Kiosk Operators Forced Out Of Center City Shopping Mall
By Mike Dougherty
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Gallery shopping mall in Center City is set to undergo an overhaul and Wednesday was the last day for merchant's who own kiosks to do business.
The reconstruction project is intended to attract more high end stores, and the mall is pushing out kiosk operators. Heather Crowell -- Vice President of Communications for PREIT, which owns the mall -- says it's an important step for The Gallery:
"We've spent ten years acquiring three blocks of real estate and think there's a huge opportunity to enhance the retail offerings in the city of Philadelphia."
Rodney King's t-shirt and bargain book stand is being shut down.
"It's a sad story," he says. "You have people who have been out here 25 years, 25-30 years, put their kids through college, bought their homes. They don't know what they're going to do now."
King wishes he had another month to stay in business to save up some money. He says he's now trying to find a small retail space, but they are tough to come by during winter.