Country Club Plaza Seeing Influx Of Visitors From New Business Additions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13) - Local businesses are hoping to benefit from new additions coming to Country Club Plaza in Arden Arcade.  It's been a year of ups and downs for the Country Club Plaza since Macy's and Sports Chalet shutdown.

"It was tough to see so many businesses go and to see Macy's shut their doors," said Jeff Haggart, general manager of Woody's Bar and Grill.  "The people in this area want this mall to come back. They want businesses here. They want to support the economy, the local economy."

 WinCo Grocery store opened up last Thursday, and with the new addition, shoppers and business owners expect to see much more foot traffic in the area.

"It's really great to see this new WinCo opening," said Randall Sly, an Arden Arcade local.  "It's packed and people are enjoying the holiday and they're shopping and they're getting wonderful bargains.  Hopefully this will be the top of the iceberg that brings the regeneration of the Arden Arcade area."

Just four days after the store's grand opening, Sly is hopeful the new business brings new life to the shopping center.

"This area is going to really boom, it's going to revitalize," Sly said. "Hopefully, it'll be a safe area for kids."

"We've already seen an influx in our business," Haggart said.  "The staff has been coming over and they've been absolutely great. And forging a partnership with them has been really important to us."

 It's the kind of relationship that the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce wants to see more of as new businesses continue to head to the plaza.

"Once you start getting people into the parking lot, into the space, they're starting to notice what other stores are around and what other stores could be," said Peter Tateishi, Chamber of Commerce President.

But not every shopper is looking forward to the changes.  Debbie Arcuri has lived in Arden for most of her life and isn't happy without Macy's and her other go-stores inside of the mall.

"For us oldies, it's like a lot of the old stuff that we used to rely on, it's no longer here," Arcuri said. "The shoe store that used to be here, I totally miss that. And the Hallmark that was there forever and ever and ever, and they closed down. So I'm missing what the old shopping used to be."

Still, Tateishi believes the new investments will do wonders for Arden Arcade's reputation.

"This is an important place, it's a great place to live, work and play and now we just need that work and play component to really be jumpstarted again," he said.

Planet Fitness and Hibachi Bar and Grill are scheduled to open this fall.  There isn't a set timeline on the movie theater just yet, but the owners are very confident about it moving forward.