Mall loses Pasta House, adds teen stores

The retail landscape of Battlefield Mall is changing.

The biggest change is the exit of 17-year tenant The Pasta House Co.

The restaurant's proprietor, Steve Heil, said Pasta House left the mall March 17 to concentrate on its freestanding location at 4109 S. National Ave., near James River Freeway.

The Pasta House Co. anchored the mall's south entrance, east of the food court, since 1985.

"It was bittersweet when we closed the door for the last time. But we're excited about the new location," Heil said.

The Pasta House Co. acquired the lease of its south Springfield location, formerly Shorty Small's, Feb. 14, 2001.

Battlefield Mall General Manager Tim Winger said a temporary lease has been signed for the former Pasta House site. Romancing the Stone, a regional home dcor retailer, will occupy the space beginning June 15.

Winger said the kitchen area will be blocked off but will remain intact should another restaurant want to lease that space.

Out with old, in with new

Other retailers that have left the nest include Kitchen Express and Bachrach, a men's clothing store. Both spaces have been filled.

The January move of Kitchen Express to 2636 S. Glenstone Ave. in the Brentwood Center opened the door for Hot Topic, a teen-age clothing and accessories store at the mall.

Kitchen Express opened in the mall in 1989, said manager Deana Benton.

"We've seen some stores that have been here a long time move on," Winger said, "and it's given us an opportunity to upgrade and improve tenant mix."

Benton said high mall rent forced the small cooking accessories shop to relocate. However, sales weren't much brighter on the outside, and the store is closing May 31.

"Sales outside the mall did not come as expected," Benton said. Kitchen Express' liquidation sale began May 14.

Hot Topic opened May 7, and Wet Seal, the younger female clothing store that filled the Bachrach vacancy, opened March 29.

Other new neighbors at the mall are Farmhouse Living, Icing by Claire's (formerly Afterthoughts), Ozark Mountain Birdhouse and Godiva Chocolatier, which opened Feb. 22.

All the right moves

Gordon's Jewelers, an original tenant of Battlefield Mall, recently moved from the spot now occupied by Godiva's to the former location of Natural Wonders, which went out of business last summer.

Gordon's Jewelers, along with Walden Books, Sbarro Pizza, Radio Shack, Claire's Boutique, Shoe Gallery and the Things Remembered kiosk have been tenants since the mall's opening in 1982.

Dillard's held the grand opening of its relocated women's apparel, shoes and cosmetic departments in the former Montgomery Ward space March 20-24.

"Department stores are always tweaking, always looking at what's going on out there nationally," Winger said. As was the case with Dillard's, "They'll take out a department and extend a department that's very successful. There are trends that happen."

Pasta House happy with location

With all attention on one location, Heil said restaurant sales have been up.

"We're actually doing double the sales than we ever did at the mall," he said. "We're up quite a bit since we closed our mall location. A lot of regulars are making the trip over."

For The Pasta House Co., he said the benefits of its free-standing location are longer hours, closer parking and a larger space by 3,500 square feet.

Heil employs a staff of 70 there and retained 15 percent of the mall staff.

The national trend for franchise restaurants, he said, is to go into free-standing locations. "Not many national chains are going into mall locations anymore," he said.