SpinnerBait_Nut
Honorary Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2002
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Re: WalMart.....Worried? Mmmmmm
This just in.<br /><br />ASHLAND A new Wal-Mart Supercenter that is anchoring the $30 million development on Melody Mountain will open Aug. 24, a store official said Wednesday.<br /><br />Store manager Harold Terry said the Wal-Mart store that has occupied the Ashland Town Center since the mall opened in 1989 will close at 6 p.m. Tuesday night, and the new store will have a grand-opening ceremony Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. The supercenter will then open to the public at 8 a.m., Terry said.<br /><br />"I think people will walk in still thinking of the old store in their minds," Terry said. "But when they see the inside of this store, they'll see the present and the future of shopping in this area."<br /><br />The new Wal-Mart store is twice the size of the mall location, and will be the first store to open in a new retail development that will include four new restaurants and another large retailer.<br /><br />"Everything is going well," Terry said of the transition from the mall up the hill to Melody Mountain. "We're just trying to get this store open, and so far things have been smooth. We should be right on target." <br /><br />Home Depot, long-rumored to be part of the Melody Mountain site, had committed to locate adjacent to Wal-Mart in January, but backed out of the development in June.<br /><br />However, RG Properties, which developed the site, said other large retailers are interested in the location.<br /><br />Of the four restaurants, three have been named: Outback Steakhouse, O'Charley's and Fire Mountain, a buffet-style steakhouse.<br /><br />Outback has announced an opening date of Sept. 19. Officials with the restaurant said the new eatery will provide about 100 jobs.<br /><br />Opening dates for the other eateries have yet to be announced.<br /><br />As for the Town Center, mall manager Merri Hurn said the shopping center doesn't yet have anything to announce in terms of replacing Wal-Mart. She said Glimcher Properties, which owns the mall, is still in the process of terminating Wal-Mart's lease, and negotiating with new potential tenants.<br /><br />"We've worked with several different retailers, but there's nothing we can say at this point," she said.<br /><br />The Wal-Mart site will likely remain vacant for the rest of the year, she said.<br /><br />"We're looking at something in 2006, probably not 2005," Hurn said.<br /><br />Hurn said one possibility for the Town Center is to re-design Wal-Mart's portion of the mall, opening it up to more than one store.<br /><br />"We're thinking of renovating it so whatever comes in there wouldn't necessarily have to be a huge box-type retailer," Hurn said.
This just in.<br /><br />ASHLAND A new Wal-Mart Supercenter that is anchoring the $30 million development on Melody Mountain will open Aug. 24, a store official said Wednesday.<br /><br />Store manager Harold Terry said the Wal-Mart store that has occupied the Ashland Town Center since the mall opened in 1989 will close at 6 p.m. Tuesday night, and the new store will have a grand-opening ceremony Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. The supercenter will then open to the public at 8 a.m., Terry said.<br /><br />"I think people will walk in still thinking of the old store in their minds," Terry said. "But when they see the inside of this store, they'll see the present and the future of shopping in this area."<br /><br />The new Wal-Mart store is twice the size of the mall location, and will be the first store to open in a new retail development that will include four new restaurants and another large retailer.<br /><br />"Everything is going well," Terry said of the transition from the mall up the hill to Melody Mountain. "We're just trying to get this store open, and so far things have been smooth. We should be right on target." <br /><br />Home Depot, long-rumored to be part of the Melody Mountain site, had committed to locate adjacent to Wal-Mart in January, but backed out of the development in June.<br /><br />However, RG Properties, which developed the site, said other large retailers are interested in the location.<br /><br />Of the four restaurants, three have been named: Outback Steakhouse, O'Charley's and Fire Mountain, a buffet-style steakhouse.<br /><br />Outback has announced an opening date of Sept. 19. Officials with the restaurant said the new eatery will provide about 100 jobs.<br /><br />Opening dates for the other eateries have yet to be announced.<br /><br />As for the Town Center, mall manager Merri Hurn said the shopping center doesn't yet have anything to announce in terms of replacing Wal-Mart. She said Glimcher Properties, which owns the mall, is still in the process of terminating Wal-Mart's lease, and negotiating with new potential tenants.<br /><br />"We've worked with several different retailers, but there's nothing we can say at this point," she said.<br /><br />The Wal-Mart site will likely remain vacant for the rest of the year, she said.<br /><br />"We're looking at something in 2006, probably not 2005," Hurn said.<br /><br />Hurn said one possibility for the Town Center is to re-design Wal-Mart's portion of the mall, opening it up to more than one store.<br /><br />"We're thinking of renovating it so whatever comes in there wouldn't necessarily have to be a huge box-type retailer," Hurn said.
