Glens Falls Business Journal
By Paul Post
Three new firms are coming to Queensbury Plaza on Upper Glen Street, triggering interest from other retailers that could fill the site’s remaining vacancies.
Construction is underway for a 7 Brew drive-through-only coffee kiosk, a Burlington clothing store will occupy the former Joann Fabrics and Crafts space, and a Mexican restaurant, Mi Rancho Alegre, is taking over the former Red Lobster site.
“The business climate in Queensbury is quite strong right now,” said Michael Palumbo, chief operating officer of Rochester-based Flaum Management Co., the plaza’s owner. “Tourism in that area seems to be growing, driving traffic up there. That’s what is prompting these tenants to be looking for new locations. I think our shopping center is probably the most well-positioned in Queensbury.”
“We’ve got some other nationals looking at the plaza now, so we’re working on a couple deals for the last few vacancies,” he said. “Having the right mix of tenants, visibility and positioning — all of these things go into site selection by nationals and even the regionals.”
7 Brew and Burlington are expected to open by early summer, with Mi Rancho Alegre coming online around Labor Day. The three firms combined are expected to create at least 40 new jobs.
Arkansas-based 7 Brew, founded in 2017, is one of the country’s fastest-growing drive-through beverage brands, featuring items such as coffees, shakes, smoothies, teas, fizzy sodas, lemonades and energy drinks. The company has locations in 38 states.
Its new modular building will occupy a previously empty parking lot area fronting Upper Glen Street on the left side of the plaza’s main entrance. 7 Brew currently has 16 stands in upstate New York, mostly in central and western New York, but including three in Schenectady, Colonie and Johnstown.
New Jersey-based Burlington Stores has 1,150 locations in 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The new Queensbury site is part of an aggressive growth plan that saw the company aim for about 100 new stores last year alone.
Burlington Stores is best known as a leading off-price retailer with brand-name merchandise offered at significant discounts, typically ranging from 20% to 60% below department store prices. In 2014, the company was rebranded from Burlington Coat Factory to Burlington Stores to emphasize a much broader range of products.
The former Joann Fabrics site was one of 800 stores the company closed last May because of bankruptcy. Burlington will take up 19,000 square feet, which includes all of the former Joann store and a portion of the former Tuesday Morning store.
Mi Rancho Alegre currently has restaurants in Syracuse, Rochester, Hudson and Lake Katrine. Its menu includes, but is not limited to, tacos, burritos, fajitas and other meat and seafood dishes wrapped in tortillas.
Diners are greeted by tortilla chips, red salsa and complimentary warm bean dip.
“We had to be sensitive to tenants in the food business already in the plaza — Jersey Mike’s, Olive Garden, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Daifuku Japanese restaurant, Good Vibes 518 Nutrition and Moe’s Southwest Grill,” said Palumbo. “Mi Rancho Alegre doesn’t really compete with any of them. It’s a little similar to Moe’s, but not the same. The Moe’s operator was fine with it.”
Burlington already has stores in some of the other shopping centers Flaum Management operates in upstate New York. “Burlington is a great anchor,” Palumbo said. “I think they’re going to do great things there. With (former tenants) Joann’s and Tuesday Morning going bankrupt, we were very sensitive about coming up with the right tenant mix to stabilize the property long term.”
Palumbo said his firm fielded inquiries about the 6,700-square-foot Red Lobster site from several potential tenants, including some not in the food business.
“Given the building’s layout and its location as an outparcel, we determined that a restaurant use remained the most appropriate and highest-quality fit for the space,” he said. “Ultimately, the process involved evaluating multiple interested parties and selecting a tenant that aligned with both the physical characteristics of the site and our broader merchandising strategy for the center.”
Red Lobster shuttered its doors in the third quarter of 2024 after the company filed for bankruptcy. It had been a plaza tenant since the 1980s.
“We’ve got a couple small spaces left, and we’ve had some great inquiries now that we’ve announced Burlington and Mi Rancho Alegre,” Palumbo said. “So we’re pretty excited. We do have relationships with most of the national retailers. Sometimes it’s just timing — who’s looking and when they’re looking.”