The first business day after Sheena McCullers announced plans to close Della’s, a line of people waited to get into her upstairs shop on S. State.
“My staff called, like, ‘Oh my god, this is insane! What am I supposed to do?’” she relates. “And I’m like, ‘Let them in! Let them shop, let them enjoy the space and have their moment.’”
Now in her fourth year running the gift boutique and beauty supply shop tailored to women of color, McCullers terms the closure a “graduation” to create space for the next chapter of her career, “which at some point we’ll be able to announce. But at this moment, I need a breather!”
She didn’t want the store to just disappear over the U-M summer break without a chance for many customers to bid farewell. Following a “phenomenal turnout” at Della’s store closing party, the last of the inventory is available for shipping via auntiedellas.com.
“It’s a business that still works, and I know it’s a business that’s definitely still needed in the Ann Arbor community. My hope is that maybe someone will feel inspired by this,” McCullers says. “Once I moved to Ann Arbor and was really looking for community, I created the space in hopes that someone might also be interested in what Della’s had to offer. And it was a hit! Della’s filled a gap, and we created a space that centered culture and community in a way that just didn’t really exist here before. And beyond products that people desperately needed in this general area, downtown Ann Arbor, we built real relationships. And I think that’s what I’m most proud of.”
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Destination XL Group closed DXL Big + Tall at Washtenaw Crossing in March.
The company’s east side presence had dated to 1984, part of the revitalization of the then-enclosed Arborland Mall. The store, then known as Casual Male Big & Tall, moved across the street in 1998 as Arborland converted to an open-air shopping center.
The Massachusetts-based chain of men’s plus-sized clothing and shoes retains stores in Novi, Taylor, and Allen Park. It recently reported declining revenue and a shift into the red in the latest fiscal year, citing cautious consumers “often prioritizing essentials and lower price points.”
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After just a few months in Briarwood Mall, J&S Jewelers (Marketplace Changes, January) has departed. In a brief phone call, owner Mohammad Siryani cited a disagreement with mall management but did not elaborate.
Signs in the JCPenney wing promise three new stores coming soon: the selfie studio Picture Perfect, athleisure retailer the Huddle, and perfumer Alpha Parfum.
Elsewhere in Briarwood, a bit of musical chairs is ongoing. Manga Spot is moving into a bigger space next to Macy’s, and Foot Locker is up and running an even bigger store near Von Maur. Inspire Marketplace is now in a corner spot on the mall’s east side, having ceded its Macy’s wing space to the Diamond Factory, which is moving across the hall into bigger digs.
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