POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Business owners at Festival Marketplace in Pompano Beach are now in their final days from operating out of a once popular retail spot that has been a staple for residents and visitors for decades.
“They say there is nothing like this in the country, to have this many small business under one roof,” said Ashan Asad, owner of Shoe Palace.
But come June 1, the vast marketplace at 2900 West Sample Road that Asad has run his shoes business out of for 30 years alongside dozens of other neighboring vendors informed its tenants they will be closing.
“They informed us ahead of time so people can prepare,” said Asad.
Hilda Vargas de Matthews, who runs La La Chic, said she’ll be out by the end of the month and has already informed her customers she’s moving to the Shoppes at Deerfield.
“This really such a beautiful place of business,” she said.
While it was such a beautiful place to work out of for more than seven years, Vargas de Matthews said she and others know what customers experienced there for nearly four decades will truly be missed.
“A personal touch because these are small business people,” said Asad. “They have a personal relationship with the customers, which you don’t see in big chain stores.”
Once a retail spot that housed boutiques, jewelers, shops and eateries now is full of empty vendor booths, with a near vacant parking lot, and all soon to be demolished to make way for three warehouses.
A sight, customers say, will take some getting used to.