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SanTan Village adding four new businesses
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SanTan Village mall in Gilbert will be adding four new businesses.
Tribune File, Tribune
SanTan Village in Gilbert is adding four newcomers to its roster of stores.
Red Robin will be one of the newest additions when it opens a restaurant June 29. Satya Salon, a beauty salon featuring all Aveda products, is set to open around the same time, followed in late September by Total Wine & More, a sort of BevMo! for wine lovers that sells more than 8,000 wines from around the world.
Sheila Hunter, SanTan Village senior property manager, said she's unsure when Famous Dave's, a barbecue restaurant, will open.
"It will likely be late fall," she said in an e-mail Thursday.
Bob Kammrath, a Phoenix-based retail analyst, said the news speaks to the strength of those retailers.
"I'd say it's encouraging news to know that somebody has the wherewithal to expand, even in this economy," he said. "I would take that as positive note."
Kammrath, who visited the mall recently, said while it seems to maintain a healthy amount of foot traffic, he was surprised by the meager crowd during the lunch rush at Gordon Biersch, which may speak to the problems beleaguering pricier restaurants these days.
"You could have bowled in there," he said. "There couldn't have been more than six people."
However, Kammrath pointed out that Famous Dave's and Red Robin have lower prices than Gordon Biersch and may prove to do very well.
While SanTan is still attracting new stores since the economy tanked - including Macy's in March and Barnes & Noble bookstore in November - the center has also seen its fair share of closings. A number of home furnishing stores in the center's power center are leaving, including Old World Designs and CL Home, a furniture store that's in the midst of a liquidation sale.
Kammrath said the mall seems to be maintaining health levels of foot traffic, however the openings may not be offsetting the recent closures there.
"If you count the home furnishings component of the power center, then it was probably a wash," he said.
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