When Netflix dropped Nonnas, a "feel-good" Vince Vaughn flick about the restaurant business, we just knew we needed to write about it.

Here’s the synopsis: After losing his beloved mother, a man risks everything to honor her by opening an Italian restaurant with actual nonnas — grandmothers — as the chefs.

Cute premise and who doesn't love Italian food, but what made our blood pressure rise to dangerous Florida PTA book banning levels was the Hollywood treatment of opening a restaurant. Yes, it’s “based on a true story,” but just like Vince Vaughn’s forehead, the story is pumped full of neurotoxins to make opening a restaurant look smooth and carefree.

This is what infuriate...

When things aren’t coming together on a deal, we revisit the “BLTS” with Pedal Retailers to figure out where we can flex. As a reminder, the “BLTS” are the four fundamental pillars of your real estate criteria - budget, location, timing and space criteria. Most of the time, we flex on location and start to look at a different or broader mix of neighborhoods. Sometimes, we flex on the budget or space criteria, but it’s rare that we flex on timing. 

When it comes to flexing on timing, Emily, owner of District DabbleLab, could teach a master class.

First, here’s the background on District DabbleLab…

Bethesda native Emily started District DabbleLab in 2019 out of her basement as...

I’m endlessly amused by the list of symptoms at the end of prescription drug commercials. Watching gracefully aging actors skipping blithely through a meadow with a 🦋 butterfly net, or 🎨 oil painting in a sun-streaked garage studio juxtaposed with the voiceover listing (as quickly as physics and the law allow) the list of dire and bizarre side effects always makes me chuckle. I’m not alone - Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader memorably spoofed these commercials on SNL in 2014… which was four lifetimes ago, yet the joke still works.

I’ve wondered why these commercials exist at all when, most of the time, the side effects get more airtime than the benefits of the drug. You’d think that ⚠️ warning...

Happy 2025, everyone. We hope you got some rest and relaxation over the holidays, since this year is sure to be…well…interesting.

While Abby hosted a houseful of family, I traveled across the pond to London which was, as advertised, unbelievable at Christmastime. We were very fortunate to have had perfect weather and only one mediocre meal, so all in all it was a smashing success. 

On the day of our return flight home, I thought about how the actual travel part of taking a big trip is largely forgotten. In these days of mobile boarding passes, we rarely have the IAD to LHR ticket stubs to keep as mementos. So unless the “getting there” was particularly memorable (like the time my p...

Dear Pedal,

There is a space in my neighborhood that has been vacant for, no joke, probably four years at this point. Definitely since before the pandemic. Season after season I watch the “For Lease” signs in the window fade and age, and it doesn’t look like there’s anything happening.

So, my question is this – why wouldn’t the landlord lower the rent to make the space attractive rather than just let it continue to sit vacant? It is seriously killing me… this space could be the home to some awesome local business instead of the nothing/ eyesore it currently is.

Yours truly,

Thoughtful Neighbor

Well, hi, Neighbor, and thanks for your excellent question. Here at Pedal, we get differ...

You know how the saying goes...

💯 Good

⏱️ Fast

🤑 Cheap



You can pick two.

The internet is undecided (shocker!) about the original attribution of the phrase we’ve all heard in some form or another. While we might not know who first spoke this into office decor legend, we know that it’s true…especially when it comes to retail real estate.

💯 + 🤑

Looking for a good space that’s also cheap? It won’t come fast, because spaces like this are hard to find, and negotiations take a long time. 

🤑 + ⏱️

Looking for a cheap space that lets you open up shop next month? You’re not going to get a good spot in a prime retail area.

💯 + ⏱️

Looking for a good retail space that lets y...

You already know that thinking about and planning for the cost of construction is a fundamental step in opening your retail space. We talk about buildout costs all the time at Pedal, and one challenge that we often encounter is the common misconception that a “second generation” space is always going to be a less expensive endeavor. 

First, a little real estate vocab lesson. “Second generation” spaces are those that were previously built out and have already housed an operating business for a period of time -- sometimes for many years, and sometimes only briefly. So while it may seem that a “second gen” space would afford a quick and cheap way to get in and start operating, looks can often ...