OAKLAND—Vacant storefronts have long plagued the city's downtown, but six small businesses, including a jewelry store and a bike shop, suddenly opened up last month on the Old Oakland block of 9th Street and Broadway.
The surge of activity was no coincidence. The pop-up stores are part of an experiment by two entrepreneurs, backed by the city of Oakland, to help revive commerce in the area—and potentially in other parts of the city as well.
Alfonso Dominguez and Sarah Filley, entrepreneurs and founders of 'popuphood,' which tries to help small businesses and fill vacant storefronts
"We're focused on incubating small businesses," says Sarah Filley, co-founder of the project, dubbed "popuphood." She adds that she and co-founder Alfonso Dominguez are trying to foster a community and attract bigger companies to move to Oakland.
Ms. Filley and Mr. Dominguez persuaded a landlord to offer pop-up stores free six-month leases in locations that, in some cases, have been vacant for years. The merchants have a goal of turning a profit during the six months and then signing a longer-term lease, at a price to be negotiated. The landlord, Peter Sullivan Associates, is hoping that the free short-term leases will turn into longer-term revenue.
In November, Oakland gave popuphood $25,000 through its Tenant Improvement Program, and Mr. Dominguez and Ms. Filley have been working with the city to expedite the permitting process for the new stores.
Pop-up stores aren't a new phenomenon—often they are seasonal, setting up for holidays like Halloween or Christmas. Restaurants also occasionally pop up for a night or two to test a new menu or location. Such stores have become more prevalent nationwide with the increasing number of storefronts left vacant amid a weak economy, says Jesse Tron, a spokesman with the International Council of Shopping Centers.
What makes popuphood different is the number of stores opening simultaneously, and the goal of going from pop-up to permanent. "I haven't heard specifically of anything quite like this," Mr. Tron says.
Nicole Buffett, co-owner of Piper and John General Goods, one of the pop-up stores that recently opened in Old Oakland
One of the merchants betting on the program is Kate Ellen, owner of the recently opened pop-up jewelry store Crown Nine. While she had been looking to open a permanent retail space, she figured the combination of opening costs and rent would take her five years to amass. So when Mr. Dominguez offered her the chance for a rent-free storefront in early November, Ms. Ellen jumped at it.
So far, Ms. Ellen has seen quick progress. She says she was able to make back her opening costs of roughly $5,000 in three weeks and is working toward signing a long-term lease. "I'm really hoping to stay—that's definitely my objective," she says of the recently converted storage room that her store now calls home. Funds from the city and Peter Sullivan Associates were used to install a window in the space to turn it into a shop.
Mr. Dominguez, owner of a nearby Mexican restaurant called Tamarindo, met Ms. Filley, an urban designer, at a local coffee shop in late August. Both wanted to reinvigorate the neighborhood by filling the long-vacant storefronts with pop-up stores, and the duo presented their idea to the city of Oakland in early September. After getting the city's green light on the project, they reached out to small-business owners who they knew were looking to open a retail space.
"It has turned out to be a really great opportunity to kick-start or remind people about Old Oakland," says Aliza Gallo, Oakland's Economic Development Coordinator.
That same month, Mr. Dominguez and Ms. Filley got in touch with Peter Sullivan Associates, the landlord that owns the popuphood locations and the neighboring buildings, including restaurant and office spaces.
Martin Ward, an asset manager at Peter Sullivan Associates, says the company decided to participate in popuphood because in the long run, "the retail makes the offices look more attractive and helps with the office leasing as well."
Popuphood is already having a knock-on effect on other local businesses. Don Harbison, co-owner of B Restaurant and Bar at the end of the block, says he has seen an uptick in lunch business since the pop-up stores opened.
"We had to bring on another cook and another counter person already, and we're actively seeking right now more servers," says Mr. Harbison. "If this trend continues through 2012 we're going to need a little more help."
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