There are some curious things going on in thet Top Merchant list in my neighborhood - Irvington in Portland - for Dec 09, places I've never heard of, places not even in this city! Things were curious that I got Bundle Content Editor Mark Armstong to clarify what the Top Merchants are based on. He says:
Top merchants is purely on total dollars spent based on our data sources. This is why stuff like Tiffany floats to the top."
So keeping that in mind, there is totally a story to tell in these lists! (I compared this list to the next bracket up and to the previous month, and the only similar merchant was Startbucks!) So let me tell you a little story about Irvington in December 2009.
Everbody goes to STARBUCKS everyday. That adds up to a lot of off dollars.
THE NINES URBAN FARMER is a spendy hotel restaurant in SW Portland that I hadn't even heard of. According to Yelp! it's super fancy, with $60 entrees. But there are lots of satsified diners. I could see taking parents here for fancy brunch, but I would expect them to pay, which wouldn't put them on this particular list. My guess? One or two anniversary or birthday meals here would drop enough dollars to make it a Top Merchant.
ALU WINE BAR AND RESTAURANT is right in the neighborhood, which would make it an easy go-to. The entrees are moderatly priced. It's not my bar of choice, but I think there is probably a certain segment of my demographic that are probably regulars there. They wear business casual, and are likely not very interesting.
TREES RESTAURANT AND CATERING is another spendy downtown restaurant that I hadn't heard of before now. Maybe it was the location of some special dates, or maybe someone got married and put the catering charge on their card.
ALU WINE BAR AND RESTAURANT, again. (My guess is that they have seperately registered macines for the bar or something like that. Team Bundle, any ideas?)
Now, here is where things get really intersting. The next entry only comes up as SING SING KARAOKE BAR IN S. I googled it, thinging the S mean SW or SE, but there is nothing in Portland with that name. What did come up? SING SING KARAOKE BAR IN ST MARK'S PLACE ... in NEW YORK. Someone - maybe a couple, or a group of friends who live in the hood? - went to NYC during December, and dropped a ton of money sining their heart out.
Another odd one: OFF THE HOOKAH. Never heard of it in Portland, and sure enough, there isn't one. You'd think this name would be pretty ubiquitious for hookah bars around the country, but nope! There is just one, in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. I'm keeping a look out for any suspiciously tan neighbors...
BIWA. Finally, a place that I frequent. BIWA is one of my favorite Portland places - a perfect date restaurant. They serve Japanese pub food and sake and it's cozy and wonderful and great. I imagine that there are several people in my neighborhood that call it a favorite. The food is reasonable, but putting back sake will put you back some dollars, as it seems several of my neighbors (including me!) have discovered.
AA ADMIRAL JKF is another one I had to google. AA Admiral is the American Airlines Admiral's Club; I can only guess that whoever registered this name had a typo and that JKF is really JFK. So, my neighbor who dropped some coin at Sing Sing is a frequent flier, and likes to fly with some drinks in his or her system!
PAD THAI KITCHEN is a thai restaurant (duh) in SE Portland, maybe ten minutes away. We have thai restaurants in our neighborhood, but they have nothing on this place's red curry. They don't deliver ( there are basicaly no Thai places that deliver here. It's totally a bummer), but they're worth the trek. I guess my neighbors think so, too.
What stories can you find in your own neighborhood merchant lists?
Top merchants is purely on total dollars spent based on our data sources. This is why stuff like Tiffany floats to the top."
So keeping that in mind, there is totally a story to tell in these lists! (I compared this list to the next bracket up and to the previous month, and the only similar merchant was Startbucks!) So let me tell you a little story about Irvington in December 2009.
Everbody goes to STARBUCKS everyday. That adds up to a lot of off dollars.
THE NINES URBAN FARMER is a spendy hotel restaurant in SW Portland that I hadn't even heard of. According to Yelp! it's super fancy, with $60 entrees. But there are lots of satsified diners. I could see taking parents here for fancy brunch, but I would expect them to pay, which wouldn't put them on this particular list. My guess? One or two anniversary or birthday meals here would drop enough dollars to make it a Top Merchant.
ALU WINE BAR AND RESTAURANT is right in the neighborhood, which would make it an easy go-to. The entrees are moderatly priced. It's not my bar of choice, but I think there is probably a certain segment of my demographic that are probably regulars there. They wear business casual, and are likely not very interesting.
TREES RESTAURANT AND CATERING is another spendy downtown restaurant that I hadn't heard of before now. Maybe it was the location of some special dates, or maybe someone got married and put the catering charge on their card.
ALU WINE BAR AND RESTAURANT, again. (My guess is that they have seperately registered macines for the bar or something like that. Team Bundle, any ideas?)
Now, here is where things get really intersting. The next entry only comes up as SING SING KARAOKE BAR IN S. I googled it, thinging the S mean SW or SE, but there is nothing in Portland with that name. What did come up? SING SING KARAOKE BAR IN ST MARK'S PLACE ... in NEW YORK. Someone - maybe a couple, or a group of friends who live in the hood? - went to NYC during December, and dropped a ton of money sining their heart out.
Another odd one: OFF THE HOOKAH. Never heard of it in Portland, and sure enough, there isn't one. You'd think this name would be pretty ubiquitious for hookah bars around the country, but nope! There is just one, in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. I'm keeping a look out for any suspiciously tan neighbors...
BIWA. Finally, a place that I frequent. BIWA is one of my favorite Portland places - a perfect date restaurant. They serve Japanese pub food and sake and it's cozy and wonderful and great. I imagine that there are several people in my neighborhood that call it a favorite. The food is reasonable, but putting back sake will put you back some dollars, as it seems several of my neighbors (including me!) have discovered.
AA ADMIRAL JKF is another one I had to google. AA Admiral is the American Airlines Admiral's Club; I can only guess that whoever registered this name had a typo and that JKF is really JFK. So, my neighbor who dropped some coin at Sing Sing is a frequent flier, and likes to fly with some drinks in his or her system!
PAD THAI KITCHEN is a thai restaurant (duh) in SE Portland, maybe ten minutes away. We have thai restaurants in our neighborhood, but they have nothing on this place's red curry. They don't deliver ( there are basicaly no Thai places that deliver here. It's totally a bummer), but they're worth the trek. I guess my neighbors think so, too.
What stories can you find in your own neighborhood merchant lists?
