Buckland Business Brief 1/12/18

This year has been turbulent in the retail industry, with many retailers declaring bankruptcy. This article is a recap of pending store closings, openings, and rumors around the Buckland Hills Mall.

Holiday Openings-

A number of stores opened before the holiday season at the mall

-Rainbow Shops

-Dollar N Things

-Just Cozy

-Hickory Farms

-Go Calendar and Toys (also opened at Evergreen Walk)

It safe to assume some of these stores were Holiday Pop-Up stores and will/have closed.

Closings:

Gymboree- As announced last year, the child clothing store is closing, the whole store is on sale.

Teavana- The Starbucks-owned tea store at Buckland has either closed or is still in the process of closing.

Sam's Club- The Walmart-owned warehouse store announced yesterday their plans to close the 140,000 sqft store. The store is 25% off right now, and the store will permanently close on January 26.

Mattress Firm- The mattress store has closed their location in the Babies R US/AC Moore plaza.

Panera Bread- The restaurant closed their location inside the mall late last year, the space remains vacant.

Subway- The restaurant inside the food court at the mall closed late last year.

Premier Fitness Equipment- Sign has been removed from the Petco building.

Openings:

At Home- The decor superstore will take over the space vacated by Pilgrim Furniture City.

Pilgrim Furniture City- The furniture store will move to the opposite side of Burr Corners, most recently occupied by a grocery store.

Red Heat Tavern- The restaurant and bar will open in the former Bonefish space in South Windsor; the restaurant will be run by the founder of Burton's Grill (also located in Evergreen Walk.)

Mediterranean Grille- A new restaurant has opened in the former Asian Bistro/Desert Moon Cafe space at the Buckland Hills Mall.

Kaoud Oriental Rugs- The rug store will move from their current location near AC Moore to a bigger space recently vacated by Mattress Firm in the same plaza.

Joey Garlic's- The restaurant will open in the space occupied by Carrabbas near the movie theater.

Go Health/Hartford Hospital Urgent Care- Will open in a newly built shopping center on the Manchester/ South Windsor border.

Tempur Mattress- Will open in a newly built shopping center, near Go Health, on the Manchester/ South Windsor border.

Bonchon- The restaurant has reopened after a fatal shooting at the Plaza at Buckland Hills.

Sprint- Will open in new store at the space vacated by Bank's Oreck near Target.

Phenix Salon- Will open next door to Dalene's Carpet One near Christmas Tree Shops.

Cost Plus World Market- Will open next door to AC Moore, according to building permits issued to Centro Bradley Hale Road by the Town.

Juicy J's Juice Bar- According to the mall's website, the juice bar will open a location at the mall, although the space was not specified.

Cricket Wireless- Also on the mall's website, the wireless provider will open a location at the mall, no space was specified.

Solar Canopies- This isn't a store, but to clear up confusion, solar canopies are being built on the outer parking lots of the mall.

Rumors:

Chick Fil A- The restaurant is named as part of a development plan/feasibility study submitted to the town.

Mission BBQ- The restaurant was listed on the site plan as occupying another space in the Chick Fil A development.

FYE- The store had signs that 'Everything is on sale' and '20-30% off.' No signs said store closing, but the sign do resembles those of a liquidator and the store was very bare.

Sam's Club- In a statement announcing the pending closures, the retail giant said some stores may open as regional distribution centers for samsclub.com; its unclear which stores will reopen.

Namco Pools- The space occupied by Namco is being marketed for lease, the pool supply store may be moving or closing; either way the management company, Brixmor, is looking for a new tenant.

K&G- With the arrival of At Home, K&G appear to be homeless as Atlantic Retail (marketing Burr Corners) shows At Home will take over Pilgrim's space and K&G's. No formal relocation or closure has been announced.

Please let me know in the comment section if I missed anything, if you see a closing, or if you see a new store opening!