– Your Bright Brothers Team
David Romako / Josh Yeager /  Brandi Walsh

As part of downtown recovery, we’ve been talking a lot about “leaning into experiential”, but what exactly does that mean? In our last edition we looked at some absolutely fascinating placemaking and projection mapping by Klip Collective. In this edition, we’re taking a deeper dive into something your Econ Dev department needs to be hot on; experiential dining. But it’s not just eating at the Rainforest Cafe or somesuch. We’re talking about multipurpose, activity-driven experiences. And oh, there’s food & bev, by the way! This trend has been fomenting for years, and as the concepts shake out, we’re seeing more intentional efforts around “eatertainment”. One successful restauranteur, Robert Thompson (of Punch Bowl Social fame), is launching a new concept called Jaguar Bolera, which he describes as “deconstructed Southern grandma on her way to the social club,”.  Now if that doesn’t pique your interest, listen to what guests can expect! Not only will there be duckpin bowling (bolera) and karaoke, but also “maker-tainment” like needlepoint or cooking classes with a glass in hand. Sounds exciting, no?  We’ve seen concepts like Snakes & Lattes (a gaming café concept out of Canada with locations in the States), the nearly year-old  Old City Kitchen in Philadelphia’s Old City District that features chef dinners, wine tasting and classes (like pasta making, Korean feast and crêpes), saddling up alongside venues like The Pemberton which bills itself as a “food, beverage, retail & art collective” in Phoenix’s swanky Roosevelt Row. It all adds up to a new and generally untapped paradigm; that in a post-pandemic culture, we need to be thinking in more stimulating and educational ways about the simple human necessity for dinner. Big thanks to our brilliant real estate/retail analyst partner Mike Berne for the tip on Jaguar Bolera!

Photo credit: @Pemberton, Instagram 

If there’s one video you watch this week, make it this! Need an alley activated? Got a random tunnel to turn? Passageways for placemaking?!? Check out this cool art installation on Insta by Sunday Nobody

Photo credit: @Sunday.Nobody.Art, Instagram

…that BMW is banking on you doing yoga at a gas station? Sounds kinda peculiar at first blush, but the renowned German automobile manufacturer is planning for an electrified future where former gas stations will serve as activity centers (replete with productivity hubs, meditation zones and a clubhouse area, they’re calling “Nth spaces”), — all while you recharge your whip. It’s not all that far fetched when you think about it. Electric vehicles are estimated to comprise 45% of new car sales in the U.S. by 2035, so the Bavarian motorworks company has partnered with global architecture and urban planning giant Gensler to reimagine what the experience at the pump may look like once we’re past our current addiction to fossil fuels. This also lends itself to leaning into experiential and the trend we’re seeing with coworking  and multipurpose communal spaces growing in prominence in a post-COVID and post-carbon emission landscape. 

Photo credit:  Callum Shaw, Unsplash 

Last year we explored how audio was trending in a big way, and with that came consumption of podcasts. Now, they’re not for everybody, but if you are an avid listener, you know there’s a massive multitude of podcasts out there for every topic and niche under the sun. And for those of us into cities, here’s a nice round-up of podcasts covering everything from climate justice, to car culture, sustainability, preservation and more — courtesy of the fine folks over at NextCity. 

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Illinois?!? Doesn’t sound so extraordinary when you say it that way, but the tiny town of Metropolis, IL has become the planetary epicenter of Superman culture by official decree, and comic book fans alike. With a Superman museum and scads of selfie opportunities, this tiny town of 6,000 has become a tourist attraction that you may just need to visit this summer. While the official Superman Celebration took place earlier this month, drawing tens of thousands to the tiny vale, there’s still plenty of appeal and reason to visit this year to fête the 50th anniversary of the town’s official designation 

Photo credit: David Kidd