Trader Joe's neighbors have escalated their battle over parking, putting up hand-drawn signs warning that vehicles of the specialty food retailer's customers would be towed if they park in lots immediately next door at the Stonegate Crossing Shopping Center.
"I don't think we've towed any, but we've told people to move away or we will," said Louis Gennarelli, an owner of the strip center.The problem eases during the week but can be frustrating for the center's merchants on Saturdays and Sundays, Gennarelli said. "We feel it is paramount to protect our tenants. If their business declines, they can come back and say, 'We can't pay this rent.' So far they've applauded what we've done."The grocer says it's working to fix the problem at 2701 S. Hulen St."Trader Joe's cares about our neighbors and being part of the Fort Worth community," spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said by e-mail. "Typically, when a new store opens, traffic is higher than normal and eventually lessens. When needed, we have crew members helping to direct the flow of traffic in our parking lot."We appreciate the community's patience with the opening of our new location, and we look forward to being a positive addition to the neighborhood for years to come."Roger Chieffalo, a Fort Worth real estate broker who has worked with Stonegate, is convinced that the German-owned chain knew it had insufficient parking before it opened. And judging from visits to Trader Joe's stores in other cities, Chieffalo believes it's a corporatewide strategy to get by with scant parking at the expense of neighboring retailers."Anybody who knows anything about this business realized they didn't have enough spaces," he told us. "How did they get a permit to open with the amount of parking they had?"Chieffalo says Trader Joe's approached neighbors just a week before opening to ask if it could use part of their parking lots -- for their employees, if not customers.One arrangement was worked out with Calloway's Nursery on the opposite corner to the north."But who is going to cross four lanes and a median?" Chieffalos says. "It's insulting. They must think we are a bunch of stupid Texans."No end in sightLate last year, we reported that longtime Weatherford car dealer Jerry Durant had reached a tentative deal to sell his five dealerships.It never happened.At the time, Durant and his righthand man Don Allen, president of Jerry Durant Auto Group, both had some health issues, and it seemed like it might be a good time to slow down.But suffice it to say that at 65 years young, both Durant and Allen will continue to operate the dealerships for the foreseeable future."When that deal fell through, we realized we weren't ready to hang it up yet," says Allen.McKinney dealer Pat Lobb was the interested buyer, but a contract was never reached.Durant's dealerships -- Hyundai, Toyota and Cadillac/Buick/GMC stores in Weatherford and Toyota and Hyundai stores in Granbury -- had invested more than $30 million on new and upgraded facilities in the previous few years, so Durant and Allen had plenty to work with."We're down to just selling cars. It's more fun now," Allen says.Sales being up 8 or 9 percent doesn't hurt any, either, he adds, and prospects look good.Besides Weatherford's population growth of 75 percent from 2000 to 2010, there's the promise of the big Walsh Ranch development, which straddles the Tarrant-Parker county line. The state has committed to start an Interstate 30 connection to the 7,200-acre property by year's end and to finish the connection by spring 2014."We're anticipating good days of business for a good while," Allen says.Sundance parkingSundance Square shoppers in downtown Fort Worth now have valet parking services.The service will be free to visitors with a validated ticket from a Sundance Square shop or restaurant, or $10 for other guests."We continually review comments from our visitors, and a centralized service is an amenity our guests have indicated they would like to have in Sundance Square," said Tracy Gilmour, marketing director.The valet service runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Valet stands will be located on Main Street between Third and Fourth streets. Valets will be wearing Sundance Square shirts and hats and will be stationed at valet stands featuring red umbrellas with the Sundance Square logo.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727sabaker@star-telegram.comJim Fuquay, 817-390-7552jfuquay@star-telegram.comBarry Shlachter, 817-390-7718barry@star-telegram.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
