Lowe's In Alameda Square Closing Its Doors For Good

DENVER (CBS4) - A Lowe's store expected to help revitalize a community is closing just 19 months after it opened.

The home improvement store is located at 400 South Zuni Street near the intersection of Alameda and Tejon. Local business owners are hoping another big retailer will step in soon.

The signs up are up at Lowe's advertising its store closing 50 percent off sale.

"It's sad to see a store close but it's benefitting us right now," shopper Eric Warneke said.

Customers were taking advantage of the sale Saturday. Many of them said Lowe's was the only thing that brought them to the Alameda Square Shopping Center.

"It'll decrease the traffic, hurt the shopping center, hurt the district," shopper Michael Combs said.

Even though Lowe's closing there could be bad for businesses in the area, a store manager told CBS4 that employees are not being left stranded. They're being transferred to other locations in the company while others have chosen to leave for other opportunities.

Saturday's closing sale provided a different opportunity for the local businesses. They've seen an increase in customers. Once the store closes they're not sure what to expect.

"We thought they'd be around for longer than 19 months for sure," Vinh Xuong Bakery owner Duc Huynh said.

Vinh Xuong Bakery is in the same shopping plaza as Lowe's. Now that the store is closing the owners are doing everything to attract customers and taking advantage of Lowe's closing sale.

"Everybody's kind of wondering what else is going to move in," Huynh said. "It's good for the area for sure if some type of business moved in."

For now local business owners are enjoying the extra traffic. Only time will tell what's next for them.

Lowe's says it closed the store because it had a poor performance record.