THE GALLELLI GAZETTE Retail Roundup

Issue No. 3 | June 7th, 2023

5-Unit H&H Bagels to Expand Outside NYC; Sells Franchise Rights to 25 National Units Chain Store Age 5/30

Nick the Greek Hits 60 Units; Should be at 80 by Year End RestaurantNews.com 5/30

Crisp & Green Eyes 1,000 Unit Expansion Chain Store Age 5/27

Arizona Blocks New Homes in Phoenix Due to Lack of Water Globe Street 6/4

Chicago Bears Suburban Stadium Complex Site No Longer Singular Focus for New Stadium Costar 6/2

What’s the Future for shopping malls in New York Spectrum News 6/1

Atlanta’s Retail Market Remains Robust for Investors, Tenants & Landlords| REBusiness Online 6/4

Columbus OH Retail Sector Continues to Attract Investment Costar 5/28

I have always gotten a kick out of “Butterfly effect” stories and speculation. In case you aren’t aware of what the butterfly effect is, it is a term from chaos theory in which a miniscule, localized change in a complex system can end up having immense effects elsewhere. In popular culture, you know it through the scene in Jurassic Park where Jeff Goldblum says, “It simply deals with unpredictability in complex systems… A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking, and in Central Park, you get rain instead of sunshine.” Of course, you may know this theory through the bad 2004 Ashton Kutcher movie of the same title which somehow made his earlier film, “Dude, Where’s My Car,” look like a masterpiece. But I digress…

There is a good explanation/exploration of the phenomena the Washington Post did on the topic a few years ago here. But what got me going on the topic was a great History Channel podcast on an airplane a few days ago commemorating the coming June 10, 1816, anniversary of when, holed up in a Swiss villa in a surprisingly (and historic) cold and dreary summer, the poet Lord Byron challenged his housebound guests to a contest to see who could write the best ghost story. Byron at the time was one of the most famous living writers, and most scandalous. His guests were the up-and-coming poet Percy Shelley, his lover Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and her half-sister, Clara Clairmont. The winner of this contest was not either of the two male literary heavyweights, but the 18-year-old Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein. Her story (click here) is arguably ten times more fascinating than the gothic novel she produced—and a must listen if you like great, weird stories from history.

This was a groundbreaking work at the time and a huge leap forward for women in a space dominated by men. But let’s face it… most of us are more familiar with Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein more than the 200+ year-old work it parodies and celebrates.

What does this have to do with the butterfly effect? The only reason that Mary Shelley and her companions were holed up in a Swiss summer resort chalet in summertime was because 1816 was the year without a summer. On April 5, the year before, the largest volcanic explosion in recorded history happened on the other side of the earth—on Mount Tambora in Indonesia. At least 100,000 people died in the blast—which ejected so much ash and aerosols into the atmosphere that parts of Asia reported the Sun being blocked from view for days. This cloud eventually covered the globe, dropping the Earth’s global temperature by roughly 7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Global Partners Completes Deal to Acquire 64 Landmark Group C-Stores CSP 6/4

Authentic Brands Group Acquires British Lifestyle Brand Hunter Chain Store Age 6/2

32-Unit Gen Korean BBQ Files IPO; Looking to Grow FSR Magazine 6/1

Bowlero Buying Lucky Strike for $90M, Expanding National Reach Bisnow 5/31

The Running List of Major Retail Deals Chain Store Age 5/31

There were blizzards in the American Midwest and Northeast into summer 1816. Global crop failures followed, as did cholera outbreaks and famine that killed millions. China and India both experienced massive famines and weather disruptions that resulted in deadly flooding and the aggravated spread of cholera spurring a global epidemic. Mass migrations that would later help support the industrial revolution saw rural families moving to cities in search of food. Food riots and looting would break out in dozens of European cities as a result. Major typhus epidemics would break out and spread over the next three years. In the US, blizzards were recorded well into May and June 1816 in some midwestern and northeastern cities. New England had freezing temperatures in all 12 months of the year in 1816 and experienced food shortages. Over 15,000 people fled Vermont, including the family of an 11-year-old Joseph Smith—a move that may have made possible his eventual publication of the Book of Mormon.

Oh yeah, and Frankenstein was written. Anyway, a volcano isn’t quite a butterfly—but you get the idea.