As the holiday shopping season gets a bit further into the rearview mirror, the picture that is unfolding on the retail front as it relates to existing businesses at the Meadowbrook Mall may be alarming to some. Count Salem’s Virginia Jones among them.

 

“I’m surprised to see this store closed. I didn’t shop here, but I did at the Gap. It kind of makes you wonder what all is closing,” said Jones when approached last week at the mall while looking at a closed sign in front of one long-term business.

 

Gap closed officially at the end of January. In recent weeks, a long-time Kiosk operation – Things Remembered – also became part of former stores at the mall. And now those two have been joined by a national and local business.

 

Gordon’s Jewelers, which had been in business at the Meadowbrook Mall since Sept. 21, 1991 and WEST, which began operations in August 12 of 2014, have both closed shop. Both businesses are situated near the Sears Court area. The opening dates were provided by the City of Bridgeport’s Tax Department.

 

So is the Meadowbrook Mall in trouble? While those on social media always say that’s the case, the director of communications for the company that manages the mall and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial real estate nationwide said it’s not “even remotely” the case.

 

“It’s absolutely in very healthy shape. In fact, it’s in great shape. It’s consistently a good place to be a retailer,” said Joe Bell the director for the Ohio-based Cafaro Company that managed the mall. “It’s very popular with great traffic with local and regional shoppers as well as those folks coming off the highway.

 

“It’s among our most well-positioned shopping centers,” he continued. “There is no way looking at what we see that you could say that the mall is on a downward slope, even with the recent closings, which no one wants to see.”

 

Bell said the two additional closings are more proof of the typical cycle of retail as opposed to a harbinger of doom for Bridgeport’s retail hub. He also said that the mall is still well above 90 percent capacity and one of Cafaro’s top performers.

 

“This is the time of year right after the holiday season when retailers make decisions to see if they’ve had a good enough year to continue. There are some on the bubble that may be struggling for one reason or another and usually wait until after the holiday season to determine if they should make a go of it,” said Bell. “We’ve been around long enough to know this is the time when you see a lot of retailers decide to finish out their lead and close the doors.”

 

Bell said his company’s real estate division monitors trends and notes that most difficulties they’re seeing involves national retailers. He said many are cutting business completely and others are closing down certain stores to help prop up the brand. However, he said he’s not aware of issues with Gordon Jeweler’s having problems at other locations under the auspices of Cafaro property.

 

“I haven’t heard of issues at other locations, but we do realize that jewelers operation on margins – good and bad – that lead to this. So far, the issue with Gordon’s doesn’t appear to be one happening all over the place,” said Bell.

 

Bell said he hated to see both businesses go. Gordon’s, which had a long-time presence, and WEST, which provided a more local flavor as a boutique offering ‘Made-in-the-USA Clothing,’ are key to a mall’s success, he said.

 

“You’re always looking for a nice mix of local, regional and national tenant to feed different needs,” said Bell. “You don’t want to see anyone leave, but this trend doesn’t alarm our real estate people because they go through this every year. We are confident you’ll see new businesses pop up in former locations because the interest to go into new markets from new companies is almost always there. The only thing people need to understand is that filling spaces doesn’t happen immediately.”

 

As for the space left vacant by Gap and Things Remembered, Bell said there’s already serious movement – at least one of the locations.

 

“We actually are talking with several people about some of the open spaces, including some that are more serious with Gap’s former location. The discussions are very active,” said Bell.

 

Bell could not disclose the name of the retailers. Confidentiality, at the mall or with other developers, is the norm until deals are finalized.

 

Editor's Note: Above is the sign that greets those going past the former Gordon's location, while WEST is shown operational in 2014.