Some tenants told to vacate Towne West mall. But what about the movie theater?
Tyler Cooper has been fielding a lot of calls, reassuring people that the Boulevard Theatres at Towne West wasn’t one of the mall tenants told by mall owners this week that they would have to be out by June 30.
“We’re not leaving the mall,” said Cooper, the president of Boulevard Theatres. “They have not asked us to leave. In fact, it is quite the opposite. They told us they want us to stay. We plan to be at Towne West for years.”
The mall has struggled in recent years and has had issues keeping the power on. Some tenants have left and only a couple handfuls of stores remain.
An employee at Superstar Sports said the new owners, who bought the mall in February, told the store they planned to do renovations. The store was not told anything that would indicate they would have to leave within a few months.
“It is crazy but we are doing what we can to get everything out,” an employee at Vintage Stock said, adding they plan to reopen at NewMarket Square in the fall. The employee said they have been boxing stuff all Thursday and Friday after being notified. “We have a lot of staff, so we should be fine.”
Anchor stores were not sent letters. The effect on the Marlowe Companies, which operates a call center at the mall, is unclear. The company did not return a call from The Eagle.
IRG Realty Advisors, an Ohio-based company managing the property, did not respond to The Eagle’s call or email on Friday.
An employee at the sports store said they are looking at possibly moving to a spot at 21st and Broadway and seeing how business goes there. In March, after a news outlet did a story about the new onwers, the store posted on Facebook saying, “Yes, we are still open and Towne West is our home, hopeful for a good future with the new owners!”
Now a Facebook marketplace post advertises mall benches for sale.
While some tenants are packing, Cooper says he is preparing for a busy weekend as families go to see the “How to Train Your Dragon” which premieres Friday. Cooper doesn’t know why the theater, which isn’t an anchor store, did not get a notice to leave.
“We still don’t really know what their plans are,” he said, adding Boulevard’s plan is still to offer people affordable tickets to see the latest movies. “We’re excited to serve our guests for years to come.”