Departure of Trader Joe’s leaves void for plaza’s shops

The only sound inside Tina’s Gourmet Sausage House on South Decatur Boulevard was the low whir of the ceiling fan.

Just a few weeks ago, customers talked with shop owner Michael Ray and his niece while browsing for European delicacies and smoked meats. Now the store is the quietest it has been since opening three years ago. After Trader Joe’s next door closed in June and moved 10 miles north to Centennial Hills, the number of customers who walk through his front door has dropped by 90 percent, Ray said.

“Now today, honest to God, not even one person walked into this place,” Ray said one Monday, staring out the front door at the nearly empty parking lot. “And I’ve been open since 8 a.m.”

It was 1 p.m.

Reduced foot traffic and sales have plagued many tenants in the plaza formerly occupied by Trader Joe’s. The same thing has happened all over the valley in recent years: When anchor tenants leave, smaller tenants in shopping centers suffer.

Store owners in the Trader Joe’s Plaza say they were blindsided and didn’t receive formal notice from their landlord about the change. The center since has changed hands after the previous landlord declared bankruptcy, leaving tenants wondering about the future.

Attracting tourists

Amber Unicorn Books has occupied the center for nine years. Until late June, business had been steady, thanks to a stream of tourists from the Strip who came to Trader Joe’s.

“We had such a play off of the customers from Trader Joe’s,” said shop owner Myrna Donato. Donato and her husband, Lou, have been selling books together since 1981, when they opened a store at Charleston Boulevard and Rancho Drive. After selling that store in 1997, the Donatos sold books online. When they opened the store on South Decatur in 2008, they chose the center because of its anchor tenant.

When Trader Joe’s left in June, it had occupied the space for 21 years.

Business has dropped about 20 percent since the anchor’s move, Donato said. The shop owners took to Facebook on July 21 to announce a 25 percent storewide sale to draw customers. The post was shared nearly 500 times and did bring more traffic in — temporarily.

The rent for the bookstore’s 4,800-square-foot space is $6,800 a month, not including utilities. That’s a lot of books to sell.

The center is also home to a Dotty’s Gaming & Spirits, Amena Bakery, Elan Nail & Spa, Cinthya’s Beauty Salon, Mango Tango Nightclub, Mochiko Chicken and a vintage shop, Gypsy Bazaar.

The plaza was managed by RAM Real Estate Management at the time the store left. RAM principal and broker Jeff Susa filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January.

The space is still listed on the company’s website, which boasts that the store is “one of the busiest Trader Joe’s locations on the west coast … With excellent visibility in a prime location, Trader Joe’s Plaza sees traffic counts of more than 65,000 cars daily …”

A representative from Colliers International stopped by every store in the center around the beginning of July to inform them that the real estate company would manage the center from then on, Donato said.

The empty stores in the center are listed for lease on Colliers’ website, available “immediately.” The broker for the former Trader Joe’s space, David Grant, could not be reached for comment.

According to Clark County court documents, two entities had a shared stake in the shopping center: DSWC and TJ Plaza. In July 2003, the two took out a $5.1 million loan that they defaulted on in 2013. They filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter, in April 2014.

Trader Joe’s could not be reached for comment on the center’s financial hardships. An employee at RAM Real Estate Management refused to comment.

Feelings of betrayal

Norella “Coco” Hall, who owns Gypsy Bazaar with her husband, Ted, said that when they renewed their one-year lease in April, they didn’t know about the Trader Joe’s departure.

“Had we known that, I would have never renewed the lease,” Norella Hall said. “I’ve been in business since I was in my 30s. I’m 71. I know the lay of the land, and I know what an anchor store can do.”

She said she and her husband were never formally notified about Trader Joe’s. In fact, after it was reported that Trader Joe’s was leaving the center, Norella Hall said, their landlord denied it.

“(RAM Real Estate Management) told us that it was just rumors and there was nothing conclusive,” Ted Hall said.

Meanwhile, Ray, who said he has invested more than $200,000 in the sausage shop, said he had no reason to think Trader Joe’s would ever leave.

“The landlord who discussed this with me, she promised me that the Trader Joe’s would be here forever,” Ray said. “Six months ago someone told us. I called (the landlord) and she said it’s a rumor.”

Next steps

The Donatos have a clause allowing them to break their lease if the center’s anchor tenant leaves, but it’s not that easy. The couple’s store is home to more than 300,000 books.

“The thought of moving … we’re not spring chickens,” Donato said, laughing. The two are in their late 70s.

“We just want to stay,” Donato said. “Unfortunately, we pour everything we make back into the store. So we have no reserve to go out and find another place and rebuild.”

Ray said he’s not willing to walk away from his sausage store. He has changed tack to try to recoup the lost business by adding lunchtime specials and shopping around for catering accounts. He has acquired a couple of those accounts but said it probably won’t be sustainable.

The Halls plan to see what happens next.

“If it wasn’t for the regular people that have been with me since we opened, I don’t know,” Norella Hall said. “I don’t know what would happen.”

Contact Madelyn Reese at mreese@viewnews.com or 702-383-0497. Follow @MadelynGReese on Twitter.