Losing their home didn’t stop many former Artegon shops
“I’ve even been able to work with some of the artists that were at Artegon to sell their product in my store.” Bonnie DiCocco (above), Driftwood Market
Gods and Monsters hit an important milestone in late 2016, becoming profitable for the first time two years after the book and pop culture merchandise store opened at Orlando’s experimental mall Artegon Marketplace.
A few weeks later, co-owner Anna Young was packing boxes and dismantling artwork, moving to a new location down the road after the mall’s owners announced it would close at the end of January 2017.
“We were talking to our accountant today, and she said maybe in a year we should start making a profit again,” Young said. “It’s been a struggle to find the drive to pick up and start over.”
Most of Artegon’s 100 former tenants have made new homes across Central Florida in malls, downtown districts and at local festivals, even as some are still fighting back in court against the
shopping center’s former owner, the Lightstone Group. Some shop owners say the closure was a blessing in disguise, while a few are struggling to recover.
Artegon Marketplace on North International Drive was billed as the “anti-mall” when Lightstone opened it in 2014, filled with about 100 small booths for small shops and promising local products to tourists more accustomed to shopping in department stores and outlet malls. There were also bigger spaces for draws such as glass blowing studio International Hot Glass and for Gods and Monsters.
Lightstone shut down the mall in January 2017, giving the tenants only two weeks notice. The building and 100-acre property was sold in January to Miami’s Dezer Development in January for $23.7 million.
A handful of tenants have filed suit against Artegon’s former owner, including owners of restaurants, small retailers, the glass-blowing studio, a trampoline park and a zombie-themed laser-tag attraction that never had the chance to open. Seven of the eight lawsuits against Lightstone subsidiary FB Orlando Acquisition LLC are still pending.
Most of them accuse Lightstone of misleading them about the mall’s future. In court filings, Lightstone contends the mall was always an experiment, and many tenants weren’t paying their rent.
“It was a big hit for many of these small businesses to lose their investment and everything they worked for,” said Jerry Ross, president of the National Entrepreneur Center in Orlando. “That would sink a lot of businesses, so it’s amazing that so many are still around.”
Some of those former tenants have opened in locations spanning from Florida Mall to Oviedo, both bolstered and wearied by their experiences at Artegon.
“I don’t know that I would ever go back to a mall or a corporateowned property,” said Lauren DeVoss, owner of TreGee, a small shop that sold pop culture-themed clothing.
After Artegon closed, TreGeek went back into selling merchandise at comic book conventions and shows, DeVoss said. After a year of travel, DeVoss said the business needs a break so she can take care of family issues.
“It was a great experience and I met a lot of people, but I don’t trust malls or big businesses anymore,” DeVoss said.
A few former Artegon tenants have opened at other malls. Surfwheel N’ Drones and Himalaya Craft are at Florida Mall, while Florida Soap Co. has a spot on the upper floor of Altamonte Mall. A handful of Artegon alumni opened a communal shop in Altamonte Mall called Altamonte Marketplace, but it closed in January when some of the tenants wanted to leave.
Michael Phillips thinks he has finally found a home for his Simply Savory dip and dressing business at Oviedo Mall in a new concept calls Farmhouse Provisions, selling his products as well as other locally made gifts and crafts. Simply Savory was one of the tenants at the Altamonte Mall shop before moving to Oviedo Mall in September 2017.
“I finally understand the chaos of Black Friday, after being in a more traditional mall,” Phillips said. “We never had that kind of rush over there, although we did get a lot of tourist traffic.”
Gift shop Driftwood Market quickly found a new spot in the College Park district of Orlando. The store is profitable in its new home and is getting ready to open a second store this summer in Winter Garden’s Plant Street District, said owner Bonnie DiCocco.
“I’ve even been able to work with some of the artists that were at Artegon to sell their product in my store,” she said.
The new owners of the Artegon property are still formulating plans for the former shopping mall and have discussed a car museum or other entertainment attractions. There could be a place in the new project for small retailers, said David Goldfarb, president of Fort Lauderdale-based PrimeTime Amusements and one of the partners in the Artegon property.
Gods and Monsters leased new space in an International Drive shopping center. But it hasn’t been able to recoup the $40,000 it spent on advertising and decor it prepared to open in early 2015, Young said. With finances tighter, they have struggled to find money to advertise and tell old customers where they have moved.
Rent is cheaper at the new shop compared with Artegon, but revenues are only about half what they were at Artegon and they had to let go of eight employees during the transition and cut hours as well.
“We were practically bankrupt and had to start over,” Young said. “I still run into people that have no idea we are open and thought we closed when Artegon did.”