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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| Tally for Men owner, Michael Talaee, looks out onto Second Street from inside his men’s clothing store in the Village Expansion. Mr. Talaee plans on moving his business to a new location away from the Village Expansion after disappointing sales. |
Clothing business unravels in Village Expansion
Michael Talaee was so excited about the new Village Expansion project that he was the first business owner to sign a lease.
But ever since his high-end clothing shop, Tally for Men, opened in late November, Mr. Talaee has regretted that decision. Citing numerous complaints with the management, he has already called it quits on his 5-year lease and is planning to move out of the Village Expansion.
The problems began when he was asked to have his store open by September 2007. Excited to get started ahead of the holiday rush, Mr. Talaee set up his shop, purchased his merchandise and was ready to go on time.
Unfortunately, nothing around him was open yet. Tally for Men sits on Second Street, just west of Indian Hill Boulevard. Due to delays on landscaping and lighting by the city and the developer, Second Street did not open up until late November.
“I missed out on a lot of exposure,” Mr. Talaee said. “Christmas came and went, and we missed out.”
Mr. Talaee also believes he was misled about the structure of the project as stated in his lease. He accepted the location along Second Street under the impression that two restaurants would have entrances and windows facing his business, which he felt would draw in a steady stream of foot traffic.
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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| A moving-sale sign hangs outside of Tally for Men on Second Street in the Village Expansion. After only five months at the location, owner Michael Talaee is looking to relocate his business. |
“With the way the project is built, this street is like a back alley,” Mr. Talaee said. “Nobody ever walks by. All you see is delivery trucks driving by.”
Mr. Talaee also pointed to the presence of a large dumpster that sits across the street from his store, just north of the Laemmle Theater. Mr. Talaee claims that plans included in his lease show the location of dumpster on the south side of the theater, well out of view of Second Street pedestrians.
Other complaints included high fees for common area maintenance and a perceived lack of advertising and promotion of the Expansion as a whole.
Mr. Talaee’s concerns echo similar complaints from some Packing House business owners, who feel that foot traffic, poor signage and a lack of overall promotion have hindered the success of their businesses.
Jonathan Tolkin, developer of the Village Expansion, believes that he has honored his agreement with his tenants.
“We have a lot of projects and a lot of tenants and we have a very good reputation,” Mr. Tolkin said. “We always hold up our end of the bargain, and I would expect him to do the same. As far as I’m concerned, he needs to honor his lease.
“He’s entitled to his opinion about how the project should be designed, but the plans have always been there for anyone to look at,” he added.
For his part, Mr. Talaee said he is planning a lawsuit against Mr. Tolkin in an attempt to break out of his lease early and recover losses to his business due to what he called “misrepresentations of the lease.”
Before moving to its current location, Tally for Men had operated along Indian Hill Boulevard since 2003. Now, the business owner would like to move across the road into the old Village, hoping to maintain the customer base he has built during his time in Claremont.
To prepare for the move, which he hopes can be finalized by early summer, Mr. Talaee is having a moving sale with item going for as low as 40 to 50 percent below retail price.
The only other business currently open on Second Street is a boutique clothing shop called Celley’s. Owner Marcelle Sanam said that she has already agreed to move her business to a more visible location within the Expansion along Indian Hill Boulevard.
“I really like the project and location,” Ms. Sanam said. “But there is just not enough foot traffic on this street, which you really need for a retail shop like this.”
—Tony Krickl
