Aug. 16, 2024

After 20 years at The Empire Mall, Shoe Diva is heading south.

The shoe retailer, which is next to Macy’s, is moving to The Bridges at 57th.

“It’s been a good thing, but times change, and we’ve always liked The Bridges,” owner Karla Kuehl said. “It’s a lot of development that’s happened that way in the city, and what’s beautiful is that as I’ve told customers, longtime customers … that we’re moving, they’re like, ‘Oh I’m so happy, that’s my neighborhood. You’re closer to me now.’ It has been overwhelmingly positive, and that is just thrilling.”

Kuehl considered opening at the retail center at 57th Street and Western Avenue two decades ago, but the project wasn’t done yet, and she had “a really wonderful offer for this location” at the mall, where she also owned the store Metro before that.

“It’s bittersweet here, but sometimes the time comes,” she said. “My customer is busy; they want to drive to my door and come in and do what they want.”

While the store primarily carries shoes, including the brands Birkenstock and Ugg, Shoe Diva also carries a selection of apparel.

“We treat our apparel as if it’s an accessory, so we’re not about clothing, but we still have some really great pieces of clothing,” Kuehl said. “We want everything to be special and unlike anybody else.”

The store will be open at The Empire Mall through the end of August and has reduced prices on some merchandise before the move. The hope is to open at The Bridges by Oct. 1 if not sooner.

The space at The Bridges previously was Supplement Warehouse and is next to Sport Clips and 605 Running Co.

“It fits the neighborhood,” said Autumn Kaufhold of Van Buskirk Cos., who represented the space.

“For her, too, it’s convenient with drive-up parking, and she fits the tenant mix very well,” Kaufhold said of Kuehl.

A handful of available spaces remain at The Bridges.

“We’re getting calls and having lots more conversations,” Kaufhold said. “Our landlord is looking for deals and very open to working with businesses to see what we can figure out. I am doing a deal inside one of the spaces, we’re into lease review, so after that, I’d have three in a range of sizes.”