Talking shop

The past and future of the Little Rock shopping scene.

Pleasant Ridge Town Center is prepared for Christmas shoppers.
Pleasant Ridge Town Center is prepared for Christmas shoppers.

— Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, there are two types of people. One: the people who sleep in, reveling in their extended turkey coma. And two: the people waiting in lines at 4 a.m.

But on the holiday dubbed “Black Friday,” the early-morning shoppers may be in the majority. Little Rock developer Lou Schickel certainly hopes so. He's actually pretty confident.

“Black Friday is the 26th?” he said, poking at the calendar on his iPhone with his right index finger. “It'll be gangbusters after that.”

For Schickel, it's not a question of if shoppers will be out this Black Friday, but where they will be.

The answer to that question is much different today than it was 10 years ago. Or even five years ago.

“The location of shopping has changed,” Schickel said. “For years you had University Mall, Park Plaza and small things in The Heights, Hillcrest, along Markham, Rodney Parham, Bowman Curve ...”

Shopping in Little Rock has moved further west, that's for sure. Schickel, who developed Pleasant Ridge Town Center west of Interstate 430 along Arkansas 10, said it's okay that there's no centralized shopping location in the capital city.

“Ideally, the whole town would be developed into villages, and you'd have everything within that, so everyone could walk and ride their bicycles,” he said. “All the new developments are going that way.”

They're called mixed-use developments, and, to quote Schickel, “ideally” they would include retail shopping, grocery stores, churches, athletic centers, and, in some cases, residential living.

Traffic has undoubtedly increased along Cantrell Road and Chenal Parkway in the past few years, but most cyclists are sticking to the sidewalks, and things still aren't perfect (or ideal) in the Little Rock shopping sphere.

A bigger and better variety of department stores seems to be on the wish-list of some Little Rock residents, but Schickel said it could be years before that happens.

Schickel said many department stores are nervous about moving into Little Rock because the market has been dominated for years by stores like JCPenney and Dillard’s.

In 2006, Schickel brought in Parisian, owned by Saks Fifth

Avenue. But the Parisian chain was purchased by Belk later that year.

Sometimes retailers are scared to move into any new market. Little Rock isn't an exception to the rule.

“It's much easier to just open another store in the same market they're in already,” Schickel said. “Dallas develops a new Little Rock every few years.”

But Little Rock is growing, too, and mostly in the way of higher-end stores.

Park Plaza has drawn in Coach and Sephora, while Anthropologie, owned by Urban Outfitters, opened in The Promenade at Chenal in early October.

Ashley Bills, administrative assistant at The Promenade, is new to Little Rock, and said she's impressed with the variety.

“I've lived in Dallas and St. Louis and Tampa, Fla., and I've been really pleased, actually, with how progressive Little Rock has been in general, and in the collection of stores they do have around here,” Bills said.

Of course, Bills has about 330,000 square feet of shopping options right outside her office door.

As for Black Friday at The Promenade, Bills said she's expecting a crowd as well.

“Our stores are going to be opening as early as 5 or 6 in the morning,” she said. “They are also staying open really late.”

Other shoppers might decide to take day or weekend trips to major cities this holiday season for even more options. With more shopping options like St. Louis' Galleria, the Plaza in Kansas City and the many malls of Dallas all just five to seven hours away, longer shopping trips aren't unheard of for those unsatisfied with their central Arkansas options.

This begs the question: What is the region missing?

“Apple and J-Crew,” Schickel said. “We'd give an arm and a leg to have those two stores.”

Actually, in 2007 both stores had contracts with The Promenade and had even started construction. Apple even filed for a plumbing permit before pulling out. Recent rumors have shoppers talking and maybe even crossing their fingers again for the store to come to Arkansas.

“We haven't made any announcements about any stores in Arkansas,” said Nick Leahy, public relations representative for Apple.

Bills said she can't talk about what's in the work at The Promenade.

“There have been rumors about which stores might be coming,” she said. “I can say that some of those rumors are true, but I can't talk specifics,” she said.

The city of Little Rock has been pleased with the growth the city has had in the retail industry lately.

“Little Rock depends heavily on our retail,” said Assistant City Manager Bryan Day. “We've done pretty well over the last several years with new malls and sites going in. The city is very happy with the progress we've made.”

But there's still more ground to cover. While developers from the Midtowne and Park Avenue centers could not be reached, Schickel was not shy mentioning the tenants that could be moving into Pleasant Ridge any time including legendary burrito chain, Chipotle.

Schickel has also been communicating with the folks at Nordstrom Rack.

“When I first called the guy he said, 'Little Rock, Arkansas? Let me find it on the map,'” Schickel said.

When they hung up the first time the representative at Nordstrom said there was probably a one percent chance for opening a store.

“So I sent him a package of information about Little Rock and about the site,” Schickel said. “After that he said, 'Well, maybe a two percent chance.'”

Progress is progress, though. And with all the growth, Schickel said no matter what, “It'll be interesting.”

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