The Pine Ridge Mall announced the addition of Shoe Dept. Encore Thursday. The 12,000 square feet addition will be one of the mall’s larger non-anchor tenants.
By Sarah Glenn
CHUBBUCK — Five now-shuttered storefronts at the Pine Ridge Mall are getting a new long-term lease tenant at the end of 2017.
Shoe Dept. Encore will offer shoes for every size and every age, along with handbags and accessories.
“With 1,123 stores operating nationwide and a focus on local community activities, Shoe Dept. Encore will strengthen the growth of both the Pine Ridge Mall and the Pocatello/Chubbuck economy,” said Drake Taylor, the new general manager at the Pine Ridge Mall.
Construction will begin in May as Shoe Dept. Encore becomes one of the mall’s largest non-anchor tenants. The store will occupy 12,000 square feet and will span the distance between JC Penny’s indoor entrance and The Buckle.
The Fanzz sports apparel and memorabilia store will move to another location inside the mall to make way for the expansion.
Shoe Dept. Encore is one of three businesses owned by Shoe Show Inc. In 2008, it began its Shoe Dept. Encore division, which is as much as three times the size of an average Shoe Dept. store. There are 278 of the Encore stores nationally.
The company was founded in 1960 and over the past 57 years, has expanded into 44 states. While other shoe stores have faced operational problems with the rise of internet shopping, Shoe Show Inc.’s corporate statement says the company has stayed strong through “technological advances and operating efficiencies such as, standard store design, an efficient distribution center and computer links with stores and vendors.”
The company is also expanding. Shoe Dept. Encore stores are under construction in Wichita, Kansas, Richmond, Virginia and Gloversville in upstate New York.
The company is also active in a number of charitable causes, specifically in the town where it was founded. It’s other charitable affiliations support the Cooperative Christian Ministries, Bible Teaching Associations and the Salvation Army.
The Pine Ridge Mall announced the addition of Shoe Dept. Encore Thursday. The 12,000 square feet addition will be one of the mall’s larger non-anchor tenants.
The addition of a new long-term tenant buoys the Pine Ridge Mall. Over the past year, the mall has exceeded an 83 percent occupancy rate and in 2016 leased more than 20,000 square feet of retail space, mall management said.
Shoe Dept. Encore will add 12,000 additional square feet to that total. The 32,000 square feet of new additions only includes what’s inside the enclosed mall. Hobby Lobby and other outparcel additions added more than 60,000 square feet in the space of a year.
Throughout 2016, six new stores and four restaurants signed on to the mall, not including Shoe Dept. Encore. In addition, Deseret Book and clothing retailer rue21 expanded. Today, mall shoppers have six options for dining along with 38 stores to peruse.
