Recently Crazy in Suburbia posted about plans for California Cafe to be torn down to make way for a “five-story mixed-use residential and retail project.” California Cafe was located next to the Lesher Center parking garage which reminded me of the Mercer complex across the street from Lesher Center. There were big plans for retail development at the Mercer, most likely to be anchored by a restaurant at the corner closest to the Lesher Center. It turns out to not have worked out quite as they imagined. After first getting the gourmet burger chain The Counter at the other end things were looking good. But it wasn’t until years later that a Mike’s Bikes occupied the prime corner across from Lesher. Now Mike’s Bikes is a very nice store, but I was a bit suprised that went in rather than a restaurant. As for the stores in between, 2 are unoccupied, and 4 are salons. No cafes, no convenience stores, but a great place to get your nails done I suppose.
I wonder if the developers who plan to redo California Cafe have taken into account what happened at the Mercer. Any thoughts on this?