Whoever said there is no good answer to this conundrum is right. Retail stores in general are in big trouble because everyone is buying everything online and if not, big chain stores have their markets wrapped up. Most of the ideas here are either 1, food-related which is what everyone wants but the OP does not want, or 2, ideas that would never in a million years yield the kind of profit needed to pay the rent. Bulk laundry detergent for people who can't afford to buy a bottle of it? There is Costco and a lot of other places to get something like that already, plus how could sales be high enough in a small storefront devoted to something like that? We have a zillion 99 cent stores already--don't they stock a huge array of household items like that? (I just got some really nice wineglasses at one of those places: 6 glasses for 10 dollars!) There just is no good answer. Upscale boutiques have tried and failed, as has at least one yoga studio. I order online and get almost everything delivered now--you can get exactly what you want and it's so much easier. I don't know what will happen to all these empty storefronts all over the city, not just here.