By: Pedro Heizer
BOCA RATON– A new Old Navy Store in West Boca opened its doors to the shopping public this past week.
The new store opened at the Shadowood Plaza on the corner of Glades Road and State Road 7 this past Saturday. Hundreds of happy customers showed up.
The store had a terrific opening weekend with The Vogans, a popular new local band, performing on Friday to a very energized crowd. Members of the local Boys & Girls Club came in on Saturday and presented a performance of their own, and the customers were treated to a special guest appearance from Miami Dolphins’ running-back Ricky Williams.
The store is located in a portion of the former Borders Book Store, which closed earlier this year after 15 years of service.
Old Navy came in to save the day. Many shoppers said that after Borders closed, the mall seemed dead, with not much going on there. The only activity that could be seen was the people coming to watch movies at Regal Shadowood 16.
There is no denying that the Borders closing created a huge void at the plaza. The addition of Old Navy to the plaza has “added a lot of life to a mall that was, for a lack of better terms, dying” said Boca Raton resident Nikki Giannakopulos.
The plaza has a reputation of being a teenage hangout spot because of the combination of Regal Shadowood 16, McDonald’s, and a new frozen yogurt place that just opened a few months ago. Now that Old Navy has opened its doors, it has helped many of the teens that would otherwise go toTown Center at Boca Raton in east Boca to purchase their clothes.
Many teens now stay closer to home and purchase at the much closer Old Navy. “I love it here, It’s much better than having to go all the way to the mall,” added Alyssa Leventaho.
Not only does it help the teens, but it also helps the moms who have to buy clothes for their children but don’t want to travel all the way to east Boca, Juliet Atkinson said, “The location is very convenient because of my two kids that I’m with all the time.”
Many Boca Raton teens have been hired to work at the new store, “I used to work at the mall, but this one is closer to home,” employee Paige Blalock told The Boca Raton Tribune. “Working here is fun and exciting, and I’m sure this momentum will help bring life back to this mall.”