What's your take on specialty retail leasing, specifically "little box" popup stores?
I'm curious about specialty retail leasing from the commercial realtor's perspective.  These places seem to be hard to find, so as a small retail owner I'm wondering why.  It seems to me that they would be the perfect "entry level" lease space for new entrepreneurs like me.  I'm in an area with booming retail growth, new "mixed-use downtown" areas being developed, but none of them seem to be including specialty retail in their site plans.  If you want to know what I'm talking about, a good example is Urban Pop Reston (I won't post the link and look like a spammer, but you can google it).

So what are the challenges with these?  I honestly want to know.  I'm also very interested in educating myself about commercial leasing so that when my shop is big enough to move out of my house, I won't ask stupid questions or do stupid things.  :)
[{"id": "ee328cz", "text": "Im not a realtor but I work in CRE doing financial analysis. I can think of a few reasons why an owner might not be interested. Owners want longer-term credit leases. If the market is booming, it's an owner's market and they get to choose from the best retailers (assuming they are right in the middle of the action). Why would they rent out 500 sf to a smaller tenant that would generate very little income for them? It isn't worth their time and money given their alternatives like keeping that 500 sf open so the 2,000 sf space can use it. Also, the subject company looks very unique, nice yes, but would probably only be attractive to very specific owners. Just my two cents.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ee37fw6", "text": "Owners look for longer term leases and specialty type leases are \u201cbackup\u201d.\n\nThose Halloween speciality stores that open in some vacant storefront for a September and October? That\u2019s a retail space the owner couldn\u2019t lease and wanted to make some money on it. \n\nEdit : Also specialty leases and pop up leases generally work better in second or third generation spaces. First generation spaces (first tenant in the space) require a capital investment to fit the space out and either the developer or tenant pays. Specialty tenants tend to use what was already built for the last tenant ", "replies": [{"id": "ee4ije2", "text": "Right.  That's the problem I have with the term \"pop up\".  People automatically think of the Halloween stores.  What I have in mind is something more long-term, but small and boutique.  Something more like the Urban Pop I mentioned in my OP if you want to take a look at it.\n\nI did talk to the property manager for that location a couple years ago.  She told me it was actually in a bad location for retail.  It's at a metro stop, so gets enormous foot traffic.  However, the traffic is 99% commuters who only want to get to work or get home and not really interested in browsing shops.  But if that concept was moved (or copied) in one of the large mixed-use \"downtown\" areas they're developing in my area, I suspect they'd do pretty well.\n\nI keep wanting to reach out to the managers of those mixed-use developments to inquire but I'm realistically not yet ready to take on a lease.  I'm honestly tire-kicking but I don't want to be an annoying tire-kicker.  :)  So I thought I'd ask here instead where you all won't mistake me for possible revenue and get mad that I just want education.  ", "replies": [{"id": "ee4syou", "text": "Yeah the Halloween stores were my go-to example because it\u2019s something everyone recognizes. I\u2019m sure some of your local mall owners have a dedicated speciality leasing representative and some vacant space to work with. Might be a place to start. \n\nThe company I work for is actually developing exactly what you\u2019re describing - I\u2019ll pm some examples to google. it\u2019s probably a matter of reaching out to the leasing people for all the developments in your target area and let them know what you\u2019re looking for.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]