by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
The retailers of Five Points are watching the landscape of their neighborhood change, and the resulting mix of monied mainstream and creative counterculture is eliciting a spectrum of opinions just as diverse.
Five Points is a historic area in Riverside named for a five-cornered intersection at Margaret, Park and Lomax streets.
In the past few years, developers have added expensive condominiums, offices and major chain stores like Starbucks to the neighborhood. The addition of a Publix has also assured that many Riverside residents no longer need to travel outside the neighborhood to shop for groceries.
As these projects thrive, the small, one-of-a-kind shops that make Five Points unique are considering, if not preparing for, a more affluent, less alternative clientele.
More traditional retailers, like David Joudi, owner of Riverside Liquors & Village Wine Shop, see positive effects from the neighborhood’s upscale growth. His store has operated in Five Points for 40 years. He said rising rents may push some of the low-income Bohemians who drew attention to Five Points in recent years elsewhere, but he doesn’t think the influx of money is a tragedy.
“I don’t know if it (the Bohemian niche) is here anymore,” said Joudi. “Five Points was not originally a Bohemian place. Years ago, it was upscale eclectic, and that’s what it’s going back to.”
Joudi added that rich people can be eccentric and diverse, too. His business tends to draw in wine lovers. That crowd usually consists of high-income clients like doctors and lawyers, Joudi said, but he often sees “both house and portrait painters” in the shop’s bar.
“I haven’t (changed my business), and I won’t; I don’t see the need,” said Joudi. He explained that customers come to small businesses instead of chain stores because employees know about the products. “My job is to show them something better.”
Cindy Barfield is another long-time Five Points shop owner. She and her husband opened their antique store, Fan and Stoves, 25 years ago. She said business is better than ever, despite increased rent costs.
“Everybody has seen the tendency for rent to go up as they become more desirable,” said Barfield. “I’m sure that some businesses will go. (But) if anything, our business is getting better.”
As they try to establish themselves in the neighborhood, new stores are staying optimistic about the upscale trend. Emily Moody opened Anomaly almost a year ago, and she said her business is continuing to grow.
“Competition brings business,” said Moody. “We’re all going fine together because it’s kind of a shopping destination.”
Anomaly carries both pricey and inexpensive items that cater to a variety of incomes, Moody said. She chose Five Points because it has a unique atmosphere, like her home in Springfield. But unlike Springfield, Moody said Five Points is getting a reputation for having a variety of attractive venues – and losing a reputation for edgy attitude and potential crime.
“There’s definitely a stigma (in Five Points) that we’re still trying to rid ourselves of,” said Moody. She added that her customer demographics are “all over the board,” and many of her customers are older and wealthy. “I had a realtor come in and spend $150 for her grand kids. Riverside Presbyterian moms pick up their kids and come in to buy earrings.”
Moody said she isn’t concerned about the neighborhood becoming too expensive yet.
“Hopefully, our business will grow as the rent goes up,” she said.
Some retailers that opened several years ago – after the Five Points counterculture began to thrive and before the Starbucks opened – have mixed views on the direction of their businesses.
Jim Webb, owner of Fuel Coffeehouse, said he’s not averse to change. However, he maintains that the area hasn’t changed much yet.
“Fuel is always going to be a little gritty,” said Webb. “But if you looked at it now and you looked at it the day it opened, it’s totally different. We’re not rigid.”
Webb said he plans to add more snacks and a lunch menu to accommodate the offices opening across the street. He said he doesn’t see how potential condo dwellers and daytime workers will keep away his regulars and music fans.
“If we have 200 yuppies across the street who want frozen daiquiris, we’ll bring in frozen daiquiris.” said Webb. “I don’t see that changing our nightlife at all.”
Lori Rebman, owner of Violet Vintage, said her customers have changed over the years because alternative interests, like vintage clothing, have become more mainstream.
”When I first started, half the people had blue hair and they all were under the age of 30,” said Rebman. “Now, half are moms and half are teens.”
Five Points might be losing its status as the edgy new neighborhood, but that’s normal, Rebman said. She’s seen it happen before.
“(I’ve seen it happen in ) every hip neighborhood in every city I’ve been to. SoHo (in New York) went from super-freaky to expensive,” said Rebman. “People congregate in areas that are alive with diversity and change.”
Springfield and Downtown have a good chance of drawing in the low-income arts scene next, Rebman said. She added that people aren’t necessarily leaving Five Points. Many of the people who moved into the area after college are now making more money, having kids and sticking around. The trend isn’t necessarily new, Rebman said.
“My mother shopped at Edge City when I was two,” said Rebman. “I see exciting things happening. I see a lot of people talking about the city — and they actually care. In a lot of cases, it’s the same crowd. We’re all just getting older.”