Main Street sees mall as opportunity

EAST COUNTY — To Kirk Boylston, president of Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty, comparing Lakewood Ranch Main Street to The Mall at University Town Center is an apples-to-oranges scenario.

The two shopping areas, Boylston says, cater to different needs.

“The majority of people who are going to an outdoor retail venue are not seeking a mall type of experience, “ Boylston said. “They are looking to go where there’s easy access to local restaurants, shopping and movie theaters.”

As the East County mall prepares for its Oct. 16 opening and two longtime anchor stores on Main Street — Chico’s and Soma — relocate to the $315 million shopping center, Main Street merchants see the mall as an opportunity for bringing more business to the area.

According to merchants, Main Street shops aren’t going anywhere.

Merchants, such as Karen Ronney of MacAllisters Grill & Tavern, feel confident and say Main Street is in the best shape of its nearly nine-year life.

“I know we’re strong enough as a street to be OK with the new mall opening,” Ronney said. “People have grown to know and trust us.”

Although Boylston said Main Street isn’t “gearing up specifically to address the new mall,” the merchants are pooling dollars into advertising. They are also trying to change the way they advertise, said Theresa Barion, owner of Arts Ablaze on Main Street and president of Lakewood Main Street Merchants Association. New types of advertisements include a glossy pullout section in area media publications.

“Besides what individual shops do on their own, money is mostly being put toward advertising,” Barion said.

Main Street small business owners also believe hosting more events, such as the Pink Paddlers Party from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 25, will generate interest in David, rather than Goliath.

To keep people coming to Main Street after more than 100 stores open at the Mall at University Town Center, White Rose Interior owner Linda Nixon plans to expand her sights beyond the four walls of her coastal furniture shop.

Nixon, who will move White Rose into Chico’s former location by the end of October, plans to offer more classes for shoppers to keep the public interested. Other vendors that Lakewood Ranch Commercial has not announced will fill Soma and the former White Rose location.

After Nixon moves locations she will increase the number of do-it-yourself demonstrations she holds in her store. Currently, she offers monthly classes.

By November, she plans to offer two a week.

“We’re hoping the classes will help secure loyalty,” Nixon said.

White Rose will also be open different hours to accommodate the increasing number of shoppers flocking to the area for the new mall.

Later this year, the store will be open seven days a week — from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Other merchants have not commented on whether they will extend their hours.

For Ronney, who has weathered a recession and annual slow summer months on Main Street, Lakewood Ranch is big enough for more than one shopping source.

“There are enough restaurants, stores and housing developments in this area to sustain business,” Ronney said. “There’s a whole untapped market of new homeowners that will shop at both places. They can get their school supplies at the mall and come here for lunch and a quaint home feel.”

Main Street also offers entertainment, such as Lakewood Ranch Cinemas and Fish Hole Miniature Golf Lakewood Ranch, which University Town Center doesn’t feature.

Ultimately, Main Street hopes for an unspoken partnership with the mall.

“The new mall is a great amenity for our community as well as the region,” Boylston said. “It will bring shoppers to our area that may not have been here otherwise.”