Is This a New Beginning for Bonnie Ruben Properties?

It was recently announced that Breakwater, a hotel investment company, would be partnering with Bonnie Ruben, owner of the Ramada Plaza on Broad Street, in an effort to restore and rehabilitate the hotel, one of the more iconic buildings in downtown Augusta.

While this bodes well for aspirational efforts to refresh Augusta’s central business district, I believe it says something more significant – and perhaps encouraging – about one of the perceived hurdles long associated downtown generally and Broad Street in particular.

Bonnie Ruben herself.

It’s no secret that for every Broad Street success story, there is an easy-to-target address that is failing or, quite literally, falling. Naysayers love to point these out, assuming that derelict properties, in singles or bunches, define the downtown experience. And when people speak ill of Broad Street, Ruben’s name often comes up.

It is true that Bonnie Ruben is, and for many years has been, a significant Broad Street property owner. In addition to the Ramada, her holdings include the historic Ruben’s Department Store as well as several smaller parcels. And while it is true that some of her holdings are a bit worse for wear, neither Broad Street nor Bonnie are binary. It is not a case of good or bad, of polished or perished. Yes, the building (if you can call it that) known colloquially as the Bayou Building, so named because its last tenant was a frozen drink bar that burned basically to the ground in 2001, is both an eyesore, perhaps a hazard, and a blight on its block. The long-empty building directly across from the Augusta Common isn’t much better. But Ruben also owns buildings that seem, at least from a sidewalk perspective, to have been kept up and have active tenants. Like many who own multiple properties, Ruben’s vacillate. While it is true that those in need of the most attention have remained in dire straits for many years, other Ruben holdings, at least in some form or fashion, contribute to Augusta’s downtown district – sort of.

 Here’s the thing. I have always had a soft spot for the Ramada. I think its brutalist architecture has been out-of-date long enough to now be seen as the resurgence of a distinct historical style. The Eagle’s Nest penthouse bar – when opened – also offered incredible views of Broad Street. It was always one of my favorite spots during the Christmas season. But it has long felt a little frayed and rough around the edges. It happens with aging buildings, and the Ramada is now more than 50 years old. It’s been a long time since I’ve met anyone who stayed there, and the last reports I got were not favorable. So, I’m excited that there is activity around that property and to see what that hotel might become. I’m hopeful, not just in terms of adding a new/old hotel to the Broad Street business portfolio, but also what it might mean in terms of Bonnie Ruben in terms of her downtown properties.

Ruben has been, depending on who you talk to, either stubborn or steadfast in her approach to properties. She seems to invest little, but also historically has not been much of a seller. The Ruben places seemed to exist in a state of stasis. As they were when the century turned, so have they remained. This Ramada partnership makes me wonder, however, if that approach is shifting. While engaging in a partnership will mitigate some of the financial stressors the project may have represented for Ruben, it still will require real effort, organization, and engagement. Her willingness to take this large project on may well bode well for other properties – particularly the business I see as the crown jewel of not only her holdings, but Broad Street in general.

Ruben’s Department Store sits in the very center of Broad Street. Its footprint is large, having resisted the temptation to slice-and-dice down from its classic downtown department store size and scale. It has a great sign, great windows, and a great, if somewhat bedraggled, presence. It also has, in my opinion, a deeply flawed business model.

It’s a confusing place.

I always refer to Ruben’s as a classic downtown department store – the sort of retail establishment that once anchored downtown districts across the country. But I’m not quite sure that is exactly what it is. I’ve heard many refer to it as a unique vintage store – which is true. A quick roll around the racks is a lot like stepping back in time. It feels very much like Ruben’s neglected to sell a significant portion of its high-end inventory in 1986 but remains optimistic that shoulder pads are coming back any minute now. I also know that Ruben’s prides itself on always having staples in stock for the hard-to-fit. Bonnie herself once told me that if Shaq walked into the store he could leave with a suit, a shirt, and a new pair of shoes. That may or may not have been hyperbole, but the concept was real. My question then, and now, is how often do those wardrobe challenges surface?

I suspect not very often.

The truth is I rarely see shoppers in Ruben’s, and I have never seen it authentically busy. It may, at this point, have more square footage than any retail establishment downtown – for no apparent reason. Does that mean the store should be scrapped, the iconic sign resigned to a warehouse somewhere and the spangled-and-fringed inventory auctioned on eBay? I don’t think so. But it is a business that might prove far more profitable with a more streamlined approach. If, at this point, Ruben’s is a new-old stock vintage store – market it as such. There’s no shame in it. In fact, I think properly pushed that model might make it a destination – at least as long as the inventory lasts. If it is a department store, sell it – and run it – as the sort of customer-forward experience stores like Ruben’s used excel at.

Most of all, give the store a bit of a polish. Ruben’s is, in many ways, very much like the Ramada. It feels a little shelf-worn and shaggy. It’s frustrating because it is a building and business with enormous potential. Just as, I hope, the Ramada will become a business anchor for the lower end of Broad Street, I believe Ruben’s could be a real economic and spiritual driver for the center section of the street. A year ago, I believed the effort required was of little interest to Bonnie Ruben.

Now I wonder if it is exactly what is on her mind.