Not a good time to be in Paducah (Lexington, Louisville: hotel, home)

[kentuckydad95]

Dawahares, World Market (already closed), and now Goody's will no longer have a home in Paducah. Interesting that Goody's decided stay in Mayfield and Murray and Dawahares decided to keep their Murray store open. If gas prices keep on going up, Paducah will no longer be the regional shopping hub it currently is. People will be staying home and I think these store closings are the tip of the iceberg.

On top of that, WPSD is reporting that the quilt show has found an alternate location for next year's quilt show. They are quoted as saying that they will move the show "if progress on the Executive Inn is not made within the next few weeks." Bhupinder Singh said he wants to turn the Executive Inn into a Crowne Plaza hotel.

My guess is, after seeing the decay of the Executive Inn firsthand, the ONLY way that place could be changed into a Crowne Plaza is to raze it and build new. My other guess is that the quilt show organizers already have their mind set on leaving Paducah. They have found that having anything in Paducah involves too much BS politics. They can have a breeze setting up the show in Nashville (where it's rumored to move to), where they are able to handle a real convention/show. Not a good time right now for Paducah.

Quilt Show Organizers Considering Alternative Location - NewsChannel 6 WPSD (http://www.wpsdtv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=4f2793a0-11b5-489c-ae20-3bc307a3850c - broken link)

http://www.shopgoodys.com/media/fd11...st%20FINAL.pdf

Dawahares is Closing - NewsChannel 6 WPSD (http://www.wpsdtv.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=a2a2185d-8eda-4425-bc96-794af600af51 - broken link)

[Davart]

It would be odd if they closed the Mayfield Goody's store, it just opened in late April.

Dawahares has been scaling back state wide, it's been (all of them) going down hill for years.

Putting a World Market in Paducah was just a poor business move, I said when it opened it would never last. It's the wrong market.

[kygman]

Originally Posted by Davart

It would be odd if they closed the Mayfield Goody's store, it just opened in late April.

Dawahares has been scaling back state wide, it's been (all of them) going down hill for years.

Putting a World Market in Paducah was just a poor business move, I said when it opened it would never last. It's the wrong market.

My wife and I couldn't see anything worth buying the one time we went to World Market.

Walgreen's is getting ready to build on 6th at East College, where the Church of Christ used to be. Several more businesses coming to town.

I know Harbor Freight is coming to Paducah. Might already be open. Haven't been in that part of Paducah in a long time.

[EclecticEars]

Wow, I don't think I've been to Paducah in two years. Has it already gone this downhill in such a short time (even if the makings thereof were long in the works?)

[KelsieG]

Well, the quilt show appears to be staying. So unless you count the loss of Goody's and World Market as a huge decline, I'd say Paducah's still doing alright.

I do agree that World Market never belonged in Paducah (even though I LOVED going there). There is an international grocery store opening in Lowertown, which is pretty exciting.

I just wish someone would buy the old Columbia theater.

But yes--our friend Mr. Singh agreed to sell, and I believe they're finalizing the contract in the next couple of days.

[InLondon]

Goody's had said they wanted to concentrate on "small" markets, meaning they wanted to focus on only having stores in small town America and yet they still have several locations in Knoxville where they are headquartered. Knoxville is not small town America. I guess Paducah was too big for them...

[kentuckydad95]

Originally Posted by InLondon

Goody's had said they wanted to concentrate on "small" markets, meaning they wanted to focus on only having stores in small town America and yet they still have several locations in Knoxville where they are headquartered. Knoxville is not small town America. I guess Paducah was too big for them...

No, Paducah has 1,000 other stores that carry the exact same crap. That's the problem. If they stay in places like Murray, they have less competetion. However, I can't explain the Knoxville issue. It makes no sense.

[kentuckydad95]

You can add Circuit City and Linens & Things as two more stores that are gone in Paducah and many other places. CC is going into bankruptcy and LNT is going out period. What I am not understanding is why Paducah keeps building strip malls and very few tenants setting up shop? I know the economy is terrible, but why keep building?

Dawahares
Circuit City
Linens & Things
World Market
Office Max
Goody's

This is a big blow to Paducah and the surrounding economy. If you drive around, you will see even more smaller name businesses that are gone ie; Daylight Donuts and Jewelry & Handbag Warehouse, etc. Is this happening in your town?

[NotSoPassive]

Ah yes, the Executive is finally being razed but it will likely never be a good time to be in Paducah. The city administrators won't let that happen. They set their sites real high....foreign investors, out of state artists, big business...but the reality is they are regulating the typical Joe right out of business and out of the city as a whole. Without the typical Joe the big business can't survive. The Joe's and the little businesses they own generate the income to buy the products, the Joes pay the taxes, the Joes work in the industries.... Until the administrators become friendlier to those that pay their paychecks via taxes Paducah will be in a downward spiral. People are moving out of Paducah faster than the businesses.

[Hey_Hey]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

You can add Circuit City and Linens & Things as two more stores that are gone in Paducah and many other places. CC is going into bankruptcy and LNT is going out period. What I am not understanding is why Paducah keeps building strip malls and very few tenants setting up shop? I know the economy is terrible, but why keep building?

Dawahares
Circuit City
Linens & Things
World Market
Office Max
Goody's

This is a big blow to Paducah and the surrounding economy. If you drive around, you will see even more smaller name businesses that are gone ie; Daylight Donuts and Jewelry & Handbag Warehouse, etc. Is this happening in your town?

True, the loss of those stores is a hit, but to say that this is happening only in Paducah is wrong. Dawahares, CC, and Linens and Things are all bankrupt and have closed all of their stores. Office Max is in a similar position, but I don't think they've closed 100% of their stores. These stores closed in Paducah just like they closed in Lexington, Louisville, Nashville, and other cities around the country. Store closings are happening everywhere. However, there will be stores that come along that will take their place as the economy recovers. It's going to take decades for Paducah to not be the retail center of the Purchase area. Even though it is essentially at a neutral growth rate, McCracken county will be the largest county in the Purchase for the foreseeable future and is also in the enviable position of being in the center of the population as opposed to places like Mayfield or Murray.