By Jeremy Walsh
No replacement has yet been found for the departed Amish Market at Glendale’s Shops at Atlas Park, a court-appointed receiver said, but the mall may soon get a new sandwich shop to entice hungry consumers.
Attorney Paul Millus, who was named by a foreclosure judge to run the struggling mall until it can be sold next year, said he had found a restaurant to replace the defunct Orange Cafe in the center courtyard. Orange closed earlier this year.
“It’s going to be a sandwich-type place, serving drinks as well, and they’re going to get a liquor license,” Millus said. “It’s going to be a nice addition to the park. We’re happy to have them.”
The name of the restaurant has not yet been decided, Millus said. It will not be part of a national restaurant chain.
Another change is the closing of the pet boutique Crazy for Animals, which has been at the mall since 2006. The shop’s owners also run a dog grooming salon by the same name on the other side of 80th Street, where they appear to be consolidating their business. Crazy for Animals co-owner Joan Stack declined to comment for this article..
“We have confidence that we are going to be much better at our grooming salon,” Crazy for Animals’ Web site says, noting it hopes to have an online store running next month.
“It’s probably a good thing for them,” Millus said. “They really weren’t making it, and quite frankly, it was time they moved on.”
The changes produced little reaction from the loose association of tenant businesses that had previously dealt with the changing of the guard at Atlas Park.
“We’re all hopeful that everything’s going to be heading in a better direction,” said Peter Faccibene, co-owner of the restaurant Shiro of Japan, who noted many of his colleagues have been on vacation. “I think Mr. Millus and the new management does have a good handle on what needs to be done.”
The changes under Millus are part of a concerted strategy to shift the mall’s customer base to the middle class from the upscale shoppers developer Damon Hemmerdinger had targeted when he opened it in 2006.
The Shops at Atlas Park had faltered in the past year as the economy teetered on collapse and the bankruptcies of national chains like Blue Tulip left vacant storefronts at the former industrial park. In February, Hemmerdinger announced his creditors, two French banks, had foreclosed on the property.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
