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As a former resident of Fort Wayne who still visits with some relative frequency (at least 3-4 times/year due to professional conferences and nearby family), I would agree that the city does not necessarily have a tremendous amount of well-known "big box" stores (IKEA as an example). I would note, however, that Fort Wayne has a population of approximately 250k, so when comparing it to a city with a metropolitan area of 7 million, you should expect about 1/28th the amount of shopping centers.
I do think Fort Wayne does have an over-abundance of Wal~Marts, but many of the "newer" and renovated Kroger stores are of decent quality (check out the one by Lutheran Hospital as an example). With that said, when I lived in FW (2009-2011), we did most of our grocery shopping at the Kroger's at Southgate (near Bishop Luers) and were typically very satisfied with our options.
The issues encountered with Glenbrook are not specifically an issue with that particular mall or Fort Wayne. Sears and JCPenney are having difficulties EVERYWHERE right now and as two of the primary anchor stores (Macy's being the third), Glenbrook has its share of ups-and-downs as does any traditional mall currently. The death of the traditional shopping mall is one of my personal research interests and I would actually note that Glenbrook is doing MUCH better than many comparable malls across the country. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a "Middle-class Mall" for a middle-class town, so Glenbrook is a near-perfect fit for the area.
Jefferson Pointe target markets to the upper-middle-class. It still has enough of a general population appeal to bring in all parts of the area (Old Navy, Rave Motion Pictures, etc.), but I think its niche is in its atmospherics. The summer concert series and other "events" are the draws for the mall (along with the theater, of course).
Ultimately, however, I think the BEST shopping experiences for Fort Wayne are far more niche than what you would find in the big box retailers. There are a lot of interesting businesses scattered throughout the downtown area, Waynedale, and along the Stellhorn/"College Corridor". It's not Bloomington-level trendy, but it's not bad.
If you consider IKEA a high quality store, you are sorely mistaken. A bunch of cheap junk. If you still want to shop at IKEA, there is one in Westchester, OH, which is a suburb of Cincinnati.
Why is necessary to point out that the manager at the JC Penney store was obese? I have met plenty of people who were stick thin who were rude and nasty too. Someone's physical traits doesn't necessarily have anything to do with their personality traits.
Did you seriously think that the shopping would be the same in Indiana in a city of over 200, 000 vs a metro area of over 7 million? It is like comparing apples and oranges.
As for your complaint of there being no winter coats available in February, you shouldn't have waited till the end of the season. I suppose you will be the person complaining that you can't find a swimsuit on Labor Day weekend.
Your comment about the homeless was just rude. Just be grateful it isn't you.
Finally, please do not think I am complaining, because I am not. What I have stated is just my OPINION. Everyone has their own opinion, and because I come from a very large city, I have been spoiled when it comes to shopping.
If you consider IKEA a high quality store, you are sorely mistaken. A bunch of cheap junk. If you still want to shop at IKEA, there is one in Westchester, OH, which is a suburb of Cincinnati.
Why is necessary to point out that the manager at the JC Penney store was obese? I have met plenty of people who were stick thin who were rude and nasty too. Someone's physical traits doesn't necessarily have anything to do with their personality traits.
Did you seriously think that the shopping would be the same in Indiana in a city of over 200, 000 vs a metro area of over 7 million? It is like comparing apples and oranges.
As for your complaint of there being no winter coats available in February, you shouldn't have waited till the end of the season. I suppose you will be the person complaining that you can't find a swimsuit on Labor Day weekend.
Your comment about the homeless was just rude. Just be grateful it isn't you.
This. ^
The Rescue Mission downtown does great work, but it can only do so much. Fort Wayne has made a lot of progress in recent years, but more help is needed and I'd rather see money spent on improving mental health, women's health, and poverty assistance than trying to attract another big box store.
As a retail business owner I am wondering if consumers who live or shop in Fort Wayne have opinions on where they do most of their non-grocery shopping? We have two large "malls" in Fort Wayne (Jefferson Pointe and Glen Brook Square) and I am curious to know if you frequent either or both or if so how often each year. Also are there any "retail plazas" you frequent often?
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Answer [my opnion]: I moved to Fort Wayne about 3 months ago from a very large city. I mainly moved here because I recently retired and was looking for a cheaper place to live. So far, it has been a good move. My cost of living is almost 1/2 of what I used to pay in the "big city." My rent is less. My utilities cost less (Comcast TV/Internet & Indiana Michigan Power) are much less. Groceries also cost less for the most part. Fort Wayne is not a bad place to live if you come from a larger and more expensive city. Even my car insurance went down in Fort Wayne. Overall Fort Wayne is okay, except for 2 things. There are LOTS of homeless people here, and due to where I live in the Fort, they constantly panhandle and bother me. It is very annoying. They also congregate in public places like the downtown Fort Wayne Public Library.
Now, to answer the question about shopping. WOW - OMG! The shopping here is OKAY, but NOT great. Because I come from a very large city in the Southwest, with a metro population of about 7 million people, I am used to excellent shopping. For example, for groceries, I could shop at stores such as Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, Super Walmart, Super Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, and lots of other regional grocery stores and food stores. I know the person who posted this question ask about "non grocery" shopping, but I include this because in other big cities, people who shop at grocery stores also make retail purchases at these same stores.
Fort Wayne is LACKING good shopping in MY OPINION! I was surprised to discover that Fort Wayne does not have Super Targets. In Fort Wayne, the Target stores are just regular retail stores with some grocery items. Very disappointing! And the only true big box retail+grocery stores in Fort Wayne are Walmart and Meijers. I am not a fan of Walmart and Meijers is okay, but somewhat overpriced.
In the past I have always lived in very large cities and am used to Super sized retail stores, SuperWalmart, SuperTarget, and even Kroger (Fry's Marketplace) which is Kroger and it is very large, and has retail items+groceries. While Kroger has stores in Fort Wayne, these stores are old and not kind of junky looking.
I discovered that in Fort Wayne, Kroger acquired a store called "Scotts" and they closed down many of that stores and now are remodeling the other older Scotts.
And I decided to reply to this posting, because as I said, in a bigger city, I usually shopped at Super sized box retail stores for groceries and other household items, so that is why I wanted to reply.
Again, the shopping is LACKING and not great here in Fort Wayne. For Indiana's second largest city, in my opinion I thin the shopping is not great here.
Fort Wayne's malls --- haaaaaaaaa, OMG, what a joke! The largest mall [Glenbrook Mall] in Fort Wayne, I only went there twice. Here is my experience. When I first moved to Fort Wayne, I needed furniture, and I saw an ad for a bed at Sears (I think on sale for $500.00), so I went to the "mall" [Glenbrook Mall], and ask about the name brand bed that was advertised on sale. I was told that Sears had to "order" the bed and it took about 1 week to be delivered. Oh please! I was not going to sleep on the floor for a week. So then I looked at some other stores including Van Art (overpriced and rude folks) and Value City, the same as Van Art. Finally I bought my bed at Kittles (it cst $950.00) but Kittles was able to deliver the next day.
I was so happy with Kittles that I bought the rest of my furniture from that company. I was very pleased with Kittles and their staff. I do know that Kittles is an Indiana company based in Indiana, and I am very happy buying from them. I spend over $3,000.00 on furniture for my 1 bedroom apartment at Kittles, and I recommend them strongly.
Now, getting back to the malls. My 2nd retail experience at Glenbrook Mall was VERY unpleasant, and I doubt I will shop at Glenbrook Mall again. I will NEVER shop at JC-Crapney, never ever again! Why? I tried to return a piece of defective clothing to JC-Crapney [JCPenney] and before I attempted to return this peice of clothing (it was a brand made exclusively for that store, and they knew it came from JC-Crapney). So I called on the phone and ask about their return policy, because my peice of clothing was a gift and I did not haVE Areceipt. I was assured, oh, NO PROBLEM, we will help you, we will exchange it or give you a gift card.
When I went into the JC-Crapney, I was met by a rude male who tried to intimate that the peice of clothing was OLD [it was purchased less than 1 month ago] and he tried to intimate that the clothing was "YEARS OLD" and that JC-Crapney had not sold that clothing for YEARS [LIAR!]. He then tried to tell me he would only refund me like $1.00 ONE DOLLAR, when I knew that item cost over $50.00 FIFTY DOLLARS!
So, I ask to speak to a manager, and some RUDE, NASTY, OBESE female comes up to the register and she refused to help me and refused to refund any money. Then another A-HOLE in that store started butting in our conversation about the clothing I tried to get a refund or exchange for. This whole "incident" was totally NOT RIGHT, and because of that, I will NEVER shop at JC-Crapney again!
After leaving JC-Crapney (JCPenney) I then went to my car to calm down, because I could believe how RUDE and UNHELPFUL that retail store was to me. I never had such as hassle when attempting to try to return a retail purchase. So I googled JC-Crapney, and of course, they had thousands and thousands of complaints about similar situations. I also found articles about JC-Crapney which said that store is on the verge of bankruptcy. And all I can say is this, I believe in "KARMA" and I certainly hope JC-Crapney does go out of business, and that all of its employees, including that rude OBESE nasty "supervisor" and her co-workers all LOSE their jobs. They deserve it!
The other mall - Jefferson Point. I have only been in that area 1 time. I went over there looking for a winter jacket at Burlington Coat Factory. Before driving there, I called and ask if they had a good selection of coats, and they said, yes. Oh please, I went there and Burlington Coat Factory had sold out of many of their coats and most shelves were empty. Empty of winter coats! And it was February.
So, the shopping is NOT that great in Fort Wayne in my opinion. Fort Wayne has no IKEA stores. The closest IKEA is in Detroit, Michigan or Chicago, Illinois. Fort Wayne has no Ross stores. The closest Ross is in South Bend, Indiana. And those are two retail stores I previously shopped at a lot for housewares, wall art, just stuff you need for your house. Basically if I want to do some major shopping at well known stores, I have to go to Detroit, Chicago or Indianapolis. That is kinda silly considering Fort Wayne is the second largest city in Indiana.
As for stores that I frequent or strip malls that I frequent. Let's see ... Mostly I go shopping on the north side of town, around the Glenbrook Mall area. There is a strip mall on Coliseum which has OfficeDepot and BestBuy. I go there because I shop at OfficeDepot. There is another little strip mall on Coliseum which has Tmobile store and I go there.
Because the shopping is LACKING in Fort Wayne, I find I shop at Target (on Clinton?) and the Super Walmart (Coldwater), even though I really do not like Walmart, I am forced to shop there since shopping options are limited here. I have shopped at some stores in the strip mall by the Super Walmart, on Coldwater in North Fort Wayne. What is surprizing to me is the fact that that strip mall around Super Walmart has dead pockets and closed up retail stores. Where I used to live at, the retail strip malls were full of thriving businesses, especially surrounding Super Target and Super Walmart.
I have driven in several areas of Fort Wayne, when I was shopping or looking to buy stuff such as furniture and household items etc, and one thing I noticed about Fort Wayne is this: MANY strip malls or shopping areas are DEAD. There are big pockets of DEAD shopping areas throughout Fort Wayne.
One day I was on the east side of Fort Wayne and I came across a K-Mart that was going out of business. In that same area I saw LOTS of closed and out of businesses. I even saw a Home Depot that was out of business. I think that waS near East State Boulevard and Coliseum. That side of town was pretty ghettoish looking.
While I do love my much lower cost of living, I DO NOT like the quality of shopping in Fort Wayne. The shopping here is pretty poor. I only say this because for the last 20 years or so, I have lived in very LARGE urban areas, and I also lived in the most affluent sections of these cities. And the SHOPPING was AMAZING, because people who are affluent, like to shop, and they demand high quality stores. Where I used to live, I was 5 minutes away from Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market. I was 10 minutes away by freeway from IKEA. I was 20 minutes from downtown via commuter train if I wanted to shop downtown. I do miss that.
Finally, please do not think I am complaining, because I am not. What I have stated is just my OPINION. Everyone has their own opinion, and because I come from a very large city, I have been spoiled when it comes to shopping.
Thank you and have a nice day!
^WOW^
So much going on here, I don't know where to begin.
But let me first start with the question that was posted on this thread.
I moved to Fort Wayne last year after living in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio. I've been to both Jefferson Pointe and Glenbrook Square. I would not call JP a mall per se, but a collection of niche shops. It's a nice place to go to during the warmer months and walk around, get a bite to eat, and maybe catch a movie. As for shopping, about the only ones I like are Williams-Sonoma and Old Navy. GS has a lot more options and I like Macy's, Carson's, and Banana Republic, etc.
The problem that I've found is that Fort Wayne does not have an interurban freeway system, and since I live in the '07 zip code on the southside near Foster Park, I usually end up doing most of the shopping near JP and off Illinois Rd., thus avoiding all of the traffic and congestion on the north side. Stores I like are Target, Gordmans, Meijer, Dick's Sporting Goods, Pier 1, Big Lots and yes, Walmart. I even like Burlington.
As for the commentor, I've worked in retail years ago. As soon as Christmas is over, stores sell off their winter items and begin replacing them with spring/summer wear in January. It's also hard to find a pair of shirts in August, too. Also, it's just "Burlington" now, they dropped "Coat Factory" from the name awhile ago.
I wonder if the city of 7 million in the southwest "New2Fort.wayne" talks about is Phoenix, which I've been to many times and have spent extended periods there on several occasions for work. Yes, Phoenix has miles and miles of shopping centers and strip malls filled with large big box stores, but I wouldn't call it excellent. Pretty standard stuff, actually. Nothing unique at all. Most big cities have stores like those. And while Fort Wayne may not have Whole Foods, there are places like The Fresh Market on Jefferson and Fresh Thyme Farmers Market on Coldwater.
And yes it's true, Fort Wayne doesn't have IKEA, but you can always buy that overpriced crap online. I know all about IKEA, my wife has bought several items there. And as for Super Targets, there's Meijer. I have never seen a Super Target in Indiana, Ohio, or Illinois. As for Ross, it's no different that TJ Maxx or Marshalls.
But we have Costco!
As for your other comments, the reasons why there are vacant storefronts in the vicinity of E. State and Coliseum making it appear to be "pretty ghettoish looking" happens in every major city. First off, Kmart has been shuttering most of its stores all across the country. Secondly, older shopping centers eventually close for newer, more modern stores father out on the outskirts of town. It happens. And I don't think that area is ghetto at all. And yet you travel to Detroit to shop?
And your comment about the JCPenney employee was way over the top.
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