CLARENCE, N.Y. (WKBW) — A majority of business tenants at Eastern Hills Mall received an eviction letter Tuesday that’s having some scrambling for a new home while others aren’t too concerned about the announcement.
The founder of WNY Foster Closet Cheryl Flick tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person she has more weight to carry because she has to leave the mall sooner than expected.
“It was a little gut punching yesterday when I got to the store and it was sitting here for me,” Flick says. “We always knew there was a possibility, but we didn’t know it was this close to the mall closing.”
Flick has been at the mall for two years.
But come January that will no longer be the case.
She says other businesses that have been in this mall for a long time have the option to stay.
“We haven’t been here long term so it’s kind of is a wait and see right now,” she says. “But right now we have no place to be in six months.”
Flick says her business is all about helping kids in need.
She collects donations of clothing, hygiene products, and other necessities to give away for free.
Recently, she helped a family to meet that need.
“And the teenagers showed up at grandma’s house with absolutely nothing so the case worker came in to shop for summer clothes for them,” she says.
Other tenants like the “Pure Integrity Soy Candles” that have been at the mall for 20 years are excited to see the redevelopment.
“This mall has been slowing down for years and years and this time has come,” says Jeffrey Schumacher, co-owner of Pure Integrity Soy Candles. “And we’re excited that at least something is going to move forward for the positive.”
Schumacher says he plans to be part of the project.
“It’s a respectful relationship we have,” he says. “We feel very bad for some of the other tenants that are going to have to move and find other places, but we kind of knew this time was coming.”
The Uniland Development Company sent out a statement saying:
“We try to keep and relocate as many merchants as possible to locations with exterior entrances. We also provided those merchants who are leaving with contacts for local retail brokerages who can assist in finding new locations.”
But as for Cheryl Flick who depends on sponsors to keep the lights on is crossing her fingers hoping to find a new place.
“Just continue to support us," she says. "We need you now more than ever in order for us to continue to grow and help the families we serve in the Buffalo area."
