Shoppers flock to Tampa Premium Outlets
Margie Hamman was one of the earliest birds to land at the Tampa Premium Outlets.
Almost too early.
Her 5:30 a.m. arrival at the fog-shrouded parking lot, off State Road 56, surprised one parking lot attendant who said she should come back later.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)
As she began driving off, a man “in a suit and tie” flagged her down and ushered her back to the parking lot, she said.
She was rewarded for early arrival when she came away with a bag full of coveted handbags and the bragging right of being the first customer inside the Coach store when the mall opened at 10 a.m.
She got a steal for her 10 designer purses, and then she moved on over to Gap.
“I’ll be making a lot of trips to my car,” said Hamman, who drove from Homosassa to her daughter’s home in Odessa the night before. “I’m doing my Christmas shopping.”
She was among thousands who thronged the walkways on Oct. 29, the opening day for the highly anticipated outlet mall developed by Simon Property Group.
Hamman expects to be back, again and again.
The Ellenton Premium Outlets (also a Simon mall) is no longer her go-to destination, especially when she has a daughter living so close to Tampa Premium Outlets.
Like Hamman, there are others who will forego outlet malls in Ellenton and Orlando to jingle cash registers in Pasco County instead.
The outlet mall will be an economic shot in the arm, Pasco County Commissioner Chairman Ted Schrader, said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We know it’s going to be a very big success, building on this momentum,” he said. “We are so looking forward to shoppers spending so much time in Pasco, maybe looking around, staying and living here.”
About 800 people gained full and part-time jobs at the outlet mall, and local labor hired about 500 people to help build it.
The outlet mall adds cache to the Tampa Bay region and will help boost tourism, said Ed Caum, Pasco’s tourism manager.
Visitors to the area can be expected to spend their money in more than one county and at more than one venue, he said.
“It will have a regional influence,” said Caum. “People will fly in to Tampa International Airport. They may stay in Clearwater, but eat at Ulele (in Tampa), and come here to the mall.”
Foreign visitors, especially from Canada and Brazil, are frequent shoppers at the Orlando Outlet Mall. And, Caum said Pasco plans to focus some of its marketing on Central and South American countries including Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico.
With counties sharing in the tourism pool, Hillsborough County’s tourism agency, Visit Tampa Bay, will include materials on the Tampa Premium Outlets in its marketing packages at an upcoming trade show in London.
“Everything that’s in Pasco, we’re going to be working very closely with them,” said Kevin Wiatrowski, regional media relations manager for Visit Tampa Bay. “All of our materials have this built into it along with our regular stuff. It’s an impressive time to be here.”
Wesley Chapel resident Rita Faddoul came from Lebanon more than 20 years ago. She remembers when the community had “one store, one light.”
Now, she says relatives coming from Europe will enjoy something unique in her neighborhood.
“It’s better than the International Mall,” Faddoul said. “I want to stay until midnight.”
Cool vibe and good deals
When all of its stores have opened, the 441,000-square-foot mall, with its “Key West” décor, will boast more than 100 designer brand shops selling top-line merchandise at 25 percent to 65 percent discounts daily.
Many stores sweetened the bargains with larger discounts, coupons and giveaways during the mall’s opening weekend from Oct. 29 through Nov. 1.
Karen Jenkins, and her mother, Beth McDonald, sat on a bench studying a brochure and a map of the outlet mall.
“I’m really just looking to see what they have,” said Jenkins. “If I see something I like, I’ll buy it.”
Tampa Premium Outlets has some stores that shoppers won’t find at Ellenton, including Naturalizer and The Limited.
The duo registered with the Tampa outlet’s VIP Shopper, and got a few coupons including a discount on Ralph Lauren merchandise.
“We’re thrilled we’re not driving to Ellenton,” said Jenkins who lives in Land O’ Lakes. But, she added: “My husband’s not happy about this.”
Kaiya Davis and her son, Jamal McIntosh, had a quick hop to the mall, from their new home in Lutz.
Davis took the day off to check out the shops.
McIntosh is starting a job with the Florida Department of Transportation and soon could be working on highway projects to ease traffic woes at the interchange of Interstate 75 and State Road 56.
“Lots of new beginnings,” said Davis.
Besides a being new shopping venue, the new homeowner sees an added bonus from the mall.
“The price of property values are going to go up,” she said.
Another Lutz resident Karen Fortin, and her mother, Margaret Carreiro, left Columbia Sportswear, one of their favorite stores, carrying bags containing shoes and a fleece jacket.
The travel time to the shopping destination can’t be beat, they said.
“We’re right here, 2 minutes from home,” Fortin said.
Caralee and Charles Shapero had a longer trip, coming over from Clearwater. But, they might come back.
“We will see,” said Caralee Shapero. “It’s missing a Bath & Body Works, but it is closer. So far so good.”
They are Yankee Candle enthusiasts and were ready to snap up a deal – five candles for $50.
“We’ll be walking out with 10,” said Caralee Shapero.
Natalie Scheer and Blanca Jordan sat down on a bench with Disney Store Outlet bags at their feet. They rattled off stores they had been to and others they were ready to take on.
“We’re only halfway there,” said Scheer, who along with Jordan, works at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel.
They expected to spend two hours to three hours scouring the mall for bargains.
“We threw our bags in the car already,” said Jordan. “This is our second round. It’s wonderful. We don’t have to go all the way to Orlando.”
Jordan said she sometimes goes to Westfield Citrus Park. But, she added: “Outlets are much better. You get better deals.”
The women liked the setting, too.
Jordan held out her cellphone showing off a picture of the two framed in the background by the mall’s blue water lagoon and bridge.
“It looks like we’re on vacation,” said Scheer.
Published November 4, 2015
