Downtown development revitalizing St. Louis, good for produce suppliers
Downtown development revitalizing St. Louis, good for produce suppliers
A new Mississippi River casino and continuing development are revitalizing downtown St. Louis.
According to the gaming company Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., headquartered in Las Vegas, it is building a $430 million project located on its site at Laclede's Landing, near the famed Gateway Arch. This will feature a large casino, a 200-room luxury hotel, spa, business center, fine restaurants and 12,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.
"St. Louis is becoming the new New Orleans," in the view of Sal Pupillo, the sales manager of H.R. Bushman & Son Corp., which is based in St. Louis.
He noted that the downtown area revitalization was boosted with a new St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadium, which opened in April 2006. This brought new restaurants at Ballpark Village and the new casino plans will likely result in further benefits, he said.
"We sell to a lot foodservice people and have more business that is in the downtown area." Mr. Pupillo said the new casino "and all that is going on [makes] a real nice place to visit for new conventions and so forth." As to being the "new New Orleans," Mr. Pupillo said, "I think St. Louis will take the play. New Orleans is not on track to rebuild and the play will come north. We have beautiful summertimes in St. Louis. I think we're in line." Developers "are doing what it takes to make people comfortable. There are safe, big hotels and casinos. There will be a place to go. And we have had our own Mardi Gras parade for the last 10 years." The city is "stepping up to plate and doing what it needs to do and the city is creating excitement and drawing people. There is a lot of business there for us produce people."
Similarly, Steve Wielansky, a family partner in St. Louis' Independent Fruit & Produce, noted, "Downtown is trying to make a push to become vibrant. It hasn't been for many years. With Ballpark Village, [the city is] trying to really bring back downtown. There are restaurants, hotels and more convention business. It is very good for all ends of the business if it succeeds." Meanwhile, he noted, "Demand for produce is good."
Also seeing this success is Dan Pupillo Jr., the owner of St. Louis-based Midwest Best Produce. "The area as a whole is growing. The St. Louis area is seems to be coming back and business seems be picking up over the next few years as the city comes back."
Charlie Gallagher Sr., who owns United Fruit & Produce Co. on St. Louis' Produce Row, said that the city's "downtown area, slowly like other cities, is getting loft districts and building restaurants, which makes it interesting." United Fruit is either supplying restaurants there or supplying jobbers who do. The plans for the newest casino "bode well for the property" at the market. "There are a lot of good things happening."
Dan Pupillo said that St. Louis' produce market "has been shrinking for the past 10 years. It's been changing and losing people on the terminal market itself. It is more customer service-oriented business."
The produce companies that have survived made changes, such as adopting value-added products to "keep our piece of the pie." Midwest Best tries "to partner more and more with businesses in the area to work together and lock ourselves in with the companies around us. We need them as much as they need us. There are several companies in town that we are back and forth with."
Sal Pupillo similarly observed, "Over the years, the market has changed tremendously. In the last five years, it steadied. You have to be in tune with your customers. There are not a lot of customers, but there are very, very good customers, and we have to stay in line with what they need. You make sure your customers make money and get the best quality at the right times. We have been doing this many, many years. We know our niche, so it works."
Jeff Moore, vice president of sales for the St. Louis office of Tom Lange Co. Inc., said that St. Louis consumers are finding more options for grocery shopping than were available 10 years ago. More specifically, Mr. Moore said, "Costco and Sam's Club and Wal-Mart Supercenters are popping up. Things are more competitive for Shop 'n Save, Dierberg's and Schnucks. Some stores have announced that they are dropping prices. Consumers see things will get a little better for them, as far as competitive pricing is concerned. Consumers in St. Louis have more options, and it seems retailers are working hard to fight for that business."
Mr. Gallagher said, "We get the 'W' word. Wal-Mart is expanding in this area, and local merchants are muscling up to prepare for them." To answer Wal- Mart, he noted, "there is a lot in the marketplace other than low prices."
Also, "there are other low-price competitors besides Wal-Mart who are having success. There are retailers with the 'Tiffany' image," he said in a reference to upscale options. Upscale retailing "is a very hard space to maintain. We have a couple of operators who maintain that space and are being rewarded for doing a good job."
(For more on the St. Louis market, see the Feb. 26 issue of The Produce News.)
According to the gaming company Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., headquartered in Las Vegas, it is building a $430 million project located on its site at Laclede's Landing, near the famed Gateway Arch. This will feature a large casino, a 200-room luxury hotel, spa, business center, fine restaurants and 12,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.
"St. Louis is becoming the new New Orleans," in the view of Sal Pupillo, the sales manager of H.R. Bushman & Son Corp., which is based in St. Louis.
He noted that the downtown area revitalization was boosted with a new St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadium, which opened in April 2006. This brought new restaurants at Ballpark Village and the new casino plans will likely result in further benefits, he said.
"We sell to a lot foodservice people and have more business that is in the downtown area." Mr. Pupillo said the new casino "and all that is going on [makes] a real nice place to visit for new conventions and so forth." As to being the "new New Orleans," Mr. Pupillo said, "I think St. Louis will take the play. New Orleans is not on track to rebuild and the play will come north. We have beautiful summertimes in St. Louis. I think we're in line." Developers "are doing what it takes to make people comfortable. There are safe, big hotels and casinos. There will be a place to go. And we have had our own Mardi Gras parade for the last 10 years." The city is "stepping up to plate and doing what it needs to do and the city is creating excitement and drawing people. There is a lot of business there for us produce people."
Similarly, Steve Wielansky, a family partner in St. Louis' Independent Fruit & Produce, noted, "Downtown is trying to make a push to become vibrant. It hasn't been for many years. With Ballpark Village, [the city is] trying to really bring back downtown. There are restaurants, hotels and more convention business. It is very good for all ends of the business if it succeeds." Meanwhile, he noted, "Demand for produce is good."
Also seeing this success is Dan Pupillo Jr., the owner of St. Louis-based Midwest Best Produce. "The area as a whole is growing. The St. Louis area is seems to be coming back and business seems be picking up over the next few years as the city comes back."
Charlie Gallagher Sr., who owns United Fruit & Produce Co. on St. Louis' Produce Row, said that the city's "downtown area, slowly like other cities, is getting loft districts and building restaurants, which makes it interesting." United Fruit is either supplying restaurants there or supplying jobbers who do. The plans for the newest casino "bode well for the property" at the market. "There are a lot of good things happening."
Dan Pupillo said that St. Louis' produce market "has been shrinking for the past 10 years. It's been changing and losing people on the terminal market itself. It is more customer service-oriented business."
The produce companies that have survived made changes, such as adopting value-added products to "keep our piece of the pie." Midwest Best tries "to partner more and more with businesses in the area to work together and lock ourselves in with the companies around us. We need them as much as they need us. There are several companies in town that we are back and forth with."
Sal Pupillo similarly observed, "Over the years, the market has changed tremendously. In the last five years, it steadied. You have to be in tune with your customers. There are not a lot of customers, but there are very, very good customers, and we have to stay in line with what they need. You make sure your customers make money and get the best quality at the right times. We have been doing this many, many years. We know our niche, so it works."
Jeff Moore, vice president of sales for the St. Louis office of Tom Lange Co. Inc., said that St. Louis consumers are finding more options for grocery shopping than were available 10 years ago. More specifically, Mr. Moore said, "Costco and Sam's Club and Wal-Mart Supercenters are popping up. Things are more competitive for Shop 'n Save, Dierberg's and Schnucks. Some stores have announced that they are dropping prices. Consumers see things will get a little better for them, as far as competitive pricing is concerned. Consumers in St. Louis have more options, and it seems retailers are working hard to fight for that business."
Mr. Gallagher said, "We get the 'W' word. Wal-Mart is expanding in this area, and local merchants are muscling up to prepare for them." To answer Wal- Mart, he noted, "there is a lot in the marketplace other than low prices."
Also, "there are other low-price competitors besides Wal-Mart who are having success. There are retailers with the 'Tiffany' image," he said in a reference to upscale options. Upscale retailing "is a very hard space to maintain. We have a couple of operators who maintain that space and are being rewarded for doing a good job."
(For more on the St. Louis market, see the Feb. 26 issue of The Produce News.)
