It isn't like we haven't been into a Super Target before - after all, they have one just up the street at Bandera Pointe and another over off of Highway 151 and Loop 410, but now that we have our very own in Alamo Ranch, I might actually go there from time to time.
If you have been down to 1604 and Culebra, you can already feel the influx of traffic in just the past month or so. No, it isn't 1604 and Bandera bad or heaven forbid, 1604 and 281 horrendous, but still, you get the feeling that as more of these stores open, people fed up with the nightmare of trying to get through the choke point that is Braun and 1604, people will take advantage of the slightly better traffic situation on Culebra and Alamo Ranch.
So, enough about traffic. If you are like us and have put off going to the Super Target, there are a few reasons to give it a try. But I must caution you: the people who designed the parking lot layout at Alamo Ranch are probably descendants of the idiots who designed most of San Antonio's ill conceived, not even thought-out, traffic patterns (see the aforementioned 1604 and 281 comment). So as you drive through, be aware that at some intersections, there are stop signs, and some there aren't, but neither is intuitive. I predict numerous near-misses, crushed fenders and splatted pedestrians before someone figures out that allowing the parking lot planners to drink beer during their lunch hour is a bad idea.
Once you have safely parked, you are free to move about the lot, cautiously! Welcome to Super Target.
Okay, nothing special but I do need to point out two important things: The baskets and the carts. I think someone told me these shopping carts are like a fine Mercedes, and I have to report that I concur! Talk about a smooth ride. And no sharp edges for kids to get all scraped up on.
Inside the store, the place was clean and well lit (of course). One of the downfalls (in my mind anyway) is that when I go into and Target, I feel like I am somehow being hypnotized. Am I the only one? Between the florescent lights, the red patterns and flying youngsters overhead, I just feel my head start to spin.
Or maybe I just feel a little overwhelmed by not getting all the hip fashions and stuff. I do confess to liking Target's TV ads - I think they do a great job of making me feel like I need to get some of whatever it is they sell. But here is where I have to draw the line. Seriously. San Antonio is perpetually on the fattest city in America list. Who do the fine people at Super Target think is going to fit on this couch? I saw a lady at a taco place today who wouldn't have been able to get one of her thighs on this seat without some car jacks on either side to hold up the flesh. And for $199.99? Seriously?
But in spite of Super Target being a little more upper scale than the Wal Mart I normally attend, I'm glad to see they still cater to common folk who are free to come in and shop comfortably, without bothering to shave their backs and shoulders. That's hospitality.
Finally, if I hadn't given you plenty of reasons to visit, it is official, the Starbucks in Super Target is the closest one to my house, and my wife is pretty happy about that.
Sometimes, all I can do is shut-up and let the camera do its job...
But your captions would be fine... You know, "What not to wear on a windy day" or "Say, is that a blimp in your pants...?" Poor guy. Hey, I've had the Venti(tm) Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino at Starbucks and I know it can happen.
I'm just sayin...
I took the day off today to get a bunch of errands done and had the bright idea to take my van out for a new set of brakes. I informed my wife of this little idea just as she was jumping into the shower. I figured by the time I got to the brake place and everything all squared away, she could come by, pick me up and we could eat a little snack.
So, an hour later, I'm sitting in the waiting room of the Brake Check, and my wife comes to pick me up. She has a bright idea of her own. Since I'm getting new brakes, why don't we go and throw some new tires on her truck?
So, long story short, during the time that we were waiting for both vehicles to get their respective work done, we wondered across the street from Discount Tires (Only the best for us, right?) and had a little breakfast snack.
I have seen this commercial for McDonald's new iced coffee kinda deal. They have this guy who has two cups of this stuff and he notices that one has slightly less than the other, so he starts sipping out of the full one, then sips the other to try to even the cups out. Because the iced coffee is just so delicious, by the time he gets to the two guys he is supposed to deliver them to, he has sipped it down to one cup.
So, my wife is a huge fan of Starbucks. But we were at McDonald's. While I was happy to get the coffee that came with the sausage biscuit and hash browns I ordered, she opted to try this new iced coffee.
She ordered the small iced coffee, but the manager taking her order advised us that they do not offer a small, only medium or large. I don't have to tell you that if you only have two sizes and one is bigger than the other, then technically, the smaller of the two is small, not medium. But you know that. McDonald's does not.
Anyway, my wife gets her medium iced coffee and took a single sip and made quite the face and said quite loudly I might add, "This crap is horrible!"
Okay, so I have been wondering how the original coffee in that McDonald's commercial had been missing a sip or two from it. Now we both know. Somebody obviously ordered the medium and got the same reaction my wife did.
Mystery solved.
Oh, the other thing we learned from McDonald's is that apparently, you aren't supposed to eat from the displays. Say What? And you know they didn't put the official napkin sign out as a proactive warning. I mean, in the same way it took some clumsy lady suing the bejesus out of McDonald's because she poured coffee down her thighs without realizing it may be hot, for them to put a warning sign on the cup that tells you it is hot; some dipshit must have taken a huge bite out of the Thanksgiving display prompting them to ask others not to enjoy it beyond the standard visual inspection.
I think if you have to have the hand written napkin signage, it's time to hang it up or go wax.
You may recall back in mid-July, I offered free advice to developers on two locations where they could make some big bucks. Well, I have an update on one of the locations.
At the corner of Timber Path and Grissom where you have Stacy's Sports Bar on one side and Speedway Sports Bar on the other, I have learned that a church of some sort has purchased the large end part of the building that used to be Coyote's. My suggestion was a Peter Piper Pizza, but I guess a church will do. A lady standing out front did tell me the name of the church, something to do with flowing river or something like that, but I couldn't catch it and she was on a cell call so I didn't want to bother her.
I think this church will make a great addition to the strip center, but I hope that a year from now, they don't forget that they purchased property in between two heavily used bars and in front of a graffiti filled skate park. I wish them luck in their mission.
I still don't have a lock on the other location. I had suggested a Starbucks in front of HEB at the corner of Tezel/Grissom/Culebra, but whatever it is going to be, has not posted a sign or permits. I drove by this morning with the intention of asking a worker, but there was no workers, just a fresh slab.
If you know what the business is, tell me about it - my wife is dying to know!
UPDATE: Reader Rick e-mailed me to advise that he stopped and asked workers who were laying the slab shown here, and they say it is going to be a Chase Bank. Sorry Starbucks fans. Nobody ever takes my advice!
UPDATE2: Reader Gus reports that he was told that the guys laying the slab were putting in a Wells Fargo Bank! Do you suppose the construction workers are trying to mess with us all? At this rate, it just may end up being a Starbucks!
Every so often, I like to offer up a bit of free advice to developers who may be looking for an investment. What I'm about to tell you is free for you to use, and I ask for nothing in return, though you may wish to give me credit, but again, I don't require it.
There are two places along Grissom Road that could be hugely successful money making locations if they would be put to the right use. One of these locations seems to have something being done to it, so my advice may be too late. That is the empty space in front of the HEB at Tezel/Grissom/Culebra.
The second space was the original HEB from about 20 years ago located at the corner of Timber Path and Grissom. The place has been used as a dance club but long ago lost its attractiveness when it went out of business as Coyotes. Follow-up efforts to use the huge space as different types of clubs didn't work out because the place is too big to run (A/C wise) without having it packed with patrons. Unfortunately, even if the place is packed by smaller standards, (say 75 to 100 people) it seems empty because the space is so big - when a place seems empty, nobody wants to return because they think they are the only saps who find the place attractive, and therefore, must be nerds. This is why the two new bars that have opened on either side of it (Staceys on one side and Speedway on the other) seem to be very successful. They are small enough to be packed all the time.
My two suggestions: Starbucks in front of HEB and Peter Piper Pizza where the old Coyotes was.
You could put Starbucks on all four corners of any intersection and they would all be successful. That is a no brainier. But the closest Starbucks to this area is on Bandera, with another on 151 and another on Potranco. Are you kidding me?
The Peter Piper Pizza took even less thought. A while back, we attended a kid's party at the PPP on Bandera. They serve beer, they serve pizza and they have kids games. How could you go wrong? Now, think about it in this area. You have all the residents from the entire Great Northwest and other surrounding residential areas nearby. And for the parents who want to drop off their kids at a party but are shy about having the other families see them get liquored up - simply go into Stacey's Sports bar right next door or The Speedway on the other side.
Sheer brilliance!
There you have it folks. Free advice. I'm also available for free advice to city planners, mall store consultation and other general advice.
Once you have safely parked, you are free to move about the lot, cautiously! Welcome to Super Target.
Okay, nothing special but I do need to point out two important things: The baskets and the carts. I think someone told me these shopping carts are like a fine Mercedes, and I have to report that I concur! Talk about a smooth ride. And no sharp edges for kids to get all scraped up on.
Inside the store, the place was clean and well lit (of course). One of the downfalls (in my mind anyway) is that when I go into and Target, I feel like I am somehow being hypnotized. Am I the only one? Between the florescent lights, the red patterns and flying youngsters overhead, I just feel my head start to spin.
Or maybe I just feel a little overwhelmed by not getting all the hip fashions and stuff. I do confess to liking Target's TV ads - I think they do a great job of making me feel like I need to get some of whatever it is they sell. But here is where I have to draw the line. Seriously. San Antonio is perpetually on the fattest city in America list. Who do the fine people at Super Target think is going to fit on this couch? I saw a lady at a taco place today who wouldn't have been able to get one of her thighs on this seat without some car jacks on either side to hold up the flesh. And for $199.99? Seriously?
But in spite of Super Target being a little more upper scale than the Wal Mart I normally attend, I'm glad to see they still cater to common folk who are free to come in and shop comfortably, without bothering to shave their backs and shoulders. That's hospitality.
Finally, if I hadn't given you plenty of reasons to visit, it is official, the Starbucks in Super Target is the closest one to my house, and my wife is pretty happy about that.
