A great opportunity to see the value in including coffee/food/beverage as an element of "traditional" retail

Shop Made in DC is a retail shop in Dupont Circle selling locally made items, but it includes a coffee bar, and also sells artisan foods made locally as well ("Holiday Shopping, Small Business Saturday, etc.," 2017).

The firm is opening a new store in the new Wharf district on the Southwest Waterfron ("Shop Made in D.C. opening second location," Washington Business Journal) but without the coffee bar.  From the article:

The new location will give Shop Made in D.C. the chance to test a purely retail format, said Price. In Dupont Circle, the venue combines both traditional retail with a casual food and beverage component that highlights local food companies and beverage producers. ...

Price and Babin signed a one-year lease for The Wharf space to test the concept in a more tourist-heavy location.

“I think The Wharf will actually surprise us with the amount of people that live closer to there coming in,” Price said. “And of course, being in a neighborhood that is very tourist driven is of interest to us.”

Whereas the Dupont store opens early on weekdays for the coffee crowd and has more limited hours on weekends, Price expects The Wharf location to be much busier on weekends and in the evenings. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily to start.

My sense is that their retail sales will be significantly diminished by the failure to include a coffee bar.

People eat and drink every day.

OTOH, people buy retail stuff that is physical goods, especially artisanal produced items which tend to cost more (cf. The Arts and Crafts Movement), infrequently.

And the Wharf District customer base is likely to be visiting more for eatertainment purchases, and will be less inclined to buy physical goods.