-May 3,2021-
Visalia Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) store closes
The Visalia Designer Shoe Warehouse(DSW) store in the Gateway Shopping Center at 3725 S. Mooney Blvd closed their doors last week. The national discount shoe store caters largely to women.The 10,300sf store opened in March 2016 calling itself “the greatest shoe shopping destination in Visalia.”
The pandemic hit the national chain hard as the company Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:DBI) suffered a 36% drop in net sales in 2020.Its CEO said they were considering closing 65 stores long term and 24 in the next year after a $489 million net loss.
Property owner Dave Paynter is not waiting to refill the store. He has taken out a permit for new tenant improvements on the space in the center anchored by Dick’s Sporting Goods but has made no new tenant announcement.
DSW still has stores in Bakersfield and Fresno.
HomeTown Buffet property sold
The buffet-style restaurant HomeTown Buffet closed last summer in Visalia and now the parent company has gone bankrupt. The once popular eatery on 2.2-acres on mid-Mooney has been sold to a Valley family headed by Roger Dhaliwal who is putting the place up for lease.
”We are not marketing it yet since we just closed the deal in March” says Roger, who also has an automotive business in Visalia.”We are just looking for a solid tenant” that may or may not be a restaurant. The building itself is 10,200sf and has a large parking lot.The property sold for $1.87 million according to records.
Meanwhile the parent company of HomeTown Buffet continues its bankruptcy proceedings with its court documents reviewed by Restaurant Business saying” the company entered the pandemic with as many as 90 restaurants under the brands Ryan’s, Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Fire Mountain, and Furr’s, all of which are buffet chains, and Tahoe Joe’s, a steakhouse chain in California. All but six locations of Tahoe Joe are closed.The Visalia Tahoe Joe’s is still open.
One media report says Fresh Acquisitions LLC and Buffets LLC, the parent of five buffet concepts and one steakhouse, declared bankruptcy as COVID-19 “significantly disrupted” operations and “severely limited” demand.
The six restaurants had a combined revenue of roughly $21 million per year before the pandemic.
FMP Management owned Fresh Acquisitions and Buffets until June 2020 when it “ceased operations.” Even though FMP no longer has operations, it’s also seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of its co-liability “for certain of the other Debtors’ liabilities.”
Union Bank corner in play
Japanese-owned Union Bank has changed hands and has left Visalia as of February.That includes their high profile location at Walnut and Mooney.
The bank building is empty and sources say- it is for sale. The bank also had outlets at two SaveMarts in town that have closed as well.
American-owned US Bank bought the bank’s assets.The closest Union Bank is now in Tulare.
The banks location on the second busiest corner in town makes what happens here interesting given the building is right up to both Walnut and Mooney frontage with little set-back .That makes it unlikely it could be occupied by anyone except a bank. But with no drive-thru and banks getting out of brick and mortar locations – that would be unexpected.
With demolition likely, any new owner would likely have to deal with mall’s property owner Brookfield Properties for access and parking unless it ends up in their hands.
Brookfield now owns not just the mall but also two of the mall’s largest tenants- JCPenny’s and Forever 21.
Brookfield did the same thing with a bank building on the south side of their property – demolition, replaced by two new restaurants – now open.