Locked entrances and a handwritten sign greeted visitors to the Venango County Co-op in the Cranberry Mall on Thursday, after the store’s announcement Wednesday evening on Facebook that it would be closed for the next two weeks.
The sign states the store will be closed until Jan. 24, and adds, “Big sale coming soon!”
However, some vendors with whom the newspaper spoke on Thursday expressed a sentiment of uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of the Co-op. The Facebook post only notes “we will update soon as to the future plans with the store.”
“My ultimate plan is, after that sale, possibly to get another contract with the mall in a little smaller location,” he said. “That’s what I would like to do, but that’s going to be completely up to the mall.”
He said the business has been losing vendors, especially since the loss of traffic after Joann Fabrics and Crafts, and the Shoe Dept. moved out last year, and “financially, it’s not working. When Joann’s was open and the shoe store was here, we did well. When they shut down, we’re lost all the way at the end of the mall.”
Many vendors also come from a distance, he said, and it can be difficult for them to come back and forth to keep their booths full and clean.
Some vendors were moving their things out on Thursday.
“The last few months, everything was up in the air; so I’m getting everything out,” said one vendor who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m sad, because at one point this was a great place. It’s been deteriorating lately because of the management, and I think some problems with…the mall.”
Another person from the Co-op noted the uncertain state of the Cranberry Mall sale has been a “big question,” and that vendors have been experiencing issues with roof leaks that ruined some items, as well as hardly any heat.
A number of vendors noted they had only heard the news of the two-week closure the night before, and that communication from Awad on what’s going on has been vague.
Despite dissatisfaction with the recent state of affairs at the Co-op, several vendors said at one time it had doing very well.
“It was a good thing…good for the community. People would come here all the time,” one vendor recalled. “We were doing real well.”
Another vendor, who was clearing out his items, said, “I made money; it was nice up here. If (Awad) does open another store, I’ll probably set up in it.”
One vendor said there have been “a few problems” during the past last couple of months, and “it’s not like I didn’t see it coming. We had some good years, but then things happen.”
The mall management office declined to comment to the newspaper.
Bonnie Summers, chairperson of the Cranberry Economic Development Committee, told the newspaper that she was “sorry to hear about the Co-op,” and that she was “disappointed” about the general state of affairs at the mall.
“We thought we’d know at this point whether it had been sold, and where we’re going from here,” she said. “It’s extremely frustrating when we don’t know what’s going on.
“We’ve been trying to work with the owners and reach out to them, but being in California, not having a close middle person is real difficult…if there’s anything we can do for the owners, we’ll certainly work with them on it, but there just hasn’t been any contact.
“I just hope there’s a positive future.”
