And restaurants co-locating in big box stores

Space for rent at the entrance to the Walmart on 300 West in Salt Lake City.

I don't think this is a good idea or at least, particularly lucrative, either.  When the Walmart came to Georgia Avenue in DC, they touted that were supporting local business by having two edge retail spaces, one for a soul food restaurant, the other for a credit union.

But the reality is that (1) people going to big box stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc., aren't looking to also buy a quality meal, they want to get in and out.

Sure Targets often have food counters, some Home Depots used to allow hot dog carts, and Costco is known for its cheap eats at its food counter ("Costco Customers Weigh In on the Value of Costco’s New $9.99 Roast Beef Sandwich," Newsbreak).

Ikea is the big exception.  But they use their food offering as a draw to keep the people in the stores much longer, spending all the while ("How IKEA Uses Food to Get You to Spend More," Takeout).  Their food isn't cheap, but it's not too expensive, and it's high quality.

But overall people aren't looking to spend a whole lot.

(2) the demographics of Walmart customers aren't congruent with spending a lot of money on prepared food either.

(3) Not to mention that WRT Walmart specifically, their business model is to capture as much as 100% of the retail spend of the customer, which leaves nothing but scraps for other retailers and restaurants.

So I am not thinking that this new independent restaurant in a Walmart in Charlotte, North Carolina will do particularly well ("‘Who would have ever imagined a locally-owned, soul food restaurant inside a Walmart?’," Charlotte Observer). 

Skyline started as a food truck so this is a step forward.  I hope their rents are minimal.  From the article:

After a year or two, the business moved into a food truck. “It was a success — we were everywhere with the food truck,” she said. Five years later, a potential rental space became available inside the Walmart. “And boy oh boy, it took us a year, but we built it out ourselves.”

“I’m kind of in awe about it, being inside a Walmart,” she said. “It’s nothing but blessings from God and my angel.”

The Oohs and Aahs at the Georgia Avenue DC store is still open, so that's saying something, but it has a pretty low profile.