Bridge Street shutting down (Madison, York: mattresses, new house, club)

[writerwife]

Originally Posted by bmrisko

Saddlebred, Madison, Pro Tour and Red Camel are some brands exclusive to Belk. Basically brands in there tha you have never seen anywhere outside of Belk.

oh, ok. I'm not familiar with those brands except for the Madison one, .. I wouldn't have thought that was a belk brand actually, it's pretty pricey and just not my style. I don't guess I've purchased any of those other brands. I'm in Belk usually once a week and so are a lot of other women so, I guess enough people like it well enough to shop there. I know they aren't as good as Parisian was or Nordstrom or the like but for this area, it's better than what a lot of other stores have to offer. And I frequented Macy's and Nordstrom and Neiman's at the Mall of America since my daughter lives there (not IN the mall) and they have some good stuff but.. from what I saw, I didn't find it worthy of $180.00 for an A-line skirt, etc.

[raj kapoor]

As per the title of the thread which I have followed for what seems like years, I did notice when driving by the other night that Bridgestreet had indeed closed.

I guess it was inevitable. It was a nice idea though. I bet the free standing Belk will still open .

raj

[dijkstra]

Is there a store in town that is even remotely comparable to what Parisian was before Belk bought them out and turned it into a glorified Kmart clothing department? I need a new go to clothing store. Parisian was my go to place from the time I was a teenager until Belk bought them. I haven't found another clothing store in this area that I like.

[LCTMadison]

Sadly, no. I always loved Parisians. Nordstrom or Macy's would have been comparable. I don't get the "we can't support Nordstrom" argument because there were Parisians throughout the state (including here) for years and they did fine.

For what it is worth, my husband loves Banana Republic, and buys the majority of his clothes there. I'm a huge JCrew devotee as well, and he has found some great pieces there. BR is great quality and I always have at least a 30% off You can't really compare to a department store like Parisians, but I used to shop at Parisians a LOT and we love BR. We pretty much stick to the small specialty stores and rarely ever shop department stores here. Their online shopping is great, and we usually get free shipping.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

Is there a store in town that is even remotely comparable to what Parisian was...

I like Bennett's Clothing in Athens .

[HuntsvilleJT]

Originally Posted by Maya Blue

I have always said that if someone puts a casual counter restaruant like Qdoba, Chipotle or Garbanzo's, they would do really well. You have a built in younger customer set going to the Monaco, yet they have only had "upscale" dining choices. Teens and college kids don't eat at places like that. Plus you would get plenty of RP business for lunch.

I believe the rent for the Dolce/Watercress location was around $20,000 a month. I imagine it was probably the same amount for the Tavern. If that is the rent per month then I wonder if any restaurant can survive long term there. Then again that may be what PF Changs and Cantina Laredo has to pay per month since they are corner lots and they look like they are doing well since they are original tenants.

[HuntsvilleJT]

Originally Posted by ttownfeen

Simply don't understand the Belk-hate. No, it's not Neiman Marcus or Lord & Taylor, but "Walmart strip mall"?? Where are these Cato/Ross Dress 4 Less stores where you are finding RL, Lucky, or Tommy Bahama? I want to scope them out.

I think some of the Belk hate comes from how this whole thing went about. Remembering past articles, it looks like Belk told the city that they were going to close down the MSM location but not relocate in Huntsville. So the city of Huntsville said we'll give you 4 million in tax incentives to move into BS so as to stay in Huntsville. Once the story broke Belk made it sound like the new store was going to be a "flagship" store along the lines of what Belk had at the Summit. The BS store would now be the prime location in Huntsville. Now we have learned that Belk wants the Parkway Place location to be the main Belk store and what is built at BS just a secondary location with an exterior face lift. People think that Belk conned their way into getting tax incentives just to move to another location in Huntsville. That is my recollection. Feel free to correct me if what I said is incorrect.

[BMW Dave]

Originally Posted by HuntsvilleJT

I think some of the Belk hate comes from how this whole thing went about. Remembering past articles, it looks like Belk told the city that they were going to close down the MSM location but not relocate in Huntsville. So the city of Huntsville said we'll give you 4 million in tax incentives to move into BS so as to stay in Huntsville. Once the story broke Belk made it sound like the new store was going to be a "flagship" store along the lines of what Belk had at the Summit. The BS store would now be the prime location in Huntsville. Now we have learned that Belk wants the Parkway Place location to be the main Belk store and what is built at BS just a secondary location with an exterior face lift. People think that Belk conned their way into getting tax incentives just to move to another location in Huntsville. That is my recollection. Feel free to correct me if what I said is incorrect.

You are correct, that is a major part of it.

2ndly in my opinion, without a "NEW" name in town, people won't go out of their way to go to it. If someone in Harvest or some other outlying area hears about a new store, they are less inclined to come in and check it out. I mean the more foot traffic the more opportunities there are for sales to be made!

Even I will admit that is a bit of a stretch, but I live 2 mi from BS and I won't go out of my way to see the New Belk. If it was a Macy's I would, because I like their home store. But Belk doesn't carry the brands I like.

[raj kapoor]

I realize that Belk is the focus right now because of the imminent development of the BS store.
However I can't discern any interests in Dillard's at all. I have been in the store at PP once and thought it was a nice attractive store. I did no shopping or looking so I don't know about the merchandise.

I know that it is not on the level of Eastchase in Montgomery or Belaire in Mobile. Those store are very elegant and as nice as any Dillard's I am familiar with. I have shopped both of those stores and many times and find them to be satisfying.

So, my question to all is , how do you feel about Dillard's at PP. Are you glad to have it, is it better to you than Belk. Is its location a drawback. Why does it seem that it does not exist when people talk about dept. stores in Huntsville it is like there are Belks and then there are the stores that you wish for but it seems like no one counts Dillard's.

Just a curiosity to me. And, if people are not shopping it, this may be the reason they have not up graded it to the above mentioned stores.

What do you think?

raj of curiosity

[writerwife]

I like Dillards. When I go to Belks, I usually pop into Dillards. Bought something there last week. Much of the same stuff, Dillards has good sales. (Keep in mind I live about 60 miles away but I hang in Hsv at least every Sunday between church and my family is all there)
I've gotten to where I check Martins in Decatur frequently because a few yrs back I almost bought a dress I liked at Dillards which was $120.00 but ended up deciding against it. Was in Martins shortly afterward and exact same dress, color, brand and all, was $69.00. I know it's the same with other stores too but I just happened to catch that one.
When I say I like Belk and Dillards, it doesn't mean that I think they're the absolute best but I think they're up there for what we have available. However, I'm beginning to think that most in this thread would probably think that I and many others walking down the road in our threads from Belk (missy, lucky, lauren, etc.) look like a POS.

Keeping in mind that, with the gist of this thread, I would not make special trip to BS for Belk. The one on S. Pkwy is convenient for me and it's the only one I go to. I pretty much go to BS for DSW, Connor's, Fossil & Ulta (and they just put a new Ulta in Decatur which is closer for me). I've only gone to BS a handful of times and have enjoyed it but find no reason to frequent it.