Edina's Galleria facing more retail turnover than it's seen in years

Call it a golden opportunity or a cause for concern, the Galleria in Edina is experiencing a spate of retail closures and turnovers it hasn't seen for some time.

Creative Kidstuff announced this week that it is closing all six Twin Cities area stores, including one in the Galleria. The stores are expected to close by the end of June. All items are marked down 25 percent.

Last month furniture retailer Z Gallerie, based in Los Angeles, announced that it is shuttering 17 of its 76 stores, including the one in the Galleria. The 7,000-square-foot showroom opened only a year ago as part of the expansion that includes Cov restaurant, Soft Surroundings and a relocated Starbucks. The Galleria location is expected to close this month. All items are marked 50 percent off or more.

Only a few weeks earlier, Scheherazade Jewelers closed abruptly after filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Owner Scott Rudd told bankruptcy attorney Chad Kelsch that "traffic slowed down significantly after the move" from near Crave restaurant to the new wing.

Scandia Down fine linens closed in December and Oh Baby moved to 50th and France after closing in the Galleria in February. Both are locally owned. Another local store, Gabberts furniture, will exit the center in mid- to late 2020. A new Gabberts store, along with a HOM store and a Dock 86, will open in the former HOM location in Bloomington late next year. Gabberts was purchased by brothers Rod and Wayne Johansen, owners of HOM, in 2008.

Another major tenant, Restoration Hardware, will also exit the Galleria this year. A new mansion-like, free-standing store is taking shape on the southwest corner of Southdale's parking lot. It may open as soon as fall 2019, but RH's lease in the Galleria is through the end of the year.

The turnover is especially unusual for the Galleria, the best revenue-producing mall in the region. It generates annual sales in excess of $800 a square foot, Dick Grones of Cambridge Commercial Realty in Edina estimates.

"Everyone at the Galleria is sad to see some of our longtime retail tenants and neighbors go, especially when those departures are under less than ideal circumstances," Wendy Eisenberg, general manager at the Galleria, said in a prepared statement. "However, discussions are currently underway with a number of potential new occupants for key Galleria spaces, including both traditional retailers and new unique concepts."

Eisenberg added that the Galleria continues to look for local retailers and restaurants for new spaces. In just the past six months, several new stores have opened, including Grande Gallery, Peloton high-tech fitness equipment, and a full-service skin care salon called Face Foundry. Johnny Was bohemian fashions for women will take the Tumi space in the fall. Tumi will move to a newly created space.

Grones said one complicating factor is what might happen to the U.S. Bank corner at 70th St. and France Av. S. in Edina. "There's been talk of redeveloping that corner with a smaller version of the bank, a couple of restaurants and retail options," he said. "That could throw a fly in the ointment of the Galleria's plans."