The Village at Modesto mall opens to great fanfare
The retail hits just kept coming as Vintage Faire Mall began celebrating the opening of its new "lifestyle" addition today.
A VIP breakfast, along with speeches from city and mall officials, kicked off the festivities, which shift into high gear at 6 tonight with the grand opening of an outdoor shopping plaza between Sears and Gottschalks on the south side of mall.
Besides welcoming shoppers to the new stores, the evening event includes pop singers, marching bands, classic cars, ice skating and the arrival of Santa, including a parade for the ol’ boy. And the winner of the Young Idol competition will be selected during the festivities.
Called The Village at Vintage Faire, the 60,000-square-foot complex will be home to Coach, Coldwater Creek, Bebe and Sephora. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse opened across from the plaza earlier this month.
The Village also boasts an Apple Store, one of only about 250 worldwide, filled with iPods, iMacs, iPhones and all the other Apple products, services and accessories. It also features an appropriately high-tech staff, from the concierge (greeter) to the genius (troubleshooter).
The Apple Store, which was kept under wraps for months, will open its doors to the public for the first time when the festivities at The Village kick off at 6 p.m.
The project still has room for about five more businesses and another restaurant. Officials from Macerich, which owns Vintage Faire and other shopping complexes around the country, said they could have filled those spots but are holding out for tenants that will complement those already there.
Even into today’s challenging economic climate, Macerich officials are confident they’ll be able to find such retailers. They’re counting on the success of Coach, Coldwater Creek, Bebe, Sephora, BJ’s and Apple to draw others to The Village.
The official openings of mall addition is the second of two big retail events this week in Modesto. The first occurred when a Wal-Mart Supercenter opened Wednesday at 3848 McHenry Ave.
This story was originally published November 14, 2008 at 9:17 AM with the headline "The Village at Modesto mall opens to great fanfare."