More Restaurants Could Help Fill Lower Hill Vacancies

The lower end of Chestnut Hill is a challenge for Retail Recruiter Eileen Reilly. While storefronts along Germantown Avenue above Southampton Avenue are coveted among independent retailers, the lower Hill is not as popular.

Part of the problem, Reilly said, is that there is not as much of an attraction to walk around there.

“The Lower Hill is destination shopping. When people go down there, it is for the purpose of visiting a particular store. We want to get them to neighboring stores, what will keep someone there, meandering a couple of blocks further,” Reilly said.

The pedestrian nature of the higher end of Germantown Avenue is an asset to stores located in that area, while shops like or on the lower end bring drivers who park, run in the store, and leave.

One thing that could add a walking appeal to the lower Hill, Reilly said, is more places to eat.

“Definitely food,” Reilly said. “, for example, was a gift to the Lower Hill. More sit and stop opportunities like that will help lower business not be isolated.”

Vacancies in the lower hill have been more of a struggle to fill, especially in the Chestnut Hill Plaza, where a Rita’s Water Ice is to fill a vacancy.

Reilly has been a vocal supporter of the Rita’s, and has said she is “frustrated” that arbitration could keep the water ice shop from coming to the Lower Hill.

This is the second of a in Chestnut Hill. In the upcoming weeks, Chestnut Hill Patch will be examining the vacancies throughout Chestnut Hill, and what can be done to fill them. Check back next week as we begin to examine individual vacancies along Germantown Avenue.