Towne Mall Becomes City Center: American Eagle Opens

Key Takeaways

• Nate says he has been told Towne Mall will be renamed City Center, with a grand opening on October 1; he is still confirming details
• American Eagle opened this week at the mall; Sierra Trading (September 12), Bath and Body Works (September 18) and Visionworks (September 28) follow, and Nate says Publix is still on for Wednesday, September 23
• Bean Cove at Lincoln Centre, the former Nuts About Coffee space, has closed with no reason given; Nate says a replacement is coming
• Whispering Dandelions Farm announced it is closing after three years
• St John Uniform is moving next door into the former Party Plus space beside Planet Fitness

Summary

Nate Bryan led Business Buzz with what he called breaking news: he has been told Towne Mall is being renamed City Center, with a grand opening on October 1. The first of the new mall openings, American Eagle, opened this week, and Nate walked through a run of September dates behind it, including a Publix date he says is still holding.

It matters because the same week brought two closings, a coffee shop at Lincoln Centre and an agritourism farm, and Rachel asked the question a lot of people are asking: what does the net read look like? Nate's answer was that the market is still hot, with more ground breaking than doors closing.

Full Article

"I believe we will break some news here," Nate said at the top of the segment. "I've been told October 1st is the grand opening of City Center, which is the new name of Towne Mall." He was careful to frame it as what he has been told rather than what has been announced, and said he is still trying to get more information. "There's going to be like a sign, or better be a sign," he said. "No sign, no country."

The openings are already underway. American Eagle opened this week on what Nate calls the split, the walkway between the two mall buildings. Bath and Body Works is on the JCPenney side of that split, American Eagle on the other, and the corridor between them is getting lights, greenery and seating. "It's going to be a nice area to walk through once it's all said and done," Nate said. "Obviously it's still a work in progress."

He ran the rest of the calendar quickly. Sierra Trading opens September 12. Bath and Body Works opens in its new mall space September 18. Visionworks, which is moving into the mall, opens September 28. Cold Stone told him they are shooting for sometime in September. He is still waiting on Buckle, Spencer's and JD Sports. And the date he says everybody keeps asking him about, Publix, is still Wednesday, September 23, at 7 AM. Outside the mall, The Blue Door downtown, next to the Van Gogh house on West Poplar, has its soft opening next week, Fly2Fit holds its grand opening with a food truck party on September 11, Wawa has announced fall, and Big Sandy Furniture is taking the old Movie Palace. Nate said he has a walkthrough video of The Blue Door coming, and there is footage of him trying the bungee workout at Fly2Fit that he described as him "looking horrible flying."

Then the closings. Bean Cove at Lincoln Centre, the plaza with Toasted Yolk, Wasabi and Gyro House, has closed its doors. "If you know that location, before that it was Nuts About Coffee," Nate said. No reason was given. There is a small sign on the door and the space has been cleaned out. Nate added a practical warning: at least one website still lets you place an order there. "Do not trust it. It's not going to happen." He said he has been told a replacement is coming and that he does not yet know the name. "I'm not holding out on you. I honestly don't know."

Whispering Dandelions Farm is the second. Nate read from the owners' announcement, which described the farm as the fulfillment of a decade long dream and thanked visitors for three years of support before saying the dream is coming to an end. No closing date was given. "Get out there while they're still open," Nate said, and later in the segment he put the closing in a wider frame. "The farm community, it's rough right now," he said. "It's hard to make a lot of money year round on agritourism. I wish them the best."

One business is moving rather than closing. Party Plus, in the center off Dixie beside Planet Fitness, closed a few months ago, and St John Uniform next door is moving one spot over to take that space. That leaves an opening directly beside Planet Fitness, which Nate noted has already expanded once into the old KSS spot. He offered a guess about who might want the space and was clear it was only a guess. Rachel took the broader view: it is always good to see businesses grow into bigger spaces, and that center has been revitalized around Planet Fitness and Wellness City.

"Two closings and several openings in the same week," Rachel said. "What's your net read on the market?"

"I think it's still hot," Nate said. He pointed to the three or four open spots still available around Publix, the out lots at Kroger and Publix, the K-Pop building still empty, Towne Grove getting underway, and Apex breaking ground near Central Hardin. "As Grafton says, we're a small town, but we're a big small town," he said, "and we're just going to continue to get bigger because there's lots more on the way."

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