Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Redevelopment of the Center Mall is moving forward in the months ahead. But that promise comes at a cost as the last 15 or so tenants of the 50-year-old shopping center have found new ways to carry on their businesses, or not.
Ten of those businesses will carry on in other locations around the city. Three have closed their doors as their donors chose to retire. Just two have moved across the river, one to West Fargo, the other to Fargo.
But don’t expect the lights to be turned off yet. While a majority of tenants have relocated, several are waiting for new Moorhead locations to be completed. They’ll continue with business as usual until their new quarters are ready.
That’s according to Heidi Knutson of Roers Development, the firm charged with the central role of reinventing downtown. Knutson, who is vice president in charge of marketing, communications and culture, tells the Extra that the seven businesses that remain will be remaining into 2024. They include Puffe’s Jewelry, Moorhead Drug, Moorhead Vision Associates, Downtown Chiropractic, Mane Impressions, and His Salon.
The Clay County Division of Motor Vehicles office, which moved to the mall in the wake of the COVID epidemic, will also continue there until the county’s new building on 15th Avenue North is completed in late fall or early winter.
Two long-time mall tenants, K & Krafts and Hers Salon, have already closed their doors permanently, with their owners choosing to retire. Scott Puffe has made the same decision. The family-owned jewelry store, which has occupied its spot in the Center Mall for 34 years, will close for good in mid-2024.
Two businesses that operated in the mall have relocated outside the city, one in West Fargo, the other Fargo. The former is the Thai Orchid restaurant. It reopened in October, after remodeling a former Taco John’s building at 110 Main Ave. E. Kreps Family Farm, which had served coffee and homemade baked goods near the mall’s atrium, has relocated to a former Little Caesar’s Pizza spot at 2119 13th Ave. S. in Fargo.
Five mall-based businesses have left the mall for new addresses. A timely retirement led to a new address for Vic’s Bar & Grill, the mall’s much-loved neighborhood bar and eatery. Patrons now gather at1608 Main Ave. the building formerly occupied by J.C. Chumley’s.
FM Antiques and More and its second shop, Comfort and Joy, left the mall in December. Their vast stock of antiques, vintage items and collectibles is now at home in the EasTen Mall at 3218 Highway 10.
The Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio, after operating there for 36 years, has joined Urban Hair at 1608 Main Ave. just a block south of mall. Nails Pro has relocated two blocks further east in the strip mall at 1608 Main Ave.
Barb Schramm of Three Bees, the mall’s last apparel retailer, is now selling her European fashions, shoes and accessories online and through pop-up shops in area vendor shows and other locations.
Dr. Matt Gilbertson of Downtown Chiropractic says he and Dr. Matt Lau are in the final stages of a plan to stay downtown; he expects to make an announcement soon. Mane Impressions also plans to move to a new Moorhead location. In the meantime, barber Bob Grantham is moving his men’s barber service into part of the salon’s space in the mall.
The optometrists of Moorhead Vision Associates – Drs. Stanton Andrist, Casey Bartz and Patrick Williamson – plan to relocate in a building now under construction in the Azool Center at 855 37th Ave. S. Their new facility will end 100 years in downtown Moorhead.
Finally, the DMV office will continue to operate in the mall until its new facility directly west of another county building on 15th Avenue North. According to county administrator Steve Larson, the foundation is in place and construction above ground will begin as soon as the weather permits. The building has been designed to accommodate not only the office where residents obtain drivers and motor vehicle licenses, but also the state’s testing office. He expects the office to move in late 2024.
Knutson, the Roers representative, says demolition of the Herberger’s store at the west end of the mall has been delayed as crews remove recyclable materials and hazardous waste. It is likely to begin this month. The north entrance to the mall has been closed, she says, as the southwest parking lot will also soon be. The company will install temporary walls within the corridor system to close off the west end, as well as the Thai Orchid wing after demolition this spring, making way for construction of the Community Center/Library.
Four or five developers are said to be weighing plans for eventual projects in the heart of downtown Moorhead. One of them, Kevin Bartram’s Sterling Properties, purchased the United Sugars property adjacent to the mall in 2021, while developer Justin Berg now owns the building that once housed Alan Evans Bridal.
“As plans unfold, Roers is very interested in being one of the builders/developers,” Knutson said. “We are a huge supporter of the vision of downtown Moorhead and look forward to working with businesses and organizations who want to be a part of this exciting project.”