Tuesday, July 29, 2008

bad news

Well, the big news this morning is the bullshit that was pulled on Corti Bros. It seems like Nancy Cleavinger and Michael Teel pulled a backroom deal to push Corti out. I picked up a free copy of the Bee today that was sitting on a newspaper machine and noted their shitty redesign and this news, and it made me really sad, like Sac is just getting lamer. But that's pessimistic and maybe Corti can come back better than ever. Smiller immediately noted that it would have been pretty awesome if Corti Bros could relocate to where the Albertsons was by our house, but now it's a stupid fucking Rite Aid that always looks totally empty.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been riding home on F lately, and there is never anyone at that Rite Aid, I would appear it might be one Rite Aid too many.

and that Corti Brothers deal looks like some bullshit.

-natalie.

Liv Moe said...

i put a link to michael teel's email address on my blog. i'm sure he's expecting a certain amount of blow back from this so it's not like i think our letters will necessarily do that much good, however, i think it's worth it to let him know that this is crap.

there's really nothing quite like starting a new business venture by putting your competition at a severe disadvantage.

Anonymous said...

The article did say that Corti Bros. was profitable, so this shouldn't be the end of the store. Let's just hope they don't find anything further from midtown than they already are, and that they don't end up somewhere that will hurt Compton's or Taylor's too badly.

Too bad they're not shooting for the same clientele as Safeway; their midtown stores desperately need some competition.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, "profitable" may not be enough. It costs a ton of money to move a store, and is totally dependent on being able to find a decent building in a decent location for a decent price. Even a profitable store can only take so much extra expense & so many months of no income whatsoever.

archbishop said...

As some as you know, or may not know, part of my round the world trip has been to find a place that was as nice as Sacto was in the 1990s to get people to move there. Really, I squawk on and on about it, but Sacto in the 90s was wonderful.

Delhi is what a punk house would be as a big city. There's a huge fucking population but most people get along great.

I think this is why OMF and Liv had problems with me voting for creepy sex politician instead of creepy politician. Fuck them both and fuck both sides of the same coin. Really and no shit, I'd go so very far out of my own best interest to get Soriano elected as much as a mullethead that he is. He's the right kind of mullethead to make decisions that work out in the long run.

Soriano for City Council!!!!

It's very sad to see other political operations and realize that the US under war criminal Bush have it easy. Oops, now I can't get back in.

Anonymous said...

Seriously dave what the fuck are you talking about? I realize you are half a world away and feel I am lacking in your opinion most of the time but dammit what does that even mean.

Anonymous said...

I feel sick. I get to move back to Sac in 12 months and then this happens.

-Ella

Anonymous said...

True, "profitable" in and of itself does not mean "sitting on enough cash to finance a grand reopening." It does, however, imply other things like a loyal customer base, strong market performance, and competent management team. I don't know the details of Corti's balance sheet, but these sorts of thing should have commercial lenders falling over backwards to get in on the (new) ground floor, especially if the store has been performing well in today's troubled economy.

Anonymous said...

funny coincidental comment on the Albertson's on F here. Liv and I just got a sandwich from Corti Bros. today, and the clerks were talking about how great it would've been to move there, but it's now occupied by the much needed Rite-Aid that that neighborhood was lacking.

archbishop said...

The nonsensical comment was from drinking beers until 4am and singing "I'm on a Mexican Radio" while wandering the confusing streets. "No comprende, it's a riddle" is sometimes how I reply sing-song to beggars and to the very little kids offering to sew the holes in my Vans for "10 rupee, sir".

There's soldiers and private security about every 15 feet. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, maybe 30 feet. Dang kooks and their bombings. Racial profiling gets me waved through the metal detectors at the bazaars because whitey hasn't been setting off bombs. Even though my leatherman sets off the detector, anyone with a sarcastic handlebar moustache and an Oakland A's shirt is obviously not a risk.

Security is fond of large sticks, double barrel shotguns, and WWII era rifles. Soldiers are fond of AK variants but I also see FALs, Stens and some sort of semi-automatic handgun.

Anyway, getting drunk and being mildly depressed by the armed forces and the general "Lost in Translation" that sometimes happens in foreign countries, I checked heckasac to cheer myself up. Too drunk to type or make sense.

I'm stuck in Delhi waiting for my bike to arrive from Australia. My friend who's shipping it has been laid up in hospitals for nearly 2 months. Ecuador to Miami to Melbourne. Something is seriously wrong with him. His anti-bodies are attacking his organs.

So, I sit here and wait and wonder. I think I'm going to buy an Enfield motorcycle today or tomorrow and go on a long ride.

All I meant to say in my first comment was, I liked the small town feeling that the Grid used to be.

Ed had his brain surgery. If anyone knows how that turned out, please let me know.

beckler said...

That's nice that you checked heckasac to get in touch with home. Anyone know about Ed?

Anonymous said...

This whole thing is about the Cori landlord trying to get market rate for her property. The bee article this morning made it clear that Corti is paying only about half of what the rent should be. Does anyone seriously think that Corti didn't have a chance to play ball here? If they have a viable business model they will survive, and they will do it without city subsidies (tax payer money) If they don't have a viable business, they wont survive. That's life in America, friends. Get over it.

beckler said...

Hey, it's a little slice of Sacbee comments here on heckasac, typos included.

wburg said...

What kind of semi-automatic handgun? We want photos! The Enfields aren't surprising--Ishapore Enfields are nice.

And yeah, Sacto in the 90s really was wonderful.

archbishop said...

I don't know if I can get a good look at the semi-auto. I'm sure my moustache could arrange something. It's got a life of it's own here (for real). I don't know how much more of it I can take before I assassinate it.

I'm also not sure how'd they'd feel if I took a picture of their guns. India doesn't have the spite that the US has so maybe they won't care. Worst traffic in the world and no road rage at all.