By Karen Welch — Senior Content Producer
Retailers are filling prominent spaces at The Shops at Wolflin Square.
Contemporary women's fashion retailer Makie Black Boutique will move to Wolflin Square's endcap space at the corner of Wolflin Avenue and Georgia Street. And a children's experience business will take the other endcap at Wolflin and Civic Circle.
Makie Black is relocating from its current home in Wolflin Pointe, a few blocks west, Austin Sharp said.
Makie Black owner Shannon Moffit has "had her business for about eight years now. She serves a need in the community, and this will give her a little more foot traffic, increase her visibility," said Sharp, who is vice president of Mays Group Inc., the owner of The Shops at Wolflin Square.
The city of Amarillo recently issued a building permit for remodeling work for the boutique space, a project with an estimated construction value of $41,500.
The boutique will occupy 1,300 square feet at the very corner of the building — what was the Furr's restaurant foyer — and the center has several "promising prospects" for filling the other 8,800 square feet of the former restaurant space, he said.
"The goal would be to lease at least a piece of that, if not the whole thing, to a restaurant that can help increase the foot traffic for the rest of the center," Sharp said. "It's our responsibility to deliver the best tenant mix so that everyone wins."
On the east end of the same strip of Wolflin Square, Little Bee's Playhouse is preparing to open in the space vacated last fall by Little Brown House, which moved to nearby Wolflin Village.
Little Bee’s Playhouse, a business formed by Kathy and Carlos Lopez, will bring family experiences to The Shops at Wolflin Square, Sharp said.
"They'll have, like, eight little playhouses," he said.
One might be set up like a grocery store, for example, where a child can shop for pretend food packages and purchase them at a register, Sharp said.
"They take the educational elements, and then it's an experience for kids," he said. "So their goal is to provide a quality play and education experience for young children and their families."
Children and family experience concepts are growing a presence at shopping centers in many markets, Sharp said.
"My kids will be there a lot," he said. "I think we're going to be a good customer."
Little Bee's should be open in the next three to four months, Sharp said.
The Shops at Wolflin Square recently increased its offerings with the opening of Style and Grace Boutique, a women's clothing store by owner Sandra Alvidrez, Sharp said. The boutique is next to Eat Rite Health Promotion Center and had its grand opening April 28.
Right now, the square is gearing up for its second spring event, this year dubbed the Cinco de Mayo and Spring Festival.
The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, and will include 10 food trucks, more than 30 vendors selling handmade crafts, and children's activities, such as a bounce house.
Wolflin Square retailers will put on sidewalk sales.
"It was a big success last year, so this year, we've just added to the volume," Sharp said. "I'm pretty excited. I get kind of geeked out about getting out and seeing the community having fun."
Karen Welch is a senior content producer for Panhandle PBS. She can be contacted at Karen.Welch@actx.edu, at @KWelch806 on Twitter and on Facebook. Subscribe to the Panhandle PBS BizHere podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud to hear more business news and interviews.
*This blog has been amended to corrrect the name of Little Bee's Playhouse.
