What would be a good substitute for the vacant Rainbow Foods store on Austin’s northwest side?.

Friday, March 31, 2000

What would be a good substitute for the vacant Rainbow Foods store on Austin’s northwest side?

The Austin Daily Herald recently sought responses from readers and many indicated they wanted stores such as Wal-Mart, Menards or JoAnn Fabrics in the now-vacant building.

Many of those who wrote to the newspaper indicated that another grocery store wasn’t needed in the city, however, it would be welcome to see a new food store on the city’s southwest side.

A few readers said that it would be great to see the former grocery store turned into a family or youth center that offered games and activities. It’s really not a bad idea. Even if it couldn’t be done on a city level, there are similar types of businesses that have opened in other areas.

Lastly, a few readers said a Best Buy store might make good sense for the city.

Whatever comes to fill the empty Rainbow store should come swiftly and not only help attract shoppers, but also help those who lost jobs when Rainbow closed its doors earlier this month.

Rainbow’s real estate arm is searching for a suitable tenant to take over the firm’s lease on the property. The sooner Rainbow gets out from the lease, the better off the firm will be considering the losses the firm indicates it sustained running the store here.

Austin is a magnet for a large area. People come here to shop from a large area that extends well into Iowa. It would be great to see a new tenant in the Rainbow location that would help Austin draw more shoppers to the city. With a regional merchant that has good drawing power, all of Austin’s businesses will benefit from increased spending. That’s what Austin needs.