The retail chain Macy's is scaling back, and the Winston-Salem location is among the stores that will close this year.
It's the second round of closings since 2016 when the chain announced it was shuttering three other North Carolina locations.
It's a potential blow to Hanes Mall, which also lost a Sears last year. Sears had been an anchor at the site since the mall opened in 1975. Macy's took over the Hecht's location that was added during an expansion in the 1990s.
Elizabeth Tomihiro was shopping at Macy's with friend Ellen Wallis when they got word of the closure. Tomihiro says it makes her concerned for the health of the mall.
“It's going to be sad,” she said. “I'm kind of worried about the mall in general, what we're going to do. We've got two of the major stores closing. ... This is a really convenient place to do a lot of shopping, so if the mall closes you have to go further out to find someplace to go shopping.”
Wallis says she's been going to Macy's since her childhood in Maryland.
“I usually shop Macy's October through December, because I like to see how it's decorated,” she says. “And also I usually buy the Wallace Silver [Sleigh] Bell [ornament] on the third floor.”
The mall has been in a transition period, adding a large Dave and Buster's sports bar and arcade in 2019.
A Macy's spokeswoman says the store's non-seasonal employees who can't be placed at a nearby store will be eligible for severance. The store has about 60 employees.
The Friendly Center location in Greensboro will remain open.