Three speciality stores will be shutting their doors at Terrace Central in the coming weeks as the shopping mall looks to transform its image into a specialised food hub.
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Capital Chemist, Suzanne Grae and Black Pepper have announced they will be vacating from the Panthera Property Group-owned centre, located in Raymond Terrace’s Glenelg Street.
The closures are seen as part of a major revamp and will not be impacting on marquee tenant, Woolworths.
“Our customers tell us they enjoy the convenient location of Woolworths Terrace Central and our team looks forward to continuing to deliver a great shopping experience for local residents into the future,” a Woolworths spokesperson told the Examiner.
Centre Manager Vivian Zakaria said that while centre management had “admired those who have decided to stay on our journey, we also respect those who have been offered every opportunity but have decided not to renew their lease”.
“In order to meet the changing demands of today’s shoppers, Panthera is committed to bringing facilities up to the high standards that the residents of Raymond Terrace deserve,” she said.
“During the upgrade, major changes are to be expected, including the departure of some long-term tenants.”
Ms Zakaria said that due to ongoing negotiations, the group was unable to confirm the number of tenants who were going and that “any existing vacancies will be occupied by an exciting new array of tenancies better suited to the Raymond Terrace shopper of today”.
“When Panthera took over, Terrace Central was dated and in need of a major overhaul and plans are progressing with a new-look centre,” she said.
“RiverEats will be a total revamp of the food offerings featuring Proud Rooster, a rotisserie chicken dine-in and takeaway outlet, burger joint Bergy’s Buns, and the New York-inspired Slice It! Pizza outlet.
“There is no need for the families of Raymond Terrace to have to travel to Newcastle, Maitland or Green Hills to get the best available dining around.”
Suzanne Grae will be closing its doors for the final time on January 16 while Black Pepper vacates two days later on January 18.
At this stage neither store is looking to relocate in Raymond Terrace.
Capital Chemist, however, will be relocating in mid-February to William Street.
“We will be moving into the old Commonwealth Bank site,” said owner for the past two years Tim Mizzi.
“After 30 years we will be relocating back to where the pharmacy first opened.
“The impact on our customers will be minimal, we will be maintaining our opening days and hours and all services and staff will be retained,”