Saturday, September 8, 2007 1:15 AM CDT
Marketplace beginning to fill more storefronts
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — Different businesses have landed at Mattoon Marketplace over the past month, and more plan to nest there in the future.
The new clients joining Dollar Tree, which opened earlier this summer, include Hibbett Sports, Jackie’s Nails, The Cash Store and Wireless Mike’s East. Signs are up for a Cato clothing store and a Gamestop outlet as well.
“We’re about where we expected to be at this point,” said Ashley Boyd of Thompson Thrift Development, an Indiana firm that purchased the property in 2006 for redevelopment as a retail center.
Some new restaurants are in the works for the retail center, located in the former Kmart building at Dettro Drive. One is QQ Buffet, a Chinese restaurant familiar to Charleston residents, and another is a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise, also known as BW3, Boyd said. This national chain of sports bars has restaurants in dozens of states and 27 in Illinois. A Starbucks is also on the list for new businesses, according to Boyd.
The Chinese restaurant might be opening soon, but a Buffalo Wild Wings corporation spokesman said that franchise might not open until 2008.
New stores at Mattoon Marketplace have been answering basically the same question from customers repeatedly over the last few weeks: “We didn’t know you were here.”
Hibbett Sports “Head Coach” or manager Mark Stremming said the store with athletic equipment, attire and shoes opened a few weeks early to capitalize on the “Back to School” customers.
“We weren’t supposed to open until September but the building here was coming along much better than we thought so we opened on Aug. 4,” Stremming said.
The earlier opening also helped some football fans gear up for the opening of the NFL season. Bears gear is the most popular so far at Hibbett Sports, but Colts purchases are a close second, Stremming said.
The new Wireless Mike’s Verizon East Store is not second-fiddle to the main branch in Mattoon at 21st Street and Charleston Avenue. It is the fifth store for Wireless Mike’s.
“It was time to expand our company more. And, this is a full-scale store,” explained Mike Grant, manager for the store located on the west side of Mattoon Marketplace. “And we have different times for each store.”
For example, Wireless Mike’s East is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 10 to 6 on Saturdays.
David Luong of Jackie’s Nails decided the location was right for opening a nail, pedicure, facial and spa business at the new retail center.
“It’s a new location and very convenient with high traffic,” he said after completing work on a customer. Thursday was the grand opening for the business.
Many of the employees in the new businesses are interested to know what is coming in. Final word rests with Thompson Thrift.
“I asked someone from Thompson Thrift about it,” recalled Stremming, “and all that could be said was, ‘Things are in the works but there’s nothing I can say right now.’”
There is plenty for room for new “neighbors” with many store fronts prepared, and land set aside for outlot businesses on the north side of the location near Illinois Route 16.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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