The corner of First Avenue North and Broadway - one of downtown Fargo's most prominent intersections - will get a major facelift in the coming months.
Vlana Vlee, the high-end home décor and fashion retailer that's occupied 102 Broadway for the past two years, is closing. The Red Shoe, a shoe, boot and handbag boutique that moved in with Vlana Vlee earlier this year from another location on Broadway, will remain in the building.
Two new retail businesses are in line to move into the 6,000-square-foot space Vlana Vlee occupies, said Mike Allmendinger, general manager for the Kilbourne Group, which owns the building.
Allmendinger declined to identify the businesses that will take the space, citing a company policy against making announcements before a lease has been signed.
The Forum confirmed that one of the businesses is KotiKites & WindSports. Aaron Lamb, a spokesman for the company, stated in an e-mail that the shop is "a retail outlet celebrating all things wind." He said the store will open Nov. 1.
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Allmendinger said both new businesses should be in place by next March.
Julie Smith, the owner of Vlana Vlee, said she's moving out because she's "been working like crazy for 20 years, and planning on having a life." She said she plans to open a smaller store in Thief River Falls, Minn., and is also selling her products online.
Smith said the move has more to do with personal considerations than business challenges. She's been living in Bismarck to care for a daughter with special needs. Downtown Fargo "was fabulous," she said, but keeping up with the business from a distance proved to be too much of a hassle.
Smith also owned a Vlana Vlee store in Bismarck. It closed in January amid a lease dispute that was first reported by The Bismarck Tribune.
She said about half of the store's inventory will move to Thief River Falls (she was in the process of loading merchandise onto a truck when The Forum spoke with her Wednesday). The rest will be sold at steep discounts. The store will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for no longer than two months, she said.
Turnover in downtown Fargo is hardly uncommon. Over the past few years, Broadway has lost a.k.a. men's clothing, B.D.S. books, and Jim Lauerman's Chili, Sandwiches & Beer. Newcomers such as Spicy Pie pizzeria, Beyond Running, and Outermost Layer - an outdoor apparel shop in the process of moving in next to the Vlana Vlee location - have filled the voids.
Mike Hahn, president of Fargo's Downtown Community Partnership, said periodic change is healthy in a downtown area.
"A really successful downtown, it's going to have that turn factor," he said. "It's OK if we have a little bit of a fresh face there."
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Marino Eccher at (701) 241-5502
