Bed Bath & Beyond coming to Gateway Plaza

Bed Bath & Beyond coming to Gateway Plaza
By Jessica A. York/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 08/05/2009

A Bed Bath & Beyond will soon fill the nearly year-old gap left in Vallejo's Gateway Plaza Shopping Center after last year's departure of Linens 'n Things.

The home furnishings store is slated to complete remodeling for about 42,000 square feet by the end of October or November, said Stacey Slater, spokeswoman for plaza property manager Centro Properties Group.

The retail space, in the center at Plaza Drive and Turner Parkway, was last filled through November by Linens 'n Things. The national chain had filed for bankruptcy protection and closed more than 100 stores last year.

A city building department official said the company submitted tentative improvement plans for the site July 23.

This store will include a health and beauty section, which not all Bed Bath & Beyond stores have, company spokeswoman Catherine Gentile said.

"We basically always look for new locations, so our customers don't have to travel as far to look for stores," Gentile said of coming to Vallejo.

Bed Bath & Beyond stores nearest Vallejo are in El Cerrito, Pleasant Hill and Vacaville, according to the company's Web site.

Vallejo Community Development Analyst Annette Taylor said the Gateway Plaza, the city's newest shopping center, had problems securing long-term high-tax generating business leases for about 10 years.

"I think in this economy to find a user so quickly ... it's revenue-generating tax for the city. It's a win-win for us," Taylor said. "Now I understand that Centro Properties is looking to fill the Cost Plus World Market space."

Cost Plus, in the same area as Linens 'N Things, pulled out of Vallejo early this year after more than seven years due to economic hardships, company executives said.

Another shopping plaza managed by Centro Properties Group, Vallejo Corners where Target is located, recently announced that it had leases for 90 percent of its retail space with the addition of a Dollar Tree store.

Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or jyork@thnewsnet.com