Question!!

[sun_set_bravely]

Has anyone ever lived in an apartment above a retail store (like a deli, or pizza joint, etc.)? Were you immediately above the store, or two or more stories up? Or do you know someone who has had this living situation?

If so, how was it? Good? Bad? Just like any other apartment?

Thank you!

Comments

[prosicated.livejournal.com]

We live above a corner store with 1 floor's worth of insulation. The nieghbors are far, far noisier than the store. This store sell liquor and is open late, and even when people congregate outside, it's no noisier than any other street scene, really. Also, the store owner is better about clearing streets after snow than most residential buildings are, which is an added bonus.

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

Has the corner store stayed the same the whole time you've lived there? Would you feel weird if the business changed hands, or if the store closed down for a while? Or is the residence really quite separate from the store?

[prosicated.livejournal.com]

It has been the same, yes, but that's only 1.5 years.
The store actually has been closed since early Jan while the owner's wife deals with some medical problems. It's been strange and sad -- the sidewalk's been darker, we have to plan on needing things like milk or beer, no weekend papers, empty corner rather than well-trafficked.
The residence is, of course, a separate entrance, but we use the store as a landmark in giving directions, and it's really a convenience.

[nickelchief.livejournal.com]

Yes, above a bagel shop, but twelve flights up, which doesn't count.

[platofish.livejournal.com]

I lived directly above a general store/liquor store (off license if you are the UK). It was a typical British main street - pub at one end, hairdressers, fish 'n chip shop, etc. I definately wouldn't recommend it.....lots of noise at night, fights, and the hassle of people scrounging money (my appartment was burgled twice in two years).

[curmudgeon.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of people who live directly over retail stores -- I would avoid bars, which get loud at night, and restaurants, which attract roaches unless the owners are scrupulously clean, but otherwise, it's pretty much like any other apartment.

[oceanic.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine used to live above a Thai restaurant and now can no longer eat Thai food. ;) The restaurant vent went right into his hallway.

[waitsfortherain.livejournal.com]

My grandmother once bought a very nice apartment above a bakery, a restaurant, and a drugstore. Everybody told her not to buy it, that she wouldn't like to live there, etc. But she had fallen in love with the apartment, which was at the back of the building, opening to a marvelous view of the nearby hills, so she didn't give a damn about the stores being under her home. She bought the place and was very happy there to the end of her life.

[tallgirl.livejournal.com]

Are you guys considering a move or is this research for a piece you're writing?

I've never lived above a retail space, but I know someone here in Providence that lives above an Indian restaurant and she says she's always hungry from the smells. I also work with a guy who lives over a small pet store. The stairwell smells like fish, but the apartment is fine. The store is closed in the evening which is nice, and it's always convenient for them to swing by and pick up some cat food.