Jersey Mike’s is adding an outpost of the international chain to Metairie replacing the former Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt at 4316 Veterans Blvd. Tutti Frutti has already closed and work is underway for the new sub shop. This will be Jersey Mike’s first location in the area with the nearest location currently in Mandeville.
The sub chain is known for slicing meats & cheeses on demand as needed alongside the use of a red wine vinegar & olive oil mixture known as the “The Juice”.
The former Toys “R” Us which has sat vacant since the chain shuttered it in 2018 is slated for demolition if all goes through with a new proposed Floor & Decor retail store. The warehouse style flooring retailer is proposing a new building of just over 70,000 square feet.
Floor & Decor currently operates a large format store in Gretna and a smaller design center showroom on Magazine St. in New Orleans. The national retailer offers an assortment of hard surface flooring and accessories.
According to building plans shared with Around Metairie the Best Buy located at 6205 Veterans Blvd. in Metairie will see some big changes coming up which are an indicator of the future of retail in general. Any regular shopper of the store will know that like many other retailers this store has been in a state of change since the pandemic. At one point a line of cars would form in the parking lot while blue shirt wearing staffers zipped in and out of sliding glass doors of the then closed to the public showroom to bring online orders to customers. The store has been back open for some time now albeit with shorter hours.
Late last year the company installed a test system of outside in-wall lockers at a Best Buy store near their corporate headquarters. The YouTube video below shares this technology and goes on to speculate that in the future in-store robotics may even be able to load the lockers 24/7 without the need for staff to handle the task making this quite unique compared to similar lockers from Amazon & UPS already in use around Metairie & Kenner. This same style system will be installed at the Metairie Best Buy so customers won’t need to enter the store or wait in a customer service line to pick up online orders.
The only trace of the former Laser Tag at 8855 Veterans Blvd. in Metairie is the sign on the outside of the building. Crews have been working inside to demolish any of the remaining build out to make way for Aldi. Aldi is the much anticipated discount grocer which should start construction in the space soon. We’ll be keeping an eye out for developments here.
Before Laser Tag took over the space it was home to CompUSA and before that mega toy store and area childhood favorite Children’s Palace. Laser Tag faithful however should be excited as the entertainment center is moving just over the Metairie / Kenner border to the former Circuit City and then Furniture Mart building at 2421 Veterans Blvd. Ownership is touting an investment of $10 million in the new Laser Tag facility with expanded entertainment options to come.
Amazon has filed a permit to remodel a 4,657 Sq. Ft. space at Lakeside Shopping Center. There is no indication of what type of retail concept Amazon will open. While the company does operate mall stores under the “Amazon Books” and “Amazon 4-Star” concepts Amazon just announced that they are shuttering these store formats later this year. The company is however making a push into physical retail in the fashion space.
National cookie shop, Crumbl, is currently building out their space in the Rouses anchored Airline Shopping Center at 2701 Airline Dr. in Metairie. They are taking over a portion of the space previously occupied by I Love Kicking Boxing. The nearest Crumbl store is currently in Baton Rouge.
Crumbl is known for their weekly rotating menu and the selection extends to other sweets beyond cookies.
Baton Rouge based Lit Pizza is taking over the former City Greens space at 5161 Citrus Blvd. in Elmwood. Customers can customize their pizza from a wide assortment of toppings while the pizza is finished in a wood-fired brick oven. City Greens still operates a Metairie outlet at 600 Metairie Rd. in Old Metairie.
The now-former Red Lobster in the parking lot of Lakeside Shopping Center at 3020 N. Causeway Blvd. is slated for demolition according to a permit filed with Jefferson Parish. This location had originally opened in 1994. The closing leaves the next nearest Red Lobster location in Baton Rouge.
According to a zoning clearance request Dick’s Sporting Goods is proposed to take over the former Stein Mart building at 2840 Veterans Blvd. in Metairie. Stein Mart closed last year as a result of the company’s bankruptcy. Dick’s on the other currently operates a store at Lakeside Shopping Center.
A listing on the Tesla website confirms that Metairie is slated for a Supercharger station to open sometime around “Q2 2021”. Around Metairie has learned that the proposed site is at 211 Veterans Blvd. which is the shopping center where Winn Dixie is located. The proposed charging station is expected to have twelve charging stalls.
