New Five Below Flagship Store Opens In Center City
By Mike Dougherty
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Discount retailer Five Below opens a new two-story flagship store on Chestnut Street in Center City.
Business is good for Five Below. 13 years after starting in Philadelphia, the chain now celebrates the opening of a store twice the size of their others.
"We wanted to go big," says VP of marketing David Makuen. "We wanted to put down roots in this awesome town that we love."
This is the biggest of the company's nearly 400 stores. The store takes over a 100-year-old building that was formerly a theatre, and the ornate ceiling is still intact.
"A full gut renovation, but we left many of the elements on the 2nd floor in tact, including the 100-year-old brick wall and the 100-year-old ornate ceiling," Makuen describes the renovation process.
West Philadelphia resident Norman Smith says this is just what Center City needs.
"It's very convenient. It's my daughter's favorite store," Smith says. "We can come in here with $50 and leave with five bags of stuff."
Makuen says the company is growing rapidly and 70 more stores are set to open next year.
