Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Reopening of Riverchase Galleria
Select merchants and department stores have begun reopening stores at the Riverchase Galleria on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Retail stores across the area have started reopening following Gov. Kay Ivey’s Safer-at-Home order that went into effect at 5 p.m. April 30. Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Riverchase Galleria reopened its doors May 5 after being closed for more than a month due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Gov. Kay Ivey last week authorized the reopening of all retail stores as long as social distancing guidelines are followed and proper sanitation measures are put in place to protect the health of the public.
But it took a few more days for the Riverchase Galleria to get the state’s largest enclosed mall ready to reopen, General Manager Mike White said.
The mall had to rehire housekeeping staff, install additional hand sanitizer stations and put up signs directing people to the hand sanitizer and instructing them to keep at least 6 feet apart between mall guests from different households, White said.
It’s up to the individual store owners to determine if they want to reopen, and as of this afternoon, about 25 of the mall’s 109 inline tenants were open, White said.
The Von Maur department store, which has its own external entrance, actually opened its doors Friday and was the only store open until today, White said. Belk is supposed to open this coming Friday, May 8, and J.C. Penney is scheduled to open Monday, May 11, he said.
There were about five restaurants open in the Galleria food court, but sit-down dining is not allowed, so all chairs have been removed from the food court, White said. The restaurants are offering food for carry-out dining only, he said.
White said some store openings are being determined at the corporate level, and he expects to see more stores opening their doors as corporate guidelines relax. As for customers, there has been a steady flow of people at the mall today. “Certainly not a lot, but they’re coming,” he said.
White said he thinks the staff has done a fantastic job of getting the mall ready for customers again, with the priority of keeping everyone safe and sanitary. All mall employees are wearing masks, and the mall security team has masks available for customers if customers want them, he said. However, masks are not required to be in the mall, he said.
He expects more customers to return as additional stores open. “We’ll just eat the elephant one bite at a time.”
The Galleria’s hours right now are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
