News reports in the Fort Meyers, Fla., News-Press and southwest Florida’s WINK-TV say that the Big Cypress Market Place will close its doors Aug. 1, 2010, putting almost 40 vendors out on the street. The upscale, indoor market featured a winery and food court.
The News-Press quoted the manager, who says that business just isn’t good enough to justify staying open. “We’re definitely closing for the summer because the traffic isn’t here right now,” said Jerry McHale, receiver of the property.
The WINK report was particularly stark in describing the effect of the closing on vendors:
“Long faces, disappointment, people’s lives are ruined,” said Elie Stern, a vendor for a year and a half. “They could have given us at least a month so, people didn’t have to buy merchandise and now they got screwed because now they have no place to go.” Management issued a letter last week, notifying of the Aug. 1 closure, stating it was “for the summer.”