Goodbye Goody’s : Frisco Station Mall is attempting to recruit a replacement for one of its departing mall anchors
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
ROGERS - Bill and Betty Cunningham, both retired Rogers residents, can tell you exactly how many steps it takes to get from one end of the Frisco Station Mall to the other. For years, they and plenty of others have been walking laps around the indoor portion of the mall for exercise. But in less than two months, they know things are going to get a little darker on the east end of their walk.
Signs are plastered across the windows of the Goody's Family Clothing store, advertising everything is 30 percent to 50 percent off. Goody's, which serves as the Frisco Station Mall anchor opposite Hobby Lobby, will be closing its doors for good by June 17, according to store management. There are already several empty racks at the back of the store, which fills a portion of the space once occupied by Kmart, the mall's original anchor. And if the inventory sells out before the anticipated June closing, the doors will be locked and the lights turned off sooner.
Several businesses, including Hibbett Sports, Stage, Rent-A-Center and Hobby Lobby, have storefronts facing West Walnut Street or North Dixieland Road. And others, such as Bath and Body Works, Hallmark and a pair of salons, are operating indoors, but several of the interior spaces are currently vacant.
The Cunninghams have been walking the mall long enough to know some of those vacant spaces will find new tenants. They've seen plenty of businesses come and go over the years. They remember when there was a movie theater with several screens. And they remember when Kmart occupied the majority of the east end of the building. They even recall what the mall looked like before the space at the west end was completely redesigned to accommodate Hobby Lobby's arrival.
"A lot has changed here over the years, and we've probably seen it all," Bill Cunningham said. "There was a day when RV and boat shows were held. The movie theater was great. There were people walking around everywhere. Now, there are a lot of people walking, but many of them are like us, just for exercise. Management keeps the place clean and the floors polished real nice, but I do wonder sometimes how they can keep going and if there's enough shopping traffic to stay open."
According to Gail Segura, national marketing manager for J. Herzog and Sons Inc., the Denver-based management company that purchased the property in 2003, Frisco Station Mall is in no danger of closing its doors. J. Herzog and Sons Inc. renovated the facility in 2004, at which time its original name, Dixieland Mall, was changed to Frisco Station Mall. The company operates and manages 14 malls across the country.
"We're actively looking for a tenant to fill the Goody's space, and we do have some viable prospects for that and other spaces in the mall," Segura said. "I'm confident we're going to find a new tenant - and maybe one that's not currently in that market."
Segura said J. Herzog and Sons Inc. would like to continue filling the Frisco Station Mall spaces with storefronts along Walnut and Dixieland with traditional mall tenants. But while Bath and Body Works, Hallmark and others continue to do business in the interior spots, several of the spaces around them have or will be occupied by nontraditional mall tenants.
A Tae Kwon Do studio is operating near the center of the mall. The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services and The World's Class, a business offering workshops and classes in world crafts, technology for children and more, have recently signed leases.
"Retailers have certain criteria they're looking for in a mall, and we certainly try to fit them with what they're looking for, but there are spaces here for some of the more nontraditional tenants as well. The Tae Kwon Do studio, for example, is doing very well. The workforce center will be moving into a perfect spot that's set up great for office space."
There's been plenty of change at Frisco Station Mall over the years. With Goody's preparing to pack it up, that change will continue. The Cunninghams are just happy the main doors to the mall will remain open so they can continue walking the mall every morning for exercise. But they are curious to see what will happen with the Goody's space, as well as the other unoccupied spaces.
"I guess I'm hopeful something big will move in to bring more traffic for everyone here," Bill Cunningham said. "I'll be here walking, and I'll be watching."
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online