Business & Tech
Closure Looms for Route 1 Businesses
A cluster of businesses began closing this week to make way for a Walgreens development.
A cluster of businesses along Route 1 in Laurel is closing this week and is slated to be demolished to make way for a new Walgreens store.
Construction is slated to begin this spring on the the 600 block of 2nd St. at the Route 1 and Route 198 intersection. The store’s construction means the demolition of the buildings that house , , an store and a multistory office building. This week, stores along the block have begun closing.
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By lunch time Tuesday, a closed sign had already been posted on the door of Irene’s. Inside, workers had already begun gutting the restaurant. The store is moving to the intersection of Route 197 and Route 198 where a Chinese food buffet once stood.
Mango's is set to close by March 31 and relocate near the closed Blockbuster Store on Route 1. Ace Cash Express is closing in a few weeks and will relocate farther south along Route 1.
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Karl Brendle, director of community planning, told Laurel Patch that while construction was supposed to begin last year, the site developer, Ohio-based Visconsi Companies, was held up clearing tenants from the office building.
“A few tenants were still in the office building,” he said. “The closing was delayed and delayed.”
Still, tenants said that it’s hard to believe that closing time has finally come.
“I feel so sad because I’ve been here for eight years,” said Mango’s owner, Ana Gladys Figueredo. “It’s my baby. I put in a lot of effort… a lot of love.”
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