Opinion by Shawn Spencer
How many of you remember what Myrtle Avenue looked like 30 years ago? Fifty? Back then, you might recall seeing JB Burger, Box Jewelers, Gem City Grill and a few others. Long gone are JC Penny’s, Papillon and many others. It is normal for the demographic to change over time. I mean, why would we need a fabric store on Myrtle? I do not know anyone that makes their own clothing. Fabric is now for DIY projects. As a matter of fact, I am often amazed (and happy), that Florsheim Shoes is still in business.
Long before the pandemic, foot traffic in retail stores began to wane drastically. The retail apocalypse has been killing off our brick-and-mortar stores and can be traced back to approximately 2011. What happened? High rents, over-expansion of malls, the (not-so-great) 2008 depression and (you guessed it) e-commerce. Amazon has single-handedly been credited for the closure of Borders, Toys “R” Us, Sears and countless other stores that have filed for bankruptcy or closed forever.
We have seen Myrtle go from mom-and-pop shops to a quaint version of Restaurant Row. How many pubs, bars and eateries can Monrovia sustain? Our cups also runneth over with nail salons, boba and real estate offices. With the pandemic throwing a monkey wrench into the small business community, those closure numbers are sadly growing. At this point, there is no indication that Old Town will see Wells Fargo or Chase return.
These times o’change make me nervous. I can only imagine how people felt when the last wave of change rolled by. The outcry from the movie theatre coming to town was deafening, but don’t we all miss it now? Are brick-and-mortar retailers really on their way out? Or are we just not looking at the bigger picture? Can these stores evolve in response to the changing market?
Change is always uncomfortable. It will be interesting to see what ideas our next generation of entrepreneurs comes up with. I am not sure what Old Town Monrovia will look like with an Amazon Go or other omni-channel experiences, but that seems to be the next soup of the day. All I can ask is that the charm of this town remain. That, and please, oh please, ease us into it slowly.
