Retail sector stages a comeback in Utah

Among retailers arriving in Utah this year: Utah’s first Tiffany & Co. and Michael Kors shops are coming to the City Creek Center shopping center in downtown Salt Lake City; the state’s first humongous Scheels sporting goods store will open in Sandy, with a 65-foot-tall Ferris wheel and a 16,000-gallon saltwater aquarium inside; and several smaller chains, such as Johnny Rockets hamburger restaurant, will open in Farmington in the Station Park shopping center.

Scores of new tenants are moving into formerly “dark” stores emptied during the recession, bringing new life to shopping centers and malls along the Wasatch Front. In Layton, Dick’s Sporting Goods is operating in a long-vacant Meryvn’s location at Layton Hills Mall. In Centerville, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft is moving into a spot left empty by Roberts Arts & Crafts. In South Jordan, thrift store chain Savers has claimed another former Roberts location.

There’s also the new-to-Utah phenomenon. Chains of all sizes, including The Container Store, a retailer of storage items, and The Habit, a growing hamburger chain, are out scouting for space for their debuts. They join other chains that recently opened their first Utah locations, including home decor chain Crate & Barrel; apparel store H&M, which opened in Fashion Place Mall; and Marshalls, which opened in the Station Park shopping center in Farmington.

Salt Lake Tribune