Friday, Aug. 31, 2001 | 11:10 a.m.
The retailers of Westland Fair, a central Las Vegas shopping center now undergoing a major facelift for a new Wal-Mart supercenter and a Home Depot, are for the most part enduring pain now in hopes of profiting later.
Business at the 465,000 square-foot mall at Decatur and Charleston boulevards is hurting. Here and there, signs declaring "business as usual" appear on fences cordoning off a dusty lot where a massive parking lot and several large buildings -- including Builders Square and Computer City -- once stood.
Since construction began in March, most tenants have complained of dust and access problems.
The construction site is fenced off at the southwest corner of the mall -- where the Big Game Club video poker bar is located -- to the northeast part of the mall, where Duke's Saloon, retailers and restaurants are located.
These fences block internal traffic by cutting off Faircenter Parkway, which used to run through the mall connecting Charleston and Decatur.
Most of the remaining retailers are prepared to put up with these temporary inconveniences in hopes of seeing their business improve once Wal-Mart and Home Depot open in mid-2002. But at least tenant, Big Game Club LLC, fears it may not survive the current disruptions to see a boost in business.
Big Game Club operates three video poker bars at the shopping center: The Big Game Club just off Decatur at the south end of the complex, the Meathead Video Poker and Bar closer to the intersection of Decatur and Charleston and Duke's Saloon located just off Charleston at the eastern end of the development.
Big Game Club LLC is fighting a lawsuit filed in June by the mall's owner, Weingarten Nostat Inc., to evict the three businesses after they allegedly defaulted on $38,517 in rents.
Big Game, in court papers filed Aug. 21, disputed Weingarten's claims, saying it would have been able to afford to pay rents if Weingarten had "conducted a controlled construction."
Instead Weingarten breached an agreement to minimize disruption to Big Game's businesses when it allegedly failed to ensure customers could access the Big Game Club and Meathead from at least two entrances at Decatur and could reach Duke's from at least two entrances at Charleston, Big Game said.
Big Game, which claimed its customers can now access the mall from only one entrance apiece at Charleston and Decatur boulevards, said business at the three properties has since dropped "to half its prior levels."
In addition to the dust and parking problems, Big Game said Weingarten has caused lighting in the mall to be out for two weeks, as well as a gas leak and plumbing and sewage systems to malfunction.
Big Game said Weingarten represented that Wal-Mart would open in the fall of 2001, and the expected boost in business would be enough to support Big Game's properties until Home Depot is completed in May 2002. Wal-Mart, however, said it is scheduled to open in April 2002.
Weingarten's spokeswoman could not be reached for comment on Big Game's allegations.
Paul Fleming, a Petsmart store manager, said business has slowed down there too.
"When construction began, it was difficult for customers to get in here for a few months. The lights in the parking lot were out for several days, and the construction caused it," he said.
Stan Van Gundy, owner of Glee's Party Shop, said his business has softened. But he attributed that to rising unemployment rather than to the construction of the two major retail outlets.
In recent years, several Westland Fair retailers have closed including Builders Square, Computer City and Bookstar, a division of Barnes & Noble Inc. Anna's Linens, a home and furniture accessories retailer, now occupies the Bookstar building. Repp Ltd. Big and Tall, a Boston-based men's fashion shop, will also be closing shortly as part of a nationwide cutback.
Mountain Hams & Country Deli Inc. was among the lucky few that saw its business improving despite the construction. The deli, which used to be almost hidden because it was set back substantially from both Decatur and Charleston, is now relocated close to the intersection of the two boulevards.
Bill Boschetto, a partner of Mountain Hams, said the relocation is largely responsible for a 10 percent jump in sales in July versus July 2000.
"We welcome the construction! We've been buried at the back of the mall for so long," he said. "Now we're right on the street. In a few months, it will be all be over and we will have a great shopping center."
Despite the overall improvement in business, Mountain Hams, like the other tenants, wasn't spared from the inconveniences caused by the construction.
"Our business did drop about 25 percent for about four days in early August. But that's because access to our restaurant was reduced to just one entrance from three during those days. Our customers could get in only at the entrance that's south of Mountain Hams on Decatur Boulevard.
"Access to the parking lot from around the corner of Starbucks was blocked off. Customers who came in from Decatur on Faircenter Parkway could only make a right turn into the Service Merchandise parking lot. They couldn't turn left into our parking area. The problem was the workers had to dig through the parking lot to get to the utilities," Boschetto said.
"We also had minor water problems with the workers cutting water mains," he said. "But after we called the landlord, they had it fixed." Mountain Hams will also see a 25 percent rise in monthly rents to about $8,000 once Wal-Mart opens, Boschetto said. "Although we will be paying higher rents, we now have a better location and took on an additional 1,200 square feet in space at the new store."
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