I have heard. I also saw The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale, which could be considered a dying mall with Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth having left the mall and the spaces being vacant and the entire mall being considered for redevelopment, but it still has plenty of decent higher end stores, so I would rate it more on the alive side. 

                                                     Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida

                                                          Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida

                                                           Dolphin Mall in Doral, Florida

For downtowns and main streets, we spent time at Los Olas in Fort Lauderdale, Coconut Grove in Miami, Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, and Little Havana in Miami, which were all fun towns to walk around. The Wynnwood area of Miami and Miami Beach were fun areas to see, even though we didn't have the opportunity to walk in them. 

Domino Park, Little Havana

                                                                        Coconut Grove 

                                                                    Wynnwood Walls

                                                                    Hollywood Beach

                                                              Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables

                                                             Miracle Mile, Coral Gables

                                 Sears at Coral Gables, Florida, one of 11 that are still operating

But the mall culture seems like it is just behind the New York and Los Angeles area and rivals the Chicago area, which has 9,000,000 people. Especially in the luxury retail market, with 4 Nordstrom stores (the same amount in Chicago), 5 Saks Fifth Avenue stores (only 1 in Chicago), 3 Neiman Marcus stores (the same in Chicago), 3 Bloomingdales stores (2 in Chicago), 7 Gucci stores (3 in Chicago), and 9 Apple stores (the same in Chicago) in the area. And on a special and nostalgic note, Miami-Dade County is the only county in the nation to still have both a Sears and Kmart store, which are in Coral Gables and Kendale Lakes respectively. The Miami area is also home to the headquarters of Office Depot, which is in Boca Raton.

                                                                        The Florida Keys

I was also surprised to learn about the geography of the area and how it is laid out. I learned that the best beaches are all located north of downtown Miami and center around Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. And that the Keys don't have any major beaches, which was a major disappointment. The water around the keys and south Miami resemble more a bay than the ocean, even though I still thought the water and the landscape around them is plenty wonderful to look at. But, we only saw the beach three days of our ten day trip. But of the beaches I did see, I really enjoyed. Sunny Isles, Hollywood, Dania, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano, and Deerfield were all fun beaches to walk around, with tall condos in view while I am overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, which is in stark contrast to the Pacific Ocean beaches which usually overlook tall cliffs and a more natural setting. 

                                                       Scenic views of the oceanfront

Hanging out at the beach

My favorite experiences on the trip along with visiting the beaches and the malls were visiting the Everglades and taking an airboat ride seeing all the alligators, going to a Florida Panthers hockey game and seeing them win against the Calgary Flames, driving and walking among Miami amidst the tall buildings and all the bustling activity, trying Cuban food and Cuban coffee for the first time, and being able to stay a couple nights at a house that accesses one of the many Florida canals and being able to canoe in the canal.

                                                    Cruising in the Everglades on the airboat

                                                     Seeing an alligator on the boat ride

                                               A peacock in the Coconut Grove neighborhood

                                                  Florida Panthers vs Calgary Flames game

                                                      Downtown Miami and its skyscrapers

                                                   The canal next to the Airbnb we stayed at

I hope you enjoyed learning about my adventures and I hope you are inspired to take an adventure of your own. Maybe you have already taken an adventure like this and if you did, I am interested to hear what you thought of Miami and if it was similar. Thank you for reading and God bless!!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.                                                John 3:16

Where is Macy's struggling the most at??

 

Hi everyone, since Macy's has announced major changes to their store portfolio for the next few years, with closing 150 stores, you might be wondering where those stores could be. I don't have the official list yet, since it hasn't been released. But I did do some research on where some of their stores that are considered unprofitable are at. This list I am about to show you is actually a list someone informed me about the least profitable stores Macy's operates in a comment on a post I wrote: https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1rjpbSEi. I hope you find this list informative. I certainly found it interesting.

HOOVER AL-RIVERCHASE GALLERIA (next to Belk)

MESA AZ-SUPERSTITION SPRINGS CENTER (next to Dillard’s)

TUCSON AZ-TUCSON MALL (next to Dillard’s)

STOCKTON CA-SHERWOOD MALL (next to the only Dillard’s in Northern California, and also one of the remaining 12 Sears stores in the nation.)

SAN RAFAEL CA-NORTHGATE MALL (basically in the same area as the store at Corte Madera, which is in a much more popular shopping complex)

TRACY CA-WEST VALLEY MALL (small market)

REDDING CA-MT SHASTA MALL (small market)

VISALIA CA-VISALIA MALL (may be a small market, but the market doesn't seem all that small with 400,000 people living in it.  I'd be surprised if they closed this store.)

CAPITOLA CA-CAPITOLA MALL (small market)

VICTORVILLE CA-MALL AT VICTOR VALLEY (I actually wrote about this one when it first opened in 2013. It was my third blogpost: https://haydenbusinessblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/macys-coming-to-victorville-ca-on-march.html.   It would be a bit sad to be going full circle with this one.  And a bit surprising since this market doesn't have another department store like it and the area is fairly large with 330,000 people. Maybe that is too small for Macy's)

SAN FRANCISCO CA - UNION SQUARE (This one is actually closing. And this one might be the most significant on this list because it is one of their flagship stores, having over 400,000 sq ft of retail space.  It is maybe the saddest because it means another grand downtown department store will become history, and maybe a once grand downtown. I certainly hope that isn't the case for San Francisco or any city that still has a grand downtown. For those living in this generation, please support these downtown department stores so they don't just become a thing of the past.)

CHULA VISTA CA- OTAY MESA CENTER (this is actually a thriving mall complex, but it is next to two other more popular Macy’s stores-National City and Chula Vista Center)

WESTMINSTER CA- WESTMINSTER MALL (in a dying mall)

DENVER CO - NORTFIELD (mall is still doing well, but it is near other Macy's stores)

WILMINGTON DE- CONCORD MALL (in a dying mall and next to Boscov's)

WESLEY CHAPEL FL- SHOPS AT WIREGRASS (next to Dillard’s)

SARASOTA FL - SIESTA (near the Macy's and Dillard's at Mall at UTC)

ORLANDO FL - FASHION SQUARE (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

OCALA FL- PADDOCK MALL (next to Dillard’s and Belk)

BOYNTON BEACH FL- BOYNTON BEACH MALL (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS FL- ALTAMONTE MALL (next to Dillard’s)

MELBOURNE FL- MELBOURNE SQUARE (next to Dillard’s)

MERRITT ISLAND FL- MERRITT SQUARE MALL (next to Dillard’s)

ST PETERSBURG FL- TYRONE SQUARE (next to Dillard’s)

CUTLER BAY FL- SOUTHLAND MALL (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

COLUMBUS GA- PEACHTREE MALL (next to Dillard’s)

DOUGLASVILLE GA- ARBOR PLACE MALL (next to Dillard’s)

ATLANTA GA – NORTHLAKE MALL (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

SAVANNAH GA- OLGETHORPE MALL (next to Dillard’s)

DULUTH GA- GWINNETT PLACE (in a dead mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

KAILUA KONA HI- STANDALONE (small market)

HILO HI- PRINCE KUHIO MALL (small market. But I would still be surprised if they closed this location)

KAHULUI HI- QUEEN KA’AHUMANU (To be honest, I would be a bit surprised if this one closed, since it is on Maui, a major tourist island and I have always perceived Hawaii to be a popular market for Macys)

HONOLULU HI - KAHALA (near other malls with Macy's stores)

HONOLULU HI - WAIKIKI (near other malls with Macy's stores)

KAPOLEI HI-KA MAKANA ALI’I MALL- (This location just opened about 10 years ago, so I would be surprised to see this one go. But it is near other malls with Macy's stores)

COEUR D ALENE ID- SILVER LAKE MALL (small market and near another mall with Macy's)

JOLIET IL- LOUIS JOILET MALL (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

CHAMPAIGN IL- MARKET PLACE (small market)

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS IL- ST CLAIR SQUARE (next to Dillards)

VERNON HILLS IL- HAWTHORNE MALL (near another mall with Macy's)

SPRINGFIELD IL-WHITE OAKS MALL (small market)

CALUMET CITY IL- RIVER OAKS MALL (in a poor area and near other malls with Macy's stores)

ROCKFORD IL-CHERRYVALE MALL (small market)

EVANSVILLE IN-EASTLAND MALL (next to Dillards)

LAFAYETTE IN-TIPPECANOE MALL (small market)

LAFAYETTE LA-ACADIANA MALL (next to Dillards)

BALTIMORE MD-SECURITY SQUARE (in a poor area and near other malls with Macy's stores)

GLEN BURNIE MD-MARLEY STATION (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

BEL AIR MD-HANOVER MALL (small market and near another mall with Macy's)

HANOVER MA-HANOVER CROSSING (near other malls with Macy's stores)

KINGSTON MA-KINGSTON COLLECTION (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

SAGINAW MI-FASHION SQUARE (small market)

OKEMOS MI-MERIDIAN MALL (small market)

PORTAGE MI-CROSSROADS MALL (small market)

FLINT MI-GENNESEE VALLEY MALL (small market)

MAPLEWOOD MN-MAPLEWOOD MALL (in a somewhat struggling mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

BURNSVILLE MN-BURNSVILLE CENTER (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

SAINT LOUIS MO - SOUTH COUNTY MALL (next to Dillards)

SAINT PETERS MO-MID RIVERS MALL (next to Dillards)

SPRINGFIELD MO-BATTLEFIELD MALL (next to Dillards)

KANSAS CITY MO - METRO NORTH (next to Dillards)

BOZEMAN MT-GALLATIN VALLEY MALL (small market)

LAS VEGAS NV – MEADOWS MALL (near other malls with Macy's stores)

NEWINGTON NH-FOX RUN MALL (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

TOMS RIVER NJ-OCEAN COUNTY MALL (next to Boscov's)

EAST BRUNSWICK NJ-BRUNSWICK SQUARE (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

LIVINGSTON NJ-LIVINGSTON MALL (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS NY-JEFFERSON VALLEY (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores)

BRONX NY-PARKCHESTER (near other Macy's stores)

CHARLOTTE NC – NORTHLAKE (next to Dillard’s and Belk)

GREENSBORO NC-FRIENDLY CENTER (next to Dillard’s and Belk)

FAYETTEVILLE NC-CROSS CREEK MALL (next to Belk)

RALEIGH NC - TRIANGLE TC (next to Dillard’s and Belk)

NILES OH-EASTWOOD MALL (next to Boscov’s)

UNI HEIGHTS OH-STANDALONE (next to a Dillard’s at Beachwood Mall)

STRONGSVILLE OH-SOUTHPARK MALL (next to Dillard’s)

BEAVERCREEK OH- MALL AT FAIRFIELD COMMONS (I'm confused at why both Dayton stores are on this list, since the only department store similar to Macy's in this market is Von Maur (unless you also count JCPenney).  Side note: This is actually the last mall with a Macy’s that has an operating Suncoast Motion Picture Co. store. Remember them. They have two others at the malls in Beaumont, Texas and Jacksonville, North Carolina, but neither mall has a Macy’s)

CENTERVILLE OH-DAYTON MALL (I'm confused at why both Dayton stores are on this list, since the only department store similar to Macy's in this market is Von Maur (unless you also count JCPenney).

CINCINNATI OH - ANDERSON (near other Macy's stores)

TOLEDO OH-FRANKLIN PARK (next to Dillard’s)

CANTON OH-BELDEN VILLAGE (next to Dillard’s)

TULSA OK-WOODLAND HILLS MALL (next to Dillard’s)

HILLSBORO OR-TANASBOURNE (near other Macy's stores)

BEND OR (small market. It is in the town with the world’s last operating Blockbuster Video)

EXTON PA-EXTON SQUARE (next to Boscov’s, but mall is a dead one)

TARENTUM PA-GALLERIA AT PITTSBURGH MILLS  (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores) ALTOONA, PA- LOGAN VALLEY MALL (near a Boscov's)

LANGHORNE PA- OXFORD VALLEY MALL  (in a somewhat struggling mall and near other malls with Macy's stores) WILKES BARRE, PA- WYOMING VALLEY MALL (near a Boscov's)

COLUMBIA SC-COLUMBIA PLACE (near a Dillard’s and Belk store, but the mall it operates in is dead)

SIOUX FALLS SD- EMPIRE MALL (next to a brand new Dillard’s store)

FRANKLIN TN- COOL SPRINGS GALLERIA (next to Dillard’s and Belk)

IRVING TX- IRVING MALL (in a dying mall and near other malls with Macy's stores and Dillard's stores)

PLANO TX- SHOPS AT WILLOW BEND (in a dying mall and next to Dillard’s)

FAIRVIEW TX (next to Dillard’s)

CEDAR PARK TX-LAKELINE MALL (next to Dillard’s)

SAN ANTONIO TX - INGRAM PARK (next to Dillard’s)

SAN ANTONIO TX - SOUTH PARK (even though mall is still doing okay and there is no Dillard's at this mall, it is in a poorer area and there are Dillards and Macy's in other places in this market.)

HOUSTON TX - ALMEDA (near other Macy's stores)

AUSTIN TX - BARTON CREEK (next to Dillard’s)

PEARLAND TX (next to Dillard’s)

CORPUS CHRISTI TX (next to Dillard’s)

SALT LAKE CITY UT - CITY CREEK (this one surprised me to show up on this list because it is a new location, built 12 years ago, and the mall is thriving. But it is also next to Nordstrom, which has two locations in the market, more than a typical market its size.)

ROANOKE VA-VALLEY VIEW MALL (next to Belk)

FREDERICKSBURG VA (next to Belk)

SILVERDALE WA-KITSAP MALL (small market)

PUYALLUP WA-SOUTH HILL MALL (near other Macy's stores)

OLYMPIA WA-CAPITAL MALL (small market)

BELLINGHAM WA-BELLIS FAIR (small market)

EAST WENATCHEE WA- WENATCHEE VALLEY MALL (small market)

GREENDALE WI-SOUTHRIDGE MALL (near other Macy's stores)

APPLETON WI-FOX RIVER MALL (small market)