Friday, September 10, 2010
Sams Club pulls plans for Christiansburg center; tenants react
CHRISTIANSBURG — A popular sandwich and pizza restaurant will likely close by month’s end as plans to bring Sam’s Club to the struggling Marketplace shopping center have been scrapped.
Sub Shack owner Stephanie Rogol said Sam’s Club would have boosted her business to sustainable levels, adding that it has been fighting to stay afloat for years. The announcement that the highly anticipated Sam’s Club would not be occupying the center was the “final straw.”
“If we were losing before, now we’re getting clobbered,” Rogol said.
Randy Wingfield, planning director and zoning administration for Christiansburg, confirmed this week that Sam’s Club no longer intends to move in to the North Franklin Street center.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. filed renderings last December for a new store at the location, but has since announced it would close 10 Sam’s Club stores across the country, laying off 1,500 people in the process.
Without the foot traffic the big-box store was expected to generate, Rogol said she can no longer afford to maintain her business, and instead will focus on the upkeep of her other two restaurants — Sharkey’s in Blacksburg and Radford.
“It’s hard to have faith in a shopping center than continually loses tenants,” she said. “I’m at a juncture and I can’t keep doing this.”
Rogol said she hopes to sell the restaurant so Sub Shack can remain open in a new location, citing customer loyalty and a “tradition of great food” as the reasons the new owners should keep the sandwich shop in operation.
Sub Shack is the latest of a myriad of stores vacating the shopping center lying at North Franklin Street and Peppers Ferry Road. A white elephant of businesses, the marketplace center has seen Tractor Supply, Big Lots and Books-a-Million relocate in less than 24 months.
The loss of these retailers cost Sub Shack half of their business, Rogol said, and she does not believe change is on the horizon in the 300,000-square-foot center that now has six tenants.
The shopping center encompasses nearly 29 acres and belongs to Christiansburg Marketplace LLC, a Maryland limited liability company.
A partner in the ownership group and landlord to the tenants, Michael Bisciotti, did not return calls seeking comment.
Hair Force Salon owner Nancy Trump was disappointed to hear Sam’s Club plans were disintegrating, but said her business could stay in the black by relying on existing customers and referrals.
Trump has owned the salon for 12 years, and said she is not dependent on foot traffic, though “it would certainly help.” She said she was unsure as to how much longer her salon could last, particularly if rent was to increase.
Trump said she regularly looks for a new location, and said there is always an open-door policy at her salon if something comes up.
But why is this particular shopping center laden with vacancies in a town that sees nearly most of its other storefronts occupied?
Both Trump and Rogol said expensive rent could be a viable reason. Trump added the condition of her storefront was poor, and said she didn’t expect that to change until a large-scale retailer was brought in.
Several sources suggested a Kohl’s department store could be planned in Christiansburg, specifically in the 18-year-old Marketplace shopping center.
Kohl’s has filed plans to locate its first store in Roanoke, in a former Walmart store.
Wingfield said no plans had been made, though he added “it is a possibility.” Wingfield declined to divulge any further information on the potential project.
Kohl’s representative Elizabeth Deluca echoed the zoning administrator’s remarks, stating nothing was formally planned or documented.
She said in a statement that Kohl’s “has an ongoing real estate assessment process. At any given time, Kohl’s is reviewing sites in communities nationwide.”
“Kohl’s does not comment on real estate speculation,” Deluca said.
The marketplace center has operated for years now without an anchor tenant, and as vacancies continue to pile up, a sense of urgency is setting in.
“We’re sustaining, and hopefully something will come in soon,” Trump said. “It’s a great shopping center for something to come in to. I’m just not quite sure what’s happening.”
Sub Shack owner Stephanie Rogol said Sam’s Club would have boosted her business to sustainable levels, adding that it has been fighting to stay afloat for years. The announcement that the highly anticipated Sam’s Club would not be occupying the center was the “final straw.”
“If we were losing before, now we’re getting clobbered,” Rogol said.
Randy Wingfield, planning director and zoning administration for Christiansburg, confirmed this week that Sam’s Club no longer intends to move in to the North Franklin Street center.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. filed renderings last December for a new store at the location, but has since announced it would close 10 Sam’s Club stores across the country, laying off 1,500 people in the process.
Without the foot traffic the big-box store was expected to generate, Rogol said she can no longer afford to maintain her business, and instead will focus on the upkeep of her other two restaurants — Sharkey’s in Blacksburg and Radford.
“It’s hard to have faith in a shopping center than continually loses tenants,” she said. “I’m at a juncture and I can’t keep doing this.”
Rogol said she hopes to sell the restaurant so Sub Shack can remain open in a new location, citing customer loyalty and a “tradition of great food” as the reasons the new owners should keep the sandwich shop in operation.
Sub Shack is the latest of a myriad of stores vacating the shopping center lying at North Franklin Street and Peppers Ferry Road. A white elephant of businesses, the marketplace center has seen Tractor Supply, Big Lots and Books-a-Million relocate in less than 24 months.
The loss of these retailers cost Sub Shack half of their business, Rogol said, and she does not believe change is on the horizon in the 300,000-square-foot center that now has six tenants.
The shopping center encompasses nearly 29 acres and belongs to Christiansburg Marketplace LLC, a Maryland limited liability company.
A partner in the ownership group and landlord to the tenants, Michael Bisciotti, did not return calls seeking comment.
Hair Force Salon owner Nancy Trump was disappointed to hear Sam’s Club plans were disintegrating, but said her business could stay in the black by relying on existing customers and referrals.
Trump has owned the salon for 12 years, and said she is not dependent on foot traffic, though “it would certainly help.” She said she was unsure as to how much longer her salon could last, particularly if rent was to increase.
Trump said she regularly looks for a new location, and said there is always an open-door policy at her salon if something comes up.
But why is this particular shopping center laden with vacancies in a town that sees nearly most of its other storefronts occupied?
Both Trump and Rogol said expensive rent could be a viable reason. Trump added the condition of her storefront was poor, and said she didn’t expect that to change until a large-scale retailer was brought in.
Several sources suggested a Kohl’s department store could be planned in Christiansburg, specifically in the 18-year-old Marketplace shopping center.
Kohl’s has filed plans to locate its first store in Roanoke, in a former Walmart store.
Wingfield said no plans had been made, though he added “it is a possibility.” Wingfield declined to divulge any further information on the potential project.
Kohl’s representative Elizabeth Deluca echoed the zoning administrator’s remarks, stating nothing was formally planned or documented.
She said in a statement that Kohl’s “has an ongoing real estate assessment process. At any given time, Kohl’s is reviewing sites in communities nationwide.”
“Kohl’s does not comment on real estate speculation,” Deluca said.
The marketplace center has operated for years now without an anchor tenant, and as vacancies continue to pile up, a sense of urgency is setting in.
“We’re sustaining, and hopefully something will come in soon,” Trump said. “It’s a great shopping center for something to come in to. I’m just not quite sure what’s happening.”
