Loockerman Exchange set to reopen

I saw in the paper today that the Loockerman Exchange in downtown Dover will be reopening soon under new management. I had written about its close a few months ago. I already threw out the paper, but I remember specifically that they said one of the things they will be changing is the speed of service for lunch and that lunch entrees will run between $5 and $10, which will keep them in line with the other lunch venues in that area. The old website is here; I'm not sure if it is still actively updated or not or will change when the new site opens.

Particularly, the article implies that they will be striving for lunch to take less than an hour. That only jumped out at me because I did eat there for lunch a couple of times and the lunch took well over an hour, and probably closer to two hours (which is really slow). I have written about the pace of lunches downstate on other occasions, and it still amazes me that (as compared to Wilmington), that it is a struggle for a group or even two people to get in and out of some of these places for lunch under an hour.

But maybe this attempt to pick up the lunch pace will rub off on some of the other fine eating establishments in Dover. For now, the record for the best service in terms of food, speed, and price remains the Amish Market (Spenses, which is near the hospital).

(Still not sure where they expect people to park if they really want to get non-Doverites to return to downtown Dover at night, but maybe they have worked out some deal with the post office and a shuttle service of sorts). Maybe I'll check it out once they reopen.

Tags: loockerman exchange reopens, places to eat lunch in dover delaware

Voting machines in DE primaries

I went ahead and cast my vote in the primary today, which is something that I have never done before (previously my votes have always been during the general election). My question is whether you could have voted for someone in the other party. I suppose it doesn't really matter, but I found it a bit confusing since the machines had the Republican candidates on one side and the Democratic candidates on the other. I voted for the same party that I am "R"egistered for, so at least one of the votes is right. At least with the electronic system, there isn't any concern with potentially hanging chads.

According to CNN, McCain and Obama will emerge with the few Delaware delegates. Humorously, despite Sen. Biden's published letter regarding the fact that nobody should cast his vote for him since he isn't running anymore, he managed to snare about 3% of the Democratic vote.

On an unrelated note, I've noticed that of my previous entries has seemed to have taken a life of its own: The one about the Lockerman Exchange closing. I think there are multiple conversations going on in the comments, but the only one really worth pointing out, and relevant to my initial talking point about that event is from 9:21 AM on Feb. 5.

That comment states, in part: "The original goal of the business was to spark downtown revitalization, with the hope that the economics of the area would improve. I don't think anyone quite realizes what start up costs actually are. If things continue there the way they are going, then no business will succeed there. The people of the town have to want to make their main street area better, it won't happen by magic."

That is actually a very astute point - therefore, I will have to give more thought to how to frame a well-reasoned response. In the meantime, my open ended question is what revitalization project or business would thrive (or be a draw) in that area that could succeed? I threw a few ideas out there earlier within that same post, but given the commentary, the area may have a greater business potential than I give it credit for, so I will examine a few Dover businesses closer and make some additional suggestions as to what may be missing and could succeed in this particular area of the state later. Feel free to make suggestions though - for example, what was there before Lockerman exchange?

Tags: dover delaware business ideas, voting in delaware primaries, delaware primary results

Loockerman exchange closes

I heard on the radio this morning that the "world famous" Loockerman Exchange (also self-referred to as "the Lex") has closed its doors. Having visited this establishment a couple of times, I find this as no surprise. Rather than kick a man while he is down, however, I will point out what likely businesses would succeed in that prime piece of commercial real estate.

A few thoughts. First, there needs to be some sort of take out lunch place, like a Panera bread. I think even a local chain like Purebread Deli would do well. Or a Starbucks. In either case, part of that property would need to have that aspect to it in order to make money off the Dover lunch crowd.

I'll even tell you the key to success for any of these restaurants: Lunch under 60 minutes. Too many restaurants in Dover (the late Loockerman included) take far too long to serve your food. Most jobs don't appreciate taking lunch breaks that last longer than an hour (which includes driving). I thought that was a given, but there seems to be a shortage of restaurants in Dover that understand that concept. The non-exhaustive list, from my experience, includes: Lobby House, The Lex, 33 West, Smithers, and TGI Fridays, to name a few downtown. 33 West is the fastest of all of them by about 15 minutes (on a good day).

The second type of business that would succeed in the other half of this space would be a English pub, similar to Catherine Rooneys in Trolley Square or Kid Schellens. I also think an Iron Hill would do well down in Dover. My point is that these bars, unlike Lobby House or Smithers or Buffalo Wild Wings, could target a different crowd and capture an untapped market. Or they could segment the market. Either way, it's all about brand identity, of which the "world famous" Lex did not have.

While the article above cites to construction as costing them revenue, I find this excuse to be more of a red herring. The reason why that business failed is largely due to its business strategy (or lack thereof) and failure to understand the Dover market. I don't purport to say that I am an expert on these issues, but I do know that no business is going to work in that location unless it has multiple draws to get people to come back downtown at night. Parking is a whole other issue.

Perhaps if this new business worked with area businesses such as the Schwartz Center or Dover Downs, it could more effectively reach a more diverse market willing to part with both their time and hard earned money. I, for one, can't wait to see what business will try and succeed there next.

Nobody's afraid of an Irish terrorist anymore

I went to the Second City players' show at the Schwartz Center yesterday. The whole experience was pretty enjoyable, despite the fact that I probably brought the average age in the theater down by about 15 years. In a lot of ways, the theater reminds me of similar theaters in Pennsylvania, New York, DC, and even Wilmington. For those of you looking for a little culture in the capital of this state, this theater is certainly a find.

Afterwards I checked out the "Lex" or "Loockerman Exchange." I would provide the link to their website, but it loads slower than their service. They bill themselves as world famous, which is a little bit of an overstatement. Compared to the service at some of the other bars in Dover (reviews to be forthcoming), it certainly is faster in some respects, and painfully slow in others. It was pretty fun also though, but after I called it a night, I'm still left wondering where the Trolley Square-type bars in Dover are. For being a college town with two schools within a few miles of each other, I'm surprised at how few people seem to go out on Friday and Saturday nights. I'll try Smithers and the Lobby House next.

I'm not sure what the next act to go through the Schwartz Center is, but according to the gentleman who sat next to me, he said that he and his wife go to shows there all the time, so I'm going to have to look into this more. Overall, I can cross "going to the Schwartz Center for a show" off my list of things to do while I'm in Dover. If anyone else ever gets a chance to go there, it's well worth the ticket price.

And for reference, the title of this entry refers to one of the Second City player's skits. I'm not going to presume to review the show, but there were definitely some funny parts (and some others that were only so-so funny), and overall, exactly what I expected. When interacting with the audience, they asked for some recent event and someone yelled out "mersa." It wasn't until I got back to my apartment that I realized that they were talking about "MRSA." It's no wonder that a general level of confusing arose, but they handled it pretty well.

Tags: second city players, schwartz center dover delaware