Closed on my first Detroit lease today, tiny 400 sq ft space on Gratiot

Been hunting for 6 months for a spot that didn't need a total gut job. Found this little storefront near Eastern Market last Tuesday. Walked in and the landlord had already fixed the roof and upgraded the electrical panel. Signed the papers this morning at 11 AM. Anyone else start small in Detroit and move up over time?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole99415d agoMost Upvoted

Hold up, is a 400 square foot storefront really that serious though? I mean, congrats on the closed deal, but let's be real - that's basically the size of my first apartment's living room. You're acting like you just signed a lease on the next Apple Store or something. Plenty of people start in spaces half that size and do just fine, Gratiot's got potholes that could swallow your whole inventory if you're not careful. Enjoy the excitement now, just don't start planning the grand opening parade until you've actually sold something out of there.

rowanharris14d agoTop Commenter

Haha fair point, my first apartment was basically a closet with a hot plate so I get it. I'm already planning to trip over my own inventory on day one just to keep things humble. And yeah, those Gratiot potholes are basically free advertising if my stock ends up scattering across the street. But hey, small steps, right? At least I can vacuum the whole place in like five minutes, so there's that perk.

the_alice14d ago

Wait, hold on. You can vacuum the whole place in five minutes? That means the floor space is basically a glorified hallway. I've got closets bigger than that. How are you even planning to fit a display counter and a rack of clothes in there without bumping into yourself? I'm genuinely curious how you're laying this out because that sounds tight even for a popup.