A few months ago, I felt compelled to write a personal history of the TriTowne Plaza. I wasn't quite sure why, but the demise of that shopping center and its transformation into Renaissance Square affected me, as it had always been a part of Marlton to me. And I had memories of it in different stages of my life - Baskin Robbins and an arcade as a kid, the library and Superfresh as a 20-something, and a Superfresh and KMart as a husband and father.
Recently, the news broke that the 'Shops at Borders', otherwise known as 'Meadow's Edge Marketplace', had been purchased by Raymour & Flanigan. 'Broke' may be the wrong word to use - the article is from October, but it wasn't widely known until this week when someone mentioned on Facebook that JoAnn Fabrics was closing in March. The article refers to the 'Evesham Crossing Shopping Center'. I don't know where they came up with that name, but it is wrong. The news of the purchase seemed to indicate the end of the shopping center as we know it.
I haven't been in that shopping center since Borders closed on January 7, 2011. Though I don't have much use for fabric and I wasn't a member of the gym, its never pleasing to see stores shut down and people lose their jobs. But retail always has been cyclical, or else we'd still be shopping at Two Guys, Shop n Bag and Zagara's. In my mind, filling our empty retail establishments is always a good thing. The demise of the center is not a reflection on Marlton - Zany Brainy, Drug Emporium and Borders are three high-profile chain store bankruptcies that have nothing to do with the local market.
I decided to take a look back at the shopping center. But since I don't feel any personal attachment, the history became very dry: some stores opened, some stores moved, some stores closed, the end. I've tried to gather as much information as I could find, and I'm sure there were probably a lot of smaller stores that I have missed, but the internet can only reveal so much.
The new center was first announced in May of 1991, with planned anchors Drug Emporium, JoAnn Fabrics and a small Borders, with space for 10 additional shops. The Borders being built was only 15,000 square feet, not the behemoth it became in later years.
As to what the future holds for Meadow's Edge, it would appear most likely that a Raymour & Flanigan Outlet store will be opening. There are currently outlet stores in Deptford and Philadelphia.
List of Previous Blog Posts
Recently, the news broke that the 'Shops at Borders', otherwise known as 'Meadow's Edge Marketplace', had been purchased by Raymour & Flanigan. 'Broke' may be the wrong word to use - the article is from October, but it wasn't widely known until this week when someone mentioned on Facebook that JoAnn Fabrics was closing in March. The article refers to the 'Evesham Crossing Shopping Center'. I don't know where they came up with that name, but it is wrong. The news of the purchase seemed to indicate the end of the shopping center as we know it.
I haven't been in that shopping center since Borders closed on January 7, 2011. Though I don't have much use for fabric and I wasn't a member of the gym, its never pleasing to see stores shut down and people lose their jobs. But retail always has been cyclical, or else we'd still be shopping at Two Guys, Shop n Bag and Zagara's. In my mind, filling our empty retail establishments is always a good thing. The demise of the center is not a reflection on Marlton - Zany Brainy, Drug Emporium and Borders are three high-profile chain store bankruptcies that have nothing to do with the local market.
I decided to take a look back at the shopping center. But since I don't feel any personal attachment, the history became very dry: some stores opened, some stores moved, some stores closed, the end. I've tried to gather as much information as I could find, and I'm sure there were probably a lot of smaller stores that I have missed, but the internet can only reveal so much.
The new center was first announced in May of 1991, with planned anchors Drug Emporium, JoAnn Fabrics and a small Borders, with space for 10 additional shops. The Borders being built was only 15,000 square feet, not the behemoth it became in later years.
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| Courier Post May 31, 1991 |
Borders opened in November 1991. Drug Emporium opened on January 23rd, 1992 and JoAnn's opened a month later on February 23rd, 1992. As it remains open to this day, JoAnn Fabrics is the longest tenured store in that shopping center.
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| Meadow's Edge had their official Grand Opening on April 25, 1992. |
By the time Meadow's Edge officially opened in April 1992, DiGiulio's Shoes had opened as had the Hair Cuttery (which is also still there, the 2nd longest tenured tenant.)
Drug Emporium of Marlton closed in August of 1995, though it still operated stores in Cherry Hill and Moorestown. In November 1995, Borders moved across the parking to the large building where it remained until its demise due to bankruptcy. At the time, Borders felt it needed to expand due to the planned opening of a new Barnes and Noble less than 2 miles away. This was long before the days of Amazon.
With Borders moving across the parking lot, its old space was taken over by Zany Brainy, a store that sold educational toys for children. Unfortunately, Zany Brainy filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and the last Zany Brainy store was closed in 2003.
There was a salon and a slew of restaurants over the years: Wild Orchid, the White Rose Cafe, Mrs London's Cafe (shut down during lunch rush by court order for failure to pay rent), Boccone Pizza, Louie's Brick Oven Pizza (I think, the internet was fuzzy on this one) and more recently Skewers. There was also, of course, Club Metro (which opened in September 2011 and closed last fall), a Leather Outlet, and a Casbar Gourmet Meals. I think there may have also been a clothing store called Mikimoto and a locksmith at one point.
There are still a couple of stores still open, in addition to Joann's and Hair Cuttery: Brite Eyes Optical, Jay Roberts Jewelers, Tranquility Spa and Kumon Math and Reading Center. Until recently, there was a Scott Trade, but that closed in December 2017.
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| Philadelphia Raymour & Flanigan Outlet, all the way on the right |
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| Left to Right - Best Buy, Planet Fitness, Raymour & Flanigan Outlet |
Based on these pictures, the Outlet stores appear a bit small than the regular stores. It is not known at this time whether they will build new or use the existing buildings. But based on these pictures of the Philadelphia Outlet, it would appear that they do not need the whole complex. So perhaps other retail will survive. And just like part of TriTowne Plaza lives on, as the Superfresh and KMart were gutted and refaced and became part of Renaissance, perhaps part of Meadow's Edge shall remain in whatever comes next. Stay tuned.
Update 10/31/2018 - The center has been officially renamed 'Raymour & Flanigan Plaza'. The 'Shops at Borders' is no longer.
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