New York Butcher Shoppe, a high-end store at Selwyn Avenue and Colony Road, is closing this weekend.
The store carried meats, prepared foods, sandwiches and deli items such as wine and cheese.
Owner Jed Kampe said he plans to open a new restaurant in May, at an undisclosed location, that will also feature a butcher counter. He plans to serve hamburgers made from beef ground fresh on site daily.
"There will be a lot of changes mostly in the dine-in aspect, but nothing will change with regards to only using the highest quality beef, chicken, pork and lamb," said Kampe, in a statement. "I can’t thank everyone enough who have supported our current location, but in order to take this to a new level, I simply need more space with a true kitchen."
Kampe said the location will be announced soon, and he hopes to stay in the immediate area.
The New York Butcher Shoppe was founded in 1999 in South Carolina, and there are a dozen franchised locations throughout the Southeast, according to the company's website.
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Showing posts with label Stores closing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stores closing. Show all posts
Efirds Interiors closing, relocating Charlotte store
Efirds Interiors, an interior furnishings store on Monroe Road, is marking down items as it prepares to close its Charlotte location.
Founded in 1959, the company also has stores in Hickory and Concord. The company is still family-run, and specializes in home lighting and furniture.
Justus Efird, the company's vice president, said Efirds will open a new Charlotte location soon. He wouldn't say exactly where it will be, but said it will be located in south Charlotte.
The store has been located on Monroe Road for 22 years, and Efird said the location was no longer working. "It's not in a high retail area," he said. "We want to move to south Charlotte and get into a high retail environment."
A sale to clear out inventory is scheduled to start Wednesday, Feb. 15. The hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The sale will continue for 90 days, Efird said. He said the company is putting its lowest prices on items now, to clear inventory as rapidly as possible, rather than progressively marking items down as the sales goes on.
"It's a lot easier for me to sell everything than try to move it," Efird said. "The store is closing, but we're not going out of business."
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Founded in 1959, the company also has stores in Hickory and Concord. The company is still family-run, and specializes in home lighting and furniture.
Justus Efird, the company's vice president, said Efirds will open a new Charlotte location soon. He wouldn't say exactly where it will be, but said it will be located in south Charlotte.
The store has been located on Monroe Road for 22 years, and Efird said the location was no longer working. "It's not in a high retail area," he said. "We want to move to south Charlotte and get into a high retail environment."
A sale to clear out inventory is scheduled to start Wednesday, Feb. 15. The hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The sale will continue for 90 days, Efird said. He said the company is putting its lowest prices on items now, to clear inventory as rapidly as possible, rather than progressively marking items down as the sales goes on.
"It's a lot easier for me to sell everything than try to move it," Efird said. "The store is closing, but we're not going out of business."
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Morrocroft adds ABC Store
The "Tajmah Teeter" at Morrocroft Village has a, um, spirited new neighbor: Call it the TajhmABC Store.
The Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board last week opened a new location in the 5,312-square-foot former Ruby Tuesday space in the upmarket shopping center, on Sharon Road between Morrison Boulevard and Colony Road, across from SouthPark mall. The shop carries about 1,025 distilled spirit products, according to the ABC Board.
However, Morrocroft's addition will subtract two other ABC stores from the countywide roster: The locations at 1017 Wendover Road and 6625 Carmel Road are set to shut down as a result of the new store opening. ABC spokeswoman Mary Ward said that those locations are listed for sale and do not have a firm closing date at this time.
The Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board last week opened a new location in the 5,312-square-foot former Ruby Tuesday space in the upmarket shopping center, on Sharon Road between Morrison Boulevard and Colony Road, across from SouthPark mall. The shop carries about 1,025 distilled spirit products, according to the ABC Board.
However, Morrocroft's addition will subtract two other ABC stores from the countywide roster: The locations at 1017 Wendover Road and 6625 Carmel Road are set to shut down as a result of the new store opening. ABC spokeswoman Mary Ward said that those locations are listed for sale and do not have a firm closing date at this time.
More local movie rental shops to close
The region's already-shrinking roster of video rental outlets is poised to decline even further: The remaining Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores are set to close within the next few months.
We last went to the videotape on this subject (er, so to speak) in February, when the chains' parent company, Oregon-based Movie Gallery, filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to close half of its 2,145 U.S. stores. At the time, the company - the nation's second-largest video chain - said it wanted to reorganize and emerge with a smaller base of profitable locations. But the chances of that succeeding seemed questionable at best even then, given the intense competition bricks-and-mortar video stores are facing from the likes of Netflix, Redbox and various streaming services. Indeed, Blockbuster, the nation's largest video chain, is itself wrestling with debt and trying to right its financial ship and broaden its business model. For Movie Gallery, however, it appears the tape has finally run out (ok, yes, I realize they focus on DVDs now, but, work with me on the metaphors here), according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
At the time of the bankruptcy filing, the company had 22 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video locations in the Charlotte area, already down from its peak several years ago. Now, only 10 are listed on the company’s website - in Stanley, Dallas, Kannapolis, Kings Mountain, Lincolnton, China Grove, Locust, Maiden, Rockwell and Clover, S.C. Stores contacted Monday said they were closing, but weren’t sure of the exact timeline. Movie Gallery was also in bankruptcy in 2007-08 and shut hundreds of stores then.
We last went to the videotape on this subject (er, so to speak) in February, when the chains' parent company, Oregon-based Movie Gallery, filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to close half of its 2,145 U.S. stores. At the time, the company - the nation's second-largest video chain - said it wanted to reorganize and emerge with a smaller base of profitable locations. But the chances of that succeeding seemed questionable at best even then, given the intense competition bricks-and-mortar video stores are facing from the likes of Netflix, Redbox and various streaming services. Indeed, Blockbuster, the nation's largest video chain, is itself wrestling with debt and trying to right its financial ship and broaden its business model. For Movie Gallery, however, it appears the tape has finally run out (ok, yes, I realize they focus on DVDs now, but, work with me on the metaphors here), according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
At the time of the bankruptcy filing, the company had 22 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video locations in the Charlotte area, already down from its peak several years ago. Now, only 10 are listed on the company’s website - in Stanley, Dallas, Kannapolis, Kings Mountain, Lincolnton, China Grove, Locust, Maiden, Rockwell and Clover, S.C. Stores contacted Monday said they were closing, but weren’t sure of the exact timeline. Movie Gallery was also in bankruptcy in 2007-08 and shut hundreds of stores then.
Blakeney Ann Taylor converts to a Loft
An inquiring reader wanted to know: What's afoot at the Ann Taylor store at Blakeney, on Rea Road in south Charlotte? The answer: It's converting to an Ann Taylor Loft store, the lower-priced, more casual sister to the regular Ann Taylor nameplate. The Ann Taylor store closed April 10, and the new Loft is holding a grand opening today, a spokeswoman said.
The company has not yet responded to a request for more information about why the switch occurred, but it's possible that Loft's mix and pricing offers more appeal in a challenged economy.
Regular Ann Taylor stores remain at SouthPark and Northlake malls in Charlotte.
The company has not yet responded to a request for more information about why the switch occurred, but it's possible that Loft's mix and pricing offers more appeal in a challenged economy.
Regular Ann Taylor stores remain at SouthPark and Northlake malls in Charlotte.
Swoozie's going out of business
Atlanta-based gift and stationery chain Swoozie's - which has two Charlotte-area stores, at SouthPark's Morrison and at Blakeney - is going out of business.
The nine-year-old company sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month and is liquidating after failing to find a buyer that would keep its 43 stores operating. Instead, Hilco Merchant Resources, a suburban Chicago company that has also helped shut down Circuit City and Blockbuster stores, among others, bought Swoozie's assets for $7.43 million. (They have a retail value of more than $18 million.) At the time of the bankruptcy filing, Swoozie's blamed its financial woes on the recession and the poor performance of 13 stores it had acquired in the Northeast.
If you're interested in sending the chain a sympathy card - or stocking up on other greetings - take heed: Closing sales are now in progress, with all in-stock merchandise on sale at up to 30 percent off, Hilco said in a news release.
If you're interested in sending the chain a sympathy card - or stocking up on other greetings - take heed: Closing sales are now in progress, with all in-stock merchandise on sale at up to 30 percent off, Hilco said in a news release.
In a letter posted on the company's Web site, Swoozie's founder Kelly Plank Dworkin expressed disappointment at the outcome: "This isn't just a business for me," she wrote. "This is my life, my family and my passion....Although I am so sincerely sorry for any pain or hardship this situation is causing, I will always appreciate and hold dear the people and the experiences that Swoozie's has introduced along the way. I am a woman of faith, I am confident that this has a larger purpose that will one day make sense."
Potion shuts, but services live on in owner's new venture
High-end local beauty boutique Potion, which shut its last location in February, may return as a retail store in the future - but for now is living on in a different form through owner Samantha Smith's new ventures, including a makeup line and east Charlotte studio.
The original Potion opened on East Boulevard in Dilworth in 2002, and the chain briefly had three locations before contracting to one, at Birkdale Village in Huntersville. That location closed Feb. 19, primarily due to the inability to reach a new lease agreement, Smith said. "The nuts and bolts of it is, the space we were in was really expensive," she said. "With the economy the way it is, it's just been increasingly difficult to maintain what we were five years ago, and we had to make changes and sacrifices within the business." The shop, which had many customers that worked in the hard-hit real estate and banking industries, had already switched up some of the lines it was carrying, to offer more affordable options. Though customers were still visiting, Smith said, they weren't spending as much, which meant that the decision to close, in the end, boiled down to money. It was, she said, a last-minute decision, as she was still hoping to work something out. But now, she said, she's enjoying not being tethered to a retail space and fixed hours.
Smith has opened a new east Charlotte studio, Samantha Alexandra, which offers appointments for many of the same services she used to provide through Potion, including hair and makeup. She's also working on creating her own cosmetics line, also called Samantha Alexandra, which should be finished by the end of the year. The new arrangement has given her more time and freedom to travel for bridal and photo shoot work, she said. She will come to customers for on-site work, or they can visit her studio, she said. She can also arrange skin care services, she said.
Smith isn't ruling out a return to retail, and indeed says she's continuing to look for suitable retail space in central Charlotte. She says she plans on waiting to see what the economy does during the next few months before deciding whether it's worth it to open a store again. In the meantime, she says, she's still doing makeup every day. "I just want to help women get a really good, solid, professional opinion on their makeup," she said, "and I'm sure a lot of people appreciate that."
The original Potion opened on East Boulevard in Dilworth in 2002, and the chain briefly had three locations before contracting to one, at Birkdale Village in Huntersville. That location closed Feb. 19, primarily due to the inability to reach a new lease agreement, Smith said. "The nuts and bolts of it is, the space we were in was really expensive," she said. "With the economy the way it is, it's just been increasingly difficult to maintain what we were five years ago, and we had to make changes and sacrifices within the business." The shop, which had many customers that worked in the hard-hit real estate and banking industries, had already switched up some of the lines it was carrying, to offer more affordable options. Though customers were still visiting, Smith said, they weren't spending as much, which meant that the decision to close, in the end, boiled down to money. It was, she said, a last-minute decision, as she was still hoping to work something out. But now, she said, she's enjoying not being tethered to a retail space and fixed hours.
Smith has opened a new east Charlotte studio, Samantha Alexandra, which offers appointments for many of the same services she used to provide through Potion, including hair and makeup. She's also working on creating her own cosmetics line, also called Samantha Alexandra, which should be finished by the end of the year. The new arrangement has given her more time and freedom to travel for bridal and photo shoot work, she said. She will come to customers for on-site work, or they can visit her studio, she said. She can also arrange skin care services, she said.
Smith isn't ruling out a return to retail, and indeed says she's continuing to look for suitable retail space in central Charlotte. She says she plans on waiting to see what the economy does during the next few months before deciding whether it's worth it to open a store again. In the meantime, she says, she's still doing makeup every day. "I just want to help women get a really good, solid, professional opinion on their makeup," she said, "and I'm sure a lot of people appreciate that."
New Dilworth Bloom opens March 17
The first central Charlotte Bloom store is set to open at 8 a.m. on March 17, after nearly a year of renovations to overhaul the former Bi-Lo at 2226 Park Road in Dilworth. Customers can also visit during a "Shop Happy Hour" preview, 5-7 p.m. on March 16, with product sampling, wine and cheese. The store will also be giving away free hot dogs from Wednesday through Saturday, with a charitable donation suggested. Regular hours are 6 a.m. to midnight.
The 44,500-square-foot store opened as a Kroger in 1982 and converted to Bi-Lo in the late 1980s. By the time it closed last April, it hadn’t been renovated in years and had begun to look timeworn. Since then, however, the space has been gutted and remodeled, and the parking lot resurfaced, with new landscaping.
The 44,500-square-foot store opened as a Kroger in 1982 and converted to Bi-Lo in the late 1980s. By the time it closed last April, it hadn’t been renovated in years and had begun to look timeworn. Since then, however, the space has been gutted and remodeled, and the parking lot resurfaced, with new landscaping.
Bloom is Salisbury-based Food Lion’s upscale, tech-savvy concept, and the Dilworth store will be the ninth area location, employing about 90 people. The store will have a drive-through pharmacy, full floral shop, dedicated gluten-free section, expanded assortment of wine, beer and specialty cheese, a soup and salad bar and more than 3,000 organic and natural items, spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown said. It also will sell fresh-cut meats and seafood, and Dietz & Watson deli products and fresh-made sandwiches.
Beyond that, the Bloom will provide new grocery competition for Harris Teeter, which has essentially had the Dilworth-Freedom Park area to itself since Bi-Lo closed, with stores on East Boulevard and at Park Road Shopping Center. It'll be interesting to see what pans out, and if residents give it a try.
Meanwhile, Bi-Lo continues to shrink its local presence: The chain, based outside of Greenville, S.C., ranks fourth in market share by sales in Charlotte and is in the process of closing two stores here. One, on Little Rock Road, shut last month, and another, on Independence Boulevard in Indian Trail, is slated to close Saturday. The company remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but in a press release said the store closures - which affect seven locations chainwide - are unrelated to that and but are rather part of its regular review of store profitability. Some of the stores are nearing the end of their current lease agreements and the company decided not to renew them, which was also my understanding of what happened with the Dilworth space.
Note: Though Bloom is owned by Food Lion, you can't use Food Lion's MVP loyalty card there - instead, shoppers must sign up for Bloom's Breeze card to obtain discounts, Phillips-Brown said.
Update, March 15: Below are photos of the store from a preview tour this afternoon, as workers busied themselves stocking shelves and setting up. For anyone familiar with the old Bi-Lo, it's quite a change, and the layout far different, with produce on the right-hand side of the store and non-food and pharmacy items on the left. The store is decorated in muted hues and has wooden floors in several areas, such as produce, below.
Below: The store will have four 37-inch flat-screen, touch-screen monitors that provide information about the store and the products it sells. Customers can scan packages of meat to bring up a list of recipes that include that item, and can print out recipes at the kiosk.
The store includes an expanded wine and cheese section.
There's also a dedicated gluten-free section.
And a drive-through pharmacy:
Are big-box vacancies filling in?
The new Ollie's Bargain Outlet opening tomorrow in Matthews is just the latest instance of a curious and fairly recent trend that likely isn't unique to Charlotte: New retailers filling in big-box (or, at least medium-box) space left vacant by bankruptcies a year or so ago, when the exits of Circuit City, Linens-n-Things, Goody's and Steve & Barry's left about 25 big ol' voids in shopping centers across the region.
Now, at least six of those spaces have either welcomed a new tenant or soon will. The new Ollie's, for instance, is in the former Linens-n-Things at Matthews Corners, 2308 Matthews Township Parkway, near Independence Boulevard. Another branch of Pennsylvania-based Ollie's will contribute to the pattern, too, opening in April in the former Goody's in Mooresville. Other recent examples include the new Big Lots in the former Circuit City on University City Boulevard and the Nordstrom Rack slated to open in 2011 in the former Circuit City at Carolina Pavilion on South Boulevard, near Interstate 485. (Ollie's also moved into the old Goody's shown above, on U.S. 70 in Hickory.)
You'll notice that most of the incoming retailers have something in common beyond the type of space they're occupying: They're discount stores, about the only kind of retail chain growing in the current environment. Fueled by bargain-hungry shoppers, such stores are taking advantage of the depressed real estate market to grab locations that weren't available before, and you can see the effects across the local landscape. Though they almost certainly aren't paying as much in rent as the previous tenants did, the new arrivals still bring benefits to the shopping centers, giving consumers more options and helping landlords by paying rent and attracting traffic that will spill over to neighboring tenants.
At least in one case, though, a move to fill a vacant big box simply perpetuated the retail hopscotch that's left gaps across the region for years: Best Buy last month closed its store on J.W. Clay Boulevard in University City to move to a much more visible location at Concord Mills, leaving behind an empty space just down the plaza from, yes, another empty space, a former Walmart that shut down when a new supercenter opened on North Tryon Street last June.
On a related note: It appears that a new tenant is also headed for the former Toys R Us at 6070 E. Independence Boulevard, next to an old Circuit City that's now a carpet store. Kaplan College, which offers career-oriented associate degree and diploma programs targeted at nontraditional students who need a flexible schedule, is currently overhauling the building and plans to open in the space in the late spring or early summer, spokeswoman Abby Hunt said. It's part of the Kaplan company also widely known for its test preparation offerings, but those won't be available at the roughly 30,000-square-foot Independence Boulevard site, she said. It will be the first Kaplan College in North Carolina; there are about 70 nationwide. The Toys R Us closed in early 2006, and the year before played a role in a bizarre crime story that illustrates another potential use for empty big boxes: A prison escapee was discovered living in the then-vacant Circuit City next door, living off of items he stole from the Toys R Us.
Speaking of Ollie's: The Matthews branch of the closeout chain opens at 10 a.m. Wednesday. CEO Mark Butler will be there, and Hall of Fame pitcher (and N.C. native) Gaylord Perry will be signing autographs and meeting with fans. Beginning at 8:30, 250 tickets will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis for the Perry meet-and-greet; ticket holders will also receive a limited-edition Perry card and can get their photo taken with Perry inside the store after the grand opening ceremony. The store opening will also feature live music and refreshments.
It's curtains for more movie-rental stores
The depressing plot twists just keep getting worse for bricks-and-mortar video rental shops: Movie Gallery, which operates stores under its own name and the Hollywood Video banner, this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be closing 760 stores nationwide, more than a quarter of its total. The company also warns that more locations could close as the bankruptcy process unfolds. Movie Gallery is aiming to reorganize and move ahead with its most profitable stores, but this is its second trip into bankruptcy in less than three years, and it also closed several hundred stores during its initial stint there.
There are 22 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in the Charlotte region. Of those, half are set to close, according to the company's Web site. Affected locations include the Movie Gallery stores in Belmont, Cherryville, Chester, Gastonia, Lake Wylie, Lincolnton, Rock Hill and Waxhaw, and the Hollywood Video stores in Matthews, Harrisburg and on Johnston Road in Charlotte.
Beset by competition from Netflix, Redbox, and other downloadable and on-demand streaming services, traditional video rental stores are vanishing from the landscape at a precipitous rate. Blockbuster Video, the nation's largest video rental chain, has also been closing hundreds of stores, including but not limited to locations on Montford Drive and at Quail Corners on Park Road in Charlotte. The Montford Drive location was where I went to rent movies when I first moved to Charlotte. But that was years ago, before I had a Netflix subscription - which kind of sums up the dilemma such stores face these days.
According to a news release, Movie Gallery's goal is to emerge from bankruptcy with a "new and sustainable business model centered on a smaller base of profitable stores." But with the tides shifting as they are, I'm wondering how long even those will remain profitable enough to remain afloat. Though there are still people who like to pick out movies in person - and impulsive times when that's the only option - that pool of customers seems to be draining quickly. It'll be interesting to see where it ends.
There are 22 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in the Charlotte region. Of those, half are set to close, according to the company's Web site. Affected locations include the Movie Gallery stores in Belmont, Cherryville, Chester, Gastonia, Lake Wylie, Lincolnton, Rock Hill and Waxhaw, and the Hollywood Video stores in Matthews, Harrisburg and on Johnston Road in Charlotte.
Beset by competition from Netflix, Redbox, and other downloadable and on-demand streaming services, traditional video rental stores are vanishing from the landscape at a precipitous rate. Blockbuster Video, the nation's largest video rental chain, has also been closing hundreds of stores, including but not limited to locations on Montford Drive and at Quail Corners on Park Road in Charlotte. The Montford Drive location was where I went to rent movies when I first moved to Charlotte. But that was years ago, before I had a Netflix subscription - which kind of sums up the dilemma such stores face these days.
According to a news release, Movie Gallery's goal is to emerge from bankruptcy with a "new and sustainable business model centered on a smaller base of profitable stores." But with the tides shifting as they are, I'm wondering how long even those will remain profitable enough to remain afloat. Though there are still people who like to pick out movies in person - and impulsive times when that's the only option - that pool of customers seems to be draining quickly. It'll be interesting to see where it ends.
Do SouthPark's comings and goings signal anything more?
Last week I wrote a short story about some new stores coming to SouthPark - but what's just as telling is the flip side of that equation: The merchants they're replacing. Yes, stores turn over all the time, even during a boom, but just about all malls have been wrestling with increased vacancy in the recession. Luxury-oriented centers like SouthPark aren't exempt, and it looks to me like the downturn is bringing a somewhat wider economic mix of stores into a mall known for its concentration of high-end tenants.
The last time I was at the mall - about a week ago - the former Bob Ellis Shoes space near Nordstrom was filled by a artisan crafts-type store that looked like it might be a temporary occupant. Bath and body products purveyor Crabtree & Evelyn, which closed stores in the wake of a bankruptcy filing, will be replaced by a Yoforia frozen yogurt location. The former Cache Luxe, next to Aveda, will soon become home to Charlotte's first True Religion jeans store - granted, not exactly a bargain-basement outlet, what with jeans selling for $200 and more. (Cache, which still operates its namesake store at SouthPark, is thinning its roster of the Luxe stores nationwide, not just here.)
The closing of Carlyle & Co. jewelers, a Greensboro-based chain that went out of business entirely, and upscale women's boutique Intermix have also left vacancies at SouthPark recently; it's as yet unclear what will fill them. Intermix was an interesting case - a high-end, fashion-forward store that's well-established in other cities, it came to Charlotte in the spring of 2008, not long before - well, you know what happened in the economy.
Does it mean that SouthPark's luxury luster has dulled? I don't think so. But it does speak to the ways that the recession has dampened high-end spending and hit mall-reliant retailers across the country and locally, leaving newer, smaller high-end markets on the bubble.
The last time I was at the mall - about a week ago - the former Bob Ellis Shoes space near Nordstrom was filled by a artisan crafts-type store that looked like it might be a temporary occupant. Bath and body products purveyor Crabtree & Evelyn, which closed stores in the wake of a bankruptcy filing, will be replaced by a Yoforia frozen yogurt location. The former Cache Luxe, next to Aveda, will soon become home to Charlotte's first True Religion jeans store - granted, not exactly a bargain-basement outlet, what with jeans selling for $200 and more. (Cache, which still operates its namesake store at SouthPark, is thinning its roster of the Luxe stores nationwide, not just here.)
The closing of Carlyle & Co. jewelers, a Greensboro-based chain that went out of business entirely, and upscale women's boutique Intermix have also left vacancies at SouthPark recently; it's as yet unclear what will fill them. Intermix was an interesting case - a high-end, fashion-forward store that's well-established in other cities, it came to Charlotte in the spring of 2008, not long before - well, you know what happened in the economy.
Does it mean that SouthPark's luxury luster has dulled? I don't think so. But it does speak to the ways that the recession has dampened high-end spending and hit mall-reliant retailers across the country and locally, leaving newer, smaller high-end markets on the bubble.
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