BY MIKE HELENTHAL
DANVILLE — The ink barely dry on a newly signed purchase contract, sisters Cindy Masengale and Donna Lackey were plotting renovations to downtown’s former Chic’s building Wednesday — and trying to decide when to vacate their Fancy That store location in Village Mall.
“We really missed that downtown feeling,” said Masengale, whose special-occasion store has rented and sold prom, wedding, and children’s clothing in the area for more than 10 years.
The shop, which plans to open at 138 N. Vermilion St. Jan. 3, started out in Rossville’s downtown district but has been in the mall for the past five years.
“This is our fourth location and we’ve grown every time,” added Lackey.
The store will replace Chic’s, owned by Kelly Strader at that location for 10 years. Strader marked the closing Tuesday with a party for friends and customers, merchandise already cleared away. She has plans to return to school to achieve a nursing degree.
Masengale, who manages Fancy That day-to-day store operations, said the move from the mall was not because they weren’t successful there. Instead, it’s a reflection of the unique needs their business has.
“The mall gave us a lot of exposure and the management always worked with us,” she said. “We just want our own building and our own atmosphere.”
The new location will allow Fancy That to host special events exclusive to the store and at the hours the owners wish. It will also provide a space the sisters can make their own, with plans to renovate the rear third of the Chic’s location.
“There are a lot of things that are unique to bridal,” she explained, “and old buildings work well for that because of the tall ceilings.”
Since the business attracts customers from the entire region, the partners said being near the interstate was also a consideration.
Lackey said the renovation will allow them to expand their children’s selections.
The two are still undecided on when they will leave the mall location. A lease-renewal option runs out at the end of the year, a time period that is one of the busiest of the year as “hundreds and hundreds” of prom orders start coming in. They are also pressed to make the move in time to hold the annual open house and “trunk” show in the new location.
“It’s going to stay open until we’re done here,” Masengale said, adding mall management was “working with us.”
Cindy Compton, mall manager, said Fancy That had been a model tenant and the store would be missed.
“The store always looked good and they’ve done a really good job here,” she said. “Their window displays were always beautiful. We hate to see them leave.”
Compton said mall leasing agents continue to work with prospective retail clients and have made progress in the effort to start up the facility’s changeover to an office mix. She said she was hopeful recent office-oriented prospects would soon become reality.
“We’re continuing to negotiate with both,” she said.
For information on Fancy That visit their Web site at http://www.fancythatbridalshop.com.
