Even as the pandemic has a negative effect on some businesses in the retail sector, Stone Road Mall is preparing to open anew stores as part of a major renovation.
“The people of Guelph have really stepped up to shop local,” said Kevin Knight, general manager for Stone Road Mall. “While a store may be part of a national chain, they are still supporting their friends, family, and neighbours who are employed there.”
To date, 96 per cent of the mall’s tenants have reopened their doors to the public after being forced to close for months during the early part of the pandemic.
“While there is no frame of reference due to the unprecedented nature of current events, I feel Stone Road Mall has done quite well,” said Knight.
There has thankfully been no repeats of an incident on the first day of reopening in which an employee was coughed on by a customer refusing to wear a mask, said Knight.
“The people of this community have shown a great sense of responsibility in complying with the mask order to ensure the safety of those around them,” he said.
On Sept. 5, the mall’s newly-constructed east wing will open in part of the area once occupied by the now-demolished Sears department store. On that day, the first store to open in the new wing will be Mark’s, as well as the new Structube furniture store in the former Pier 1 Imports space.
The other two stores in the new east wing, Toys R Us and HomeSense, will open Oct. 15 and Oct. 20, respectively.
Due to delays caused by the previous shut down of non-essential construction, the renovated food court has been rescheduled to open Apr. 1. It was originally planned to reopen in November.
When the mall reopened to the public on June 12 the weekday hours of operation were initially reduced to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Recently, the mall has extended those hours to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday to Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.
Knight said some businesses have had a staffing and other issues that make it difficult for them to adhere to the new hours.
“While technically this does breach certain terms of their lease agreement, we are cognizant of the difficulties some are facing and are working with them to allow extra time to become compliant without causing undue hardship,” he said.
Currently, weekend hours at the mall are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Knight said the mall will eventually return to its normal hours of operation, but there is not yet a date planned for that change.
“We feel it is in the best interests of our patrons and tenants alike to moderate our return to ‘the new normal’ in a gradual way in order to maintain a safe environment and to make it easier on our tenants, some of which are still experiencing staffing issues,” said Knight.
