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When a grocery anchor goes dark, the instinct is to panic and chase a like-for-like replacement as fast as possible. Both are usually mistakes.
In this episode, host Mike Law and Kevin Bissell get into what actually happens when an anchor leaves a center: why the first 90 days matter more than the vacancy itself, why the right backfill is often a completely different kind of grocer — or no grocer at all — and how to know the difference before you sign anyone.
In this episode:
- Why the anchor leaving isn't the disaster — it's the first 90 days afterward that decide whether a center recovers or quietly slides.
- Why the replacement is so often a different format of grocer — discount, specialty, quality-and-service, ethnic — rather than a like-for-like swap.
- When the right answer is no grocer at all, because the demographics under the box have shifted since the original lease was signed.
- How to read whether the trade area still supports a grocer before you go chasing one — and how a sales forecast tells you which one will actually work.
- The scramble-to-backfill mistakes that cost landlords and developers value, and the move that protects the center instead.
About the guest
Kevin Bissell is SVP of Real Estate Research at CRE360 Partners, with decades in grocery and retail research — including leading research for one of the country's largest retail REITs and a top national grocery-research firm. He's built sales forecasts and market studies for retailers, landlords, developers, and municipalities across all 50 states, much of it grounded in the fieldwork most firms no longer do.
Kevin Bissell is SVP of Real Estate Research at CRE360 Partners, with decades in grocery and retail research — including leading research for one of the country's largest retail REITs and a top national grocery-research firm. He's built sales forecasts and market studies for retailers, landlords, developers, and municipalities across all 50 states, much of it grounded in the fieldwork most firms no longer do.
About the show
The Ground Truth is a podcast for retail real estate operators, executives, and decision-makers. New episodes every two weeks. Hosted by Mike Law.
Sponsored by CRE360 Partners — a retail real estate research and advisory firm helping retailers, landlords, and municipalities make better expansion and leasing decisions.
Creators and Guests
Host
Guest
Kevin Bissell
Kevin brings over 35 years of real estate research and site selection experience to the CRE 360 team. His expertise in the grocery industry began in college at Lucky Foods in Southern California. After earning a master’s degree, he joined American Stores in Buena Park, CA, as a Real Estate Research Analyst. Following the consolidation, he moved to Salt Lake City as a Senior Analyst. After American Stores was acquired by Albertsons, Kevin managed the Drug Store team in site research in Boise, ID. His REIT experience started in Houston, TX, with Weingarten Realty Investors, where he held positions as New Development Director and Director of Research during his nearly 17-year tenure. He later joined MTN Advisors, overseeing site location research for grocers and retailers. Throughout his career, Kevin has collaborated with grocers, shopping center owners, developers, and brokers to meet their research needs. At CRE 360 Partners, he leads a team of analysts to support clients in achieving growth. Kevin holds a master’s degree in Geography from California State University Long Beach and has been a member of the ICSC North American Research Group since 2017.
What is The Ground Truth?
The retail real estate business runs on data. But without judgment, field experience, and the right framework, data is just noise.
The Ground Truth is where host Mike Law sits down with retail real estate operators, researchers, and executives to cut through that noise — and equip retailers, landlords, developers, and municipalities to make better decisions about where they build, lease, and invest.
Each episode goes deep on the forces shaping retail markets right now: what grocery anchors are actually doing, how expansion strategies win or fail in the field, where trade areas are shifting, and why the most valuable intelligence still comes from walking the store, not pulling the dashboard.
If you're a retailer planning your next 20 sites, a landlord repositioning a center, a developer underwriting a deal, or a municipality trying to attract the right tenants — this is the conversation you want to listen in on.
New episodes every two to three weeks.