While an official with Meadowbrook Mall says the majority of the storefronts are still open and remain vibrant, he has confirmed that a long-standing business representing a national brand has announced it will be closing.

 

Joe Bell, the corporate communications manager for the Ohio-based Cafaro Company that owns the mall, said Lileigh’s Hallmark Shop at the Mall will be going out of business. An employee at the store confirmed it as well stating they believed the shop to be closing in October, but didn’t have an exact date.

 

“Obviously, they’ve made the decision that they can no longer continue,” said Bell. “We have seen this with the Hallmark brand in a few other places as some of the stores are finding difficulty remaining profitable.

 

“This is different than issues you’re seeing with some brands on a national basis,” he continued. “This is on a store-by-store basis. There is nothing at this time indicating a weakness at the national level involving the Hallmark brand.”

 

For those not familiar with the location, it is opposite of the Ulta site and was situated directly beside the soon-to-be-closing Elder-Beerman location. However, along with Ulta and Old Navy, Target is also on that end of the mall.

 

The fact that the space is located on a busy portion of the mall has Bell feeling good something will arrive in the spot sooner as opposed to later. One other thing, which is somewhat obvious, that he believes will help is it doesn’t have the square footage of a Sears.

 

“Generally speaking, and this isn’t going out on a limb here, the smaller spots are a little easier to lease,” said Bell. “We’re very optimistic that they’ll be a replacement for that space sometime in the near future.”

 

Bell said he didn’t have anything new to report on a potential business or businesses locating in the former Sears space or the space currently occupied Elder-Beerman and the Elder-Beerman Home Store. He said he hopes to get caught up on the situation with his leasing department and real estate officials in the next few weeks and that there will be good news to report.

 

“The mall is quite healthy and doing just fine. It’s had some closures, but the main ones are the result of national chains closing down. There’s always turnover in terms of locally owned stores as well, but we’re still doing well and things are okay,” Bell ended.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the entrance to the Hallmark store, while the sign that is displayed in the window is shown below.