Henreitta, N.Y. (WHAM) – Many store owners once located inside the Marketplace Mall in Henreitta are settling into their new spaces on Friday.
The inside of the once bustling mall is now a ghost town. All businesses with interior entrances only had to close up shop on Wednesday, including Best Fit.
Enfal Namver, owner of Best Fit said, “I just wish that they would have given us more notice or maybe kept us in there, you know, for a little longer to get through the holiday season.”
She tells me that in November, her family’s business received a notice from Wilmorite about stores like theirs inside the Marketplace Mall having to relocate by December 31st.
“Financially, it’s definitely gonna be harder on everybody,” said Namver.
They’ve been in Marketplace Mall since 2005. Now, they’re across the street, inside the former Metro Mattress in the Jay Scutti Plaza.
Namver said, “We’re gonna be 20% more, having to make 20% more to cover our rent, and on top of that, you have the construction that everybody has to put in their store, where it’s new fixtures, in our cases, new fitting rooms.”
With the help of their family during the Christmas holiday, they quickly moved into their new store and were able to open to customers this week.
“It’s still not done, but it’s to a point where we could sell, and at this point, this is what we could do within the short notice that we were provided,” she said.
The owner tells me that Wilmorite tried to relocate them to the Pittsford Plaza, but not until April.
“We can’t close our doors. It’s not possible,” Namver said. “It’s not possible in this economy to lose a whole month or two and survive going forward.”
She hopes that by next month, all the finishing touches will be done, transforming an old mattress shop into a men’s clothing store.
“I’m proud of the accomplishments that we were able to get done in such a short time,” she said.
Businesses with exterior entrances, including Dave & Buster’s, Indykart Raceway, Floor & Decor, JCPenney, Land’s End, and Sportsman’s Warehouse, are still open.
Meanwhile, Wilmorite has been hinting that something big is on the horizon for the Mall, but can’t reveal what that is just yet.
