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Bealls To Open In Riverview

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2008

Updated:

RIVERVIEW - This area will get its first department store when Bealls opens its 87th store at Summerfield Crossing in March.

The new store will be larger than the Bealls in Sun City Center, which opened in a new location in November 2007.

The 80,000-square-foot store will feature a bit more merchandise in each department and more aisle space for customers, said Jim Simpson, vice president of stores and real estate for Bradenton-based Bealls.

"It's a very open floor plan and should allow traffic to flow more openly. It's a more relaxed shopping experience," Simpson said. "And just like in Sun City Center, we'll have mini-shopping carts available to make it easier to get around.

"We've just recently started to move dirt, and anticipate opening in March 2009," Simpson said.

For Riverview, it's a coup, said Billie Gordon, president of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce.

"That'll be a huge boost to the community," Gordon said. "We've needed something like this for a long time. It'll be like a face lift."

The store will be near the Publix at Big Bend Road and U.S. 301.

Bealls is also opening new stores in The Villages, in Orange Park near Jacksonville and in Port Salerno, near Stuart.

The department store chain markets itself as a Sunshine State classic, offering Florida-style clothing and home accessories.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or yhammett@tampa trib.com.

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