Two more of Oro Valley's what were four "smoothie...yogurt" places have closed: Blue Banana in the Oro Valley Marketplace, next to the theatre, and Planet Smoothie, on northwest corner of Oracle and Ina. Blue Banana cited "economic conditions" as their reason. That's code for: "Not enough business." After all, the economy is booming and there is no way that their business is negatively affected by the online shopping. These store closings follow the closing of Giovani's Gelato Cafe, which was on Oracle, next to the Fairfax Motel.
Looks like Oro Valley's "upscale shopping experience", the one LOVE fought against and lost regarding Oro Valley taxpayers subsidizing a private developer (Vestar) is turning into a ghost town. Thank goodness for Walmart!
Skimpy Sandwiches at Baggins and at Mike's
Speaking of Oro Valley eating establishments, we've noticed a decrease in the quantity of real ingredients ("meat") in the sandwiches at Baggins and Mike's East Coast. The amount of meat in a sandwich is just skimpier than they were when these chains first opened in Oro Valley. Now, they are mostly bread. Not really worth buying.
Will Fry's charge for using "scan, bag and go"?
A while back, we wrote about Fry's "scan and go" program. You scan the item as you shop and then you only have to pay to check out. We noticed a new line item on our checkout receipt yesterday. It said: "Scan and Go" as a line item. There was no cost with it. But it's there, ready to go. Charging you for using a service that saves the retailer time and money would be like a self service gas station charging you more for using as self service gas pump.
El Tour de Tucson skirted Oro Valley for a reason this year
Want to know why the "El Tour de Tucson" bicycle race was routed around the western periphery of Oro Valley? It was because the town did not receive a requested "economic impact statement" from the sponsoring association. The town did spend $5,000 anyway. This KVOA report indicates that the likelihood of getting repaid is pretty slim.
Oro Valley housing market slowed in January
Fewer sales and more available inventory market Oro Valley's January housing market.
"In the Oro Valley area, January 2019 active inventory was 287, a 13% increase from January 2018. There were 45 closings in January 2019, a 22% decrease from January 2018. Months of Inventory was 6.4, up from 4.4 in January 2018. Median price of sold homes was $310,000 for the month of January 2019, up 7% from January 2018. The Oro Valley area had 100 new properties under contract in January 2019, up 6% from January 2018.' (Source: Long Realty Oro Valley Housing Report)
