Burlington’s retail economy still limping along

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

It was another fast shutdown of a video store in Burlington – ironically, in the exact same space.

Family Video, which followed another video store in a storefront at Pinecrest Shopping Center, gave its customers just a few days’ notice last week, emailing them to say Monday would be its final day.

London Rhodes, the store’s manager, said Friday that the store just didn’t have enough business to justify the rental costs at the center.

The store closed as planned Monday, and on Tuesday, began clearing out its inventory to other Family Video stores. It will soon be another empty storefront, and many are wondering just where Burlington’s retail economy is headed.

“We’re holding our own,” said Mayor Bob Miller on Tuesday. “We’re not doing gangbusters, but we’re not falling apart either.”

Burlington’s economy has been the source of questions for a number of years, pacing the national issues due to the recession.

But with the former Kmart property still standing empty, as well as most of the stores in the small strip mall next door to Walmart, just when the city will rebound is a good question.

Jan Ludtke, the executive director at the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, thinks Burlington is somewhere into recovery.

“I think, overall, the economy is coming back, but it’s a slow process,” Ludtke said. “It’s certainly not what it was 10 years ago.”

Downtown

While shopping centers in Burlington have openings, what is considered hometown, downtown Burlington – the historical district – also has more than a few openings.

Miller said those small stores appeal to “mom and pop” type businesses – and therefore, limit opportunities.

“There’s no fix that I’m aware of,” Miller said, adding that the small stores draw niche markets. “People are just not making that move right now.”

Miller pointed to one of Ludtke’s programs at the chamber, however, as progress. The open storefronts are listed each month in the chamber publication “Discover the Treasures,” as well as spotlighting successes.

Ludtke said that they also keep a vacancy list.

“That concern is one of the things that prompted us to continue that and to do that,” she said.

The downtown got its annual boost over the last weekend with the sidewalk sales, which Ludtke called a success. She thought numbers were up, and vendors had no complaints.

Perhaps the biggest downtown success right now is The Coffee House at Chestnut and Pine. Ludtke said that business is drawing in customers.

“Places like the coffee house are huge traffic builders,” she said.

Other openings

The Kmart building looked to have a possible taker last year when Gateway Technical College targeted the building as part of its public safety education center.

The building worked, but residents in the city were unhappy with the idea of an emergency vehicle training course being built on the ChocolateFest grounds.

Now that proposed plan is on hold and Gateway is looking for alternatives.

“I think it would’ve been nice,” Miller said of the proposed plan. “It does leave a big, empty-looking building.

“But it is what it is.”

The shopping center located next to Walmart could receive a boost in coming months, though. A planned extension of Walton Road to allow access to Highway 36 has interested parties looking at the center now, Miller said.

However, he is waiting to hear who those new tenants might be.