AURORA — Business at the Town Center at Aurora has plummeted by as much as 50 percent for some retailers in the wake of last week’s massacre at the movie theater next door.
Top 40 music is once again blaring in the food court, but workers say the atmosphere remains solemn. Some employees recognized that among the victims killed and injured were regular customers.
The mall reopened Saturday after a one-day closure, but the Century Aurora 16 theater, considered an anchor tenant that draws traffic for the mall’s retailers, is still shuttered.
“Saturday was a ghost town,” said Alem Tekle, assistant manager for Fanzz, a sporting-goods retailer that has been at the shopping center for six years.
Fanzz regional manager Jarrod Gallegos estimated that sales were down about 50 percent Saturday compared with a typical Saturday.
“We’re doing about as well as can be expected,” he said.
Business at the Metro Barber Shop has dropped by about 30 to 40 percent since the shooting. Pro Sports, an apparel retailer, said sales were off by about 40 percent over the weekend.
Kiosk operators said they’ve taken a bigger hit and wondered whether the mall’s owner, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, would offer some sort of financial relief or assistance.
The mall features 1 million square feet of retail space. Combined, the shopping center’s more than 140 merchants serve as one of the city’s largest private employers.
Simon spokesman Les Morris didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“(Saturday) was awful. You can just see the sadness,” said Erick Quinto, owner of iDeas, a computer and cellphone retailer and repair shop. “Sunday was like the same.”
He said business Monday and Tuesday improved slightly.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed is that people are not bringing their kids,” Quinto said.
There were several children running around the playground at the center Wednesday, although none were riding the popular mall train at midday.
Retailers said the crowd was light, even for a Wednesday, typically the slowest day of the week for the shopping center.
Aurora resident Jason Barrows returned to the mall for the first time Wednesday.
“This was an isolated incident,” he said, shopping with his wife. “It really could’ve happened anywhere. It definitely affected us, but we can’t be afraid to go to our mall.”
Some merchants expect business to eventually return to normal, as it did in 2005 after a shooting inside the mall left one person dead and two injured.
The movie theater shooting killed 12 and injured 58 others.
Gallegos said one of the 12 was a frequent shopper at Fanzz. Tekle recognized a wounded victim as a regular too.
“Our sympathies go out to the victims,” Gallegos said.
Andy Vuong : 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or twitter.com/andyvuong
