Coworking with Garry E. Adams

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Garry E. Adams is CEO, CCIM, CPA at commercial real estate company Capital Reality.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? We help brands with their real estate. Think of us as a matchmaker for brands and buildings. We connect retail concepts with the ideal location, balancing consumer behavior, real estate strategy, and financial precision. It’s less about selling products and services and more about identifying environments where commerce flourishes.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? That I have likely negotiated retail leases in more states than most people can identify on a map. Retail is not just about malls and high streets. It is about being where people move, pause, and spend. My office might be an airport terminal in LA one day and the high streets of NYC the next.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Launching over 300 new locations for national brands was thrilling. Helping emerging beauty and fashion brands scale from LA to the East Coast—that was like guiding a startup from garage band to Grammy winner!

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about right now, and why? Experiential retail—where shopping meets storytelling. Stores are becoming immersive brand experiences—part showroom, part social hub. Brick and mortar is not going away; the best brands have both brick-and-mortar and online offerings. Always evolving.

What’s your go-to coffee order? Black Americano—strong, straightforward, no-nonsense. Just like a good lease: clean terms, no fluff.

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? “Stick to what you know.” If I had followed that, I would still be crunching spreadsheets instead of shaping street retail. Growth lives a step away from your comfort zone.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? At 15? A pair of Nike Air Jordans—because nothing said cool like those high-tops. Now? The latest Titleist driver, of course.