Meadowbrook Mall retailers hope new Boscov's will increase foot traffic
Sep. 28—BRIDGEPORT — Plans for a new Boscov's at Bridgeport's Meadowbrook Mall announced in February will soon come to fruition, as the venue is slated to open in exactly one week.
On Oct. 5, the department store chain will open its first location in the Mountain State at one of Harrison County's largest shopping centers.
With another store opening on the horizon, neighboring retailers are excited for the boost in customers a new venue will likely provide.
Elyse Taylor, assistant manager at Adam's Hallmark, said she had never heard of the chain prior to the announcement of its new location. But since then she and her team members have become "pretty excited" by the new clients it might bring.
"We're all hopeful that it'll bring a little more traffic to the mall, especially since Christmas is getting ready to come up," she said.
Taylor added that the Meadowbrook Mall has taken on a number of internal improvements recently, including applying fresh paint to the exteriors of current stores.
These changes, combined with new stores opening, likely bode well for the future of the mall as a whole, Taylor said. "It's definitely been a positive," she added.
Over at Chick-fil-A, Supervisor Paige Dennison said she has also noticed improvements to the mall at large in recent years.
In the five years since she began at the restaurant, she has only seen "more stores opening up," and new chains arriving at the Bridgeport shopping center.
"I think it's better for the community to have more places for people to go," she said. "I think it's going to bring a lot of business.
Immediately next door to the new venue, staff at local small business HD Truck Center have witnessed the Boscov's construction first hand, and hope that it only signifies more stores to come in the future.
Salesperson Caleb Lee said that new stores opening gives a sense of "security" to pre-existing retailers, offering assurance that the mall is headed in a successful direction and that being housed in the mall boasts opportunities for new customers.
At the mall, "it's just like a big family," Lee said. "If they're succeeding at other stores, we're succeeding as well."
Boscov's will kick off its grand opening on Oct. 5 with a three-day celebration.
On Oct. 5, the store will host its Charity Day, with purchases contributing funds toward participating nonprofit locations.
On Oct. 6, the store will host Family Fun Day, providing free activities to parents and children alike.
And finally on Oct. 7 the store will host a ribbon cutting ceremony — marking the complete arrival of the new store, and the opening of the chain's first West Virginia location.
With headquarters in Reading, Pennsylvania, Boscov's has 48 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio and Rhode Island. The company, which is privately-held, was founded in Reading in 1918 by Solomon Boscov who left his family in Russia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1914 at the age of 18.
Reach Jack Walker by email at jwalker@timeswv.com.
