By Sara Beth Williams–
The latest to exit a near-empty mall, a national shoe store has closed its Sunrise Mall location this week.
Shoe Palace, recognizable by its iconic arched entrance into the small storefront, closed its doors at the end of Friday.
Saturday morning, staff could be seen inside the store cleaning and moving merchandise amid stacks of boxes.
Staff at the shoe store told The Sentinel last month that they were expecting to close in April and said their merchandise would be relocated to other Shoe Palace locations in the region. Staff also said they were able to secure jobs at other Shoe Palace locations.
The national shoe store has a strong online presence, with a well-established online store, multiple national brands in their catalog, and multiple national licensed collaborations, such as Disney Pixar Cars, Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the Harlem Globetrotters, among others.
Shoe Palace was founded in 1993 by the Mersho family and began as a single brick and mortar location in San Jose, California, the company’s website said.
Shoe Palace has other locations in the region, including two locations in Sacramento, and one location in Roseville.
The shoe store’s closure follows two other recent closures of Lids and TORRID, a hat store and a clothing store, which both left the mall in mid-January.
Other national retailers still open at Sunrise Mall include JCPenney Famous Footwear, TMobile and Kay Jewelers.
