Apr 12, 2008

New business strip to openBy Jennifer WebbTheTimesHerald.com

Kimball Twp. — The Sawmill Commons strip mall at 4731 Lapeer Road is starting to come together.

The first shop at the mall, The Be Je Salon and Espresso Bar, opened in mid-January, but things otherwise have been pretty quiet.

Owner Todd Mahaffy said things have picked up in the last month.

“We’ve had a lot of interested people (this past month), and we’ve had good comments on the traffic and the esthetics. We haven’t had any negative response — it’s been more of an economy issue rather than location or esthetics.”

The second store to sign on at the mall is Riehl’s Gifts and Cards. The store has been at 791 Wadhams Road for about a year and co-owner Jane Riehl, who owns the store with her husband, Jeff, said it was just time to move.

Jeff Riehl works at the Times Herald.

“We just got in there, and we expanded way more than expected. We needed a larger store. We wanted more parking and better lighting for later hours. We just ended up outgrowing the store.”

Riehl’s Gifts and Cards tentatively will open at Sawmill Commons on April 26, with a grand re-opening on May 3.

The shop offers cards, collectibles and gift lines such as Demdaco and Sarah’s Attic. A new gift line will be introduced for the grand re-opening.

The gift shop fits well into the vision Mahaffy has for the mall. He would like to include restaurants and businesses such as a flower shop, a video store or a dry cleaner.

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