92661 Mon Aug 29 17:19:39 -0700 2005 13 5 Texas 0 509012 I saw a notice somewhere about Penzeys spices opening a new store in Dallas. Apparently, it's now open at 12835 Preston Rd (just south of the LBJ). I know from personal experience that Penzeys and The Spice House (started by one of Penzeys' daughters) are great sources of spices and spice mixes. Haven't made it to the Dallas store yet, though. Has anyone else? Mon Aug 29 17:19:39 -0700 2005 0 Kirk 1 509013 The one on 19th Street in Houston is one of my favorite places. The smells are good enough to eat. It is wonderful to be able to know what you are buying. Taking home a hermetically sealed bottle, then finding out that it smells/tastes terrible is a real downer. That never happens at Penzey's! The employees are very helpful, too. Mon Aug 29 18:05:51 -0700 2005 509012 0 Doni 1 509016 You might want to check out Penderys, est 1870, Fort Worth, TX and I believe there is a location in Dallas. I think that Penzey's is copying them. "A select collection, continually broadened and refined, providing you with the satisfaction of the finest quality product, delivered by a family dedicated to personally servicing our customers for the past 130 years. Thank you." Link: http://www.penderys.com/ Mon Aug 29 22:25:30 -0700 2005 509012 0 john clark 2 509018 Penderys is great, and I agree that they are worth checking out. But Penzeys has been around in Wisconsin since 1957, and the founder is a guy named Bill Penzey. I think the similarity of the name is coincidental. They are also worth exploring. Link: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/penzeyscatalog.html Mon Aug 29 22:34:20 -0700 2005 509016 0 Kirk 1 509020 I dropped by Penzeys last night. Looked for it in the Preston Valley shopping center (where I'd heard they were located) and couldn't find it. Went down and checked the four corners of Preston and Forest. Went back to Preston Valley a second time to go over it with a fine toothed comb and found it. They were closed. They close at 5:30 on weekdays and 5 on Saturdays (and are closed on Sundays). The reason I had trouble finding them? They have no visibility from the street and no signage (either on the facade or shopping center pylon). So, if anyone goes, go early. And look for them in the corner space well into the Preston Valley shopping center (i.e., the one with India Palace at the SW corner of Preston and LBJ), next to Salons of Dallas. Crazy site selection. Why would you try to go sell spices in a B-grade strip center with no street visibility, no signage, and no other food-related retailers? Had they gone into the SW corner of Preston and Forest--with its more upper-middle class clientele and Whole Foods--I could understand. But how many people are going to be bargain hunting at Tuesday Morning or looking at wedding attire at Ascot Tuxedos, BridesMart, or Terry Costa, and think, "Hey, I wonder what's in that unmarked store in the corner? I think I'll go have a look. Maybe they'll have some of those white Scandinavian-style cardamom pods I've been looking all over for!" Scott Tue Aug 30 10:14:15 -0700 2005 509012 0 Scott 2 509021 Yikes! I hope that's not a sign of things to come. Tue Aug 30 11:46:02 -0700 2005 509020 0 Kirk 2 509022 ***Crazy site selection. Why would you try to go sell spices in a B-grade strip center with no street visibility, no signage, and no other food-related retailers? *** Because that is how they have always done it ... they look for bargain basement location. All you have to do is visit their "factory store" location outside on Milwaukee to realize that they are not hoing into "A" locations. They tend to be a destination location, not a place that you "stumble into". Tue Aug 30 13:38:31 -0700 2005 509020 0 jlawrence01 3 509024 Yep, they've done the same thing in their recent opening here in Portland. Sounds like they're in even a worse location here (along a strip of property that is on the edge of our red light district, but also just north of a mall). Tue Aug 30 14:22:33 -0700 2005 509022 0 extramsg 4 509043 Personally, I have been to a half dozen of their shops. And my reaction is much like my reaction to Gateway Computer Stores ... you have a successful business model. Why add all the overhead?? It is not like they do any food demos or anything like that. They are missing a lot of opportunities to show people how to use their spices. Wed Aug 31 01:42:58 -0700 2005 509024 0 jlawrence01 5 509045 You write, "Personally, I have been to a half dozen of their shops. And my reaction is much like my reaction to Gateway Computer Stores ... you have a successful business model. Why add all the overhead??" Umm...all the Gateway stores were closed more than a year ago. (See link below.) Scott Link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-04-01-gateway-stores_x.htm Wed Aug 31 10:30:19 -0700 2005 509043 0 Scott 6 509048 I don't think the Penzey's model is the same as the Gateway model, in the first place. Penzey's started out in 1957 as bricks and mortar in Wisconsin, and then built a very strong catalog and online business. They're clearly trying to expand geographically, beyond their upper-Midwest base, and I guess they believe the retail presence is the best way to do that. Gateway, on the other hand, had the geographic reach, and were trying to overcome their biggest obstacle: that you couldn't buy a Gateway computer and get it the same day. One other big difference is that spice purchases tend to be at least partially impulse driven, based on actually seeing/smelling/tasting the product. My guess would be that their average purchase at retail is both larger and more frequent than via the catalog or online. So their retail gross margins ought to be large enough to support the cost of the retail network. Gateway had none of these advantages or capabilities when they opened the retail stores. You don't buy five computers instead of one when you walk in, just because you tried them out and liked them. Computers are almost entirely specification- and price-driven (plus reliability/warranty and service after the sale.) But even Apple has learned that having retail presence in selected locations allows you to sell ancillary products, like iPods, digital video cameras, etc. Wed Aug 31 12:55:11 -0700 2005 509045 0 Kirk 2 509051 They are putting up the sign on the building today. I was cutting through the parking lot and they had 3 trucks out there hanging big green signs. I can almost see it from my office. Wed Aug 31 13:58:26 -0700 2005 509020 0 Marcus 1 510182 No, I haven't been there yet, but I get a variety of spices (hard to find spices) from the Kurry King at the Dallas Farmers Market. Link: http://dallasspicemarket.com Tue Dec 13 17:37:42 -0800 2005 509012 0 sandia 1 510183 No, I haven't been there yet, but I get a variety of spices (hard to find spices) from the Kurry King at the Dallas Farmers Market. Link: http://dallasspicemarket.com Tue Dec 13 17:38:07 -0800 2005 509012 0 sandia