Since the beginning of Pedal time (2021), Abby and I have held firm to the belief that we should stay in our lane when it comes to advising clients. We felt the need to articulate this commitment on account of two things: (1) we already have a wide lane, and (b) everyone and their mother seemed comfortable dispensing lease advice, and that really annoyed us because the advice was usually wrong.  

So it’s in that vein that we’re sharing a series of newsletters where we get simple advice on high-stakes issues from actual subject matter experts in the many retail real estate-adjacent issues that we bump into regularly. And so without further ado…

How not to let your small business de...

From our very first Dream Space meeting, it was crystal clear that Brittany Perna is whip smart and the kind of person you’d want on your team whether you’re playing Pictionary or battling a zombie apocalypse. Which is probably why she’s about to become DC area parents’ MVP. 

Del Play - The Toy Library of Alexandria will open its doors before the cherry blossoms return. 

As mom to 21-month-old Luca, Brittany had already experienced the frustration of buying toys for toddlers whose attention and activity levels rival squirrels on candy corn. Between the wasted time, ridiculous cost, and sustainability issues, Brittany knew something had to be done; as an educator-turned-software devel...

Faith here! I recently watched Netflix’s America’s Godfathers: The Five Families, and I can’t stop thinking about New York City’s history with the mafia. When I finished the series, I started watching another series on the mafia in Philadelphia – this is my entire personality now. As is our style at Pedal, I couldn't help but see the connections to retail life, and I've shared my observations below. Grazie and arrivederci!

Before we dive in, let me set the stage. The history of the mafia in New York City starts as an immigration story. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Italian immigrants were coming to the United States with little more than their family and the hope of opportunity. Af...

Sheila here, saying Χαίρετε! That’s hello in ancient Greek, apparently. If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, you know that I love to connect my nerdy interests du jour to retail real estate. Today we’ll visit the 12th century BCE, where the drama would definitely be on Bravo if Andy Cohen had been there. 

Some months back, I wrote about the story of Oedipus, and how (obviously) it’s a cautionary tale about retail real estate. Lucky for you, my off-duty self hasn’t left the ancient world, and I don’t see a departure anytime soon. Firstly because there’s about a thousand years of material, and secondly because it’s basically Game of Thrones on a recognizable map. 

Whil...

Opening your first retail location is a lot like having a first baby. The experience takes over your brain and consumes your world.

Though my first pregnancy in 2023-24 feels like ancient history thanks to the fog of parenthood, I remember it all too well. I counted down to every appointment, my husband attended them all, and I recounted them in detail to my mother. (If memory serves, Sheila even attended an appointment! All small businesses are family businesses, amirite?) I read books, took e-courses, traveled to the end of the internet to find the perfect glider-rocker, and you better believe I had my hospital bag ready six weeks before my due date.

I see something very s...

Remember the Presidential Fitness Test from elementary school? If you’re reading this newsletter, the answer is most likely, yes. Evidently the program was replaced in 2013, but my daughter’s PE curriculum still includes a nearly identical version, so it’s very much a part of my life again.

Since I didn’t actually enjoy exercise of any form until my mid 30’s (thank you, Peloton), those fitness tests were somewhere between annoying and dreadful. I recall sit-and-reach being kinda fun, but I didn’t like the mile run, and I downright hated the pull-ups. Even when we got to do the remedial version, the “flexed-arm-hang,” I could never, ever seem to do it. I wasn’t alone. I’m pretty sure that...

We all know that Ben Franklin was right about death and taxes, but there’s another certainty of life that he left out. If I could Bill and Ted my way back to the 1790’s (no thanks), I think he’d agree that when you want something is rarely when you can have it...if you can have it at all. 

Obviously I’m not talking about anything money can buy, since you can buy anything on the internet and have it within 2-3 business days. But for the big stuff that really matters --  security, health, relationships -- as hard as we will something into existence, we have limited control. 

All we can do is dig deep and have hope and patience. Well, that’s exactly what Cara and Travis Loving did.

 ...

Not long ago, I patronized a child-operated bake sale. Technically, she was a teen, but as anyone who knows me can attest, if someone too young to drive is selling creations at a table in public, I’m buying. Now this particular bake sale was a fundraiser, not an emerging small business, but I’m flexible. 
 

When I saw the email announcement on Thursday of said bake sale on Sunday, I planned ahead to get cash and show up on time. I am an easy and enthusiastic customer.

So on the big day, I approached the bake sale table. It was positioned front and center in a lobby swarming with children and parents – truly top notch real estate. But right from the jump, I was paralyzed with anxiety and d...