Stop Complaining, Urban Outfitters is Good for the Highlands

Most people are aware now that the Blockbuster in Tyler Park Plaza closed permanently and Urban Outfitters bought the space. This new neighbor made its presence known last week when the company took over the sign for Tyler Park Plaza on Bardstown Road. Controversy sparked for the hipster  clothing, furniture and accessories store when dominating the sign upset their plaza neighbor Highland Coffee. LEO Weekly reported on the issue in their article “Urban Outliers” and covered the point of view of Greg Hofer, owner of Highland Coffee. Whether an outpouring of sympathy for the coffee shop is necessary may be disputed.

The new Tyler Park Plaza sign. Urban Outfitters legally took all the space leaving out Highland Coffee.

While acknowledging the lack of coverage on Urban Outfitters side of this dispute (not due to lack of effort on behalf of the LEO), there is still nothing to be upset over. Rebecca Fleischaker, the spokeswoman for the city’s economic development department clarified in a statement by saying, “Everyone did what they are legally allowed to do.” If Urban Outfitters is not breaking any laws than what can be expected? This is where the sympathy should stop.

Urban Outfitters is a chain of stores with a target demographic of young adults with disposable income. Bring this customer base into the Tyler Park Plaza with only a few steps to separate them from a coffee shop will logically increase business for Highland Coffee.When these two stores share a similar customer base then having one larger, visible sign can and should be rationalized into a positive move to draw customers – even if only for one business.

Highland Coffee constructed a directional sign to attract new customers. This is the view for southbound drivers on Bardstown Road.

The original sign was divided into four parts among the Tyler Park Plaza logo, The Knit Nook, Blockbuster and Highland Coffee. Originally, the quarter of the sign dedicated to Highland Coffee was barely visible with duller colors and a small logo.  The background to Highland Coffee’s logo is black and the logo mostly consists of a small coffee cup. The text arches over the logo. This is a crowded, poor design. Urban Outfitters is properly utilizing the sign with brightly lit, easy to read letters.

Reasons to disregard this controversy continue. City ordinances still allow Highland Coffee to have a 5-square-foot directional sign and sandwich board  to draw attention to new customers. The LEO article defends the complaints of Highland Coffee stating that the directional sign is hard to read, especially at sunset. With the bright Urban Outfitters sign across the lot, the directional sign is brightly illuminated – especially at night. The only difficulty is that the sign is hard to read for northbound drivers on Bardstown Road due to bushes blocking the view. Removing or trimming the bushes should resolve that issue.

Admittedly, Highland Coffee holds the possibility of being viewed as an appendage to Urban Outfitters which can be insulting as the older sibling. Pride may be the key issue. However, gaining the customers from the new store, complaining over a sign misused and allowances to still post signage are all reasons to  drop the issue. Everyone benefits from this partnership. Urban Outfitters carries cool, trendy items and Highland Coffee is one of the best coffee shops in Louisville. The two building siblings should learn to play nice.