In the Know: Another golf superstore to open in Naples after Jo-Ann Fabric moves

Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts is downsizing from this store to a smaller space this week in Promenade at Naples Centre, 6424 Naples Blvd. in North Naples. Golfsmith Xtreme is scheduled to open here in November.

The site map for Promenade at Naples Centre on the corner of Airport-Pulling Road and Naples Boulevard in North Naples.

Q: I wonder if you know what is going on with the JoAnn's Superstore off of Naples Boulevard. While visiting Petco on Aug. 4, we noticed a sign on the former department store next to Petco which has been undergoing remodeling inside. It was a JoAnn's sign. Will the Superstore remain or are they downsizing to a smaller space?

— Trudy Bentley Rech

A: Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts is still calling itself a superstore, but it is downsizing to a smaller space this week in the same shopping center, Promenade at Naples Centre, on the corner of Airport-Pulling Road and Naples Boulevard.

Jo-Ann is relocating from it's stand-alone, 35,355-square-foot store to the 24,816-square-foot empty space between Petco and the vacated Wild Oats store at 6424 Naples Blvd. in North Naples. This was the former location of Loehmann's discount clothing store, which closed early last year.

Even though the new store is smaller, Jo-Ann will offer more fabric and trim than the current store, according to a store spokeswoman. The old store will be closed Wednesday and Thursday this week, and then is scheduled to reopen in its new location on Friday.

Golfsmith Xtreme is scheduled to open in the former space of Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts in Promenade at Naples Centre, 6424 Naples Blvd. in North Naples. Jo-Ann is downsizing to a smaller space this week in the same center.

Another golf superstore coming to Naples

The bigger news is what's behind Jo-Ann's move: Another golf superstore is coming to the Naples area.

Golfsmith Xtreme will open this fall in the store space to be vacated this week by Jo-Ann Fabric. Golfsmith International Inc., headquartered in Austin, Tex., operates about 75 stores and opened its first Xtreme superstore in Palm Desert, Calif., in January 2009. Naples will be only the fifth location for the company's activity-based superstore, and one of only four stores the chain is opening this year. The Naples store is much larger than the Golfsmith stores that opened this year in Overland Park, Kan.; Brea, Calif., and Milwaukee.

Designed to give golfers and tennis players hands-on experience, the interactive retail stores feature an indoor driving range and a huge indoor putting green for customers to try out gear. The new store will feature swing analysis technology with virtual reality fitting studios that match golfers to the clubs that best fit their individual swings. This includes multiple hitting bays with launch monitors and hundreds of demo clubs, along with golf lessons from PGA-certified pros. The store also offers custom club-making and repairs, as well as golf and tennis apparel.

Golfsmith is scheduled to open its Naples store in November.

"We haven't set an exact date for opening, but we are excited about the store," said Golfsmith spokesman Matt Corey.

This will be the third golf superstore to open in the Naples area in as many years. Last December, Georgia-based Golf & Tennis Pro Shop Inc. opened its more than 40,000-square-foot PGA Tour Superstore in Naples Plaza's former Linens ‘n Things store. In 2008, Pennsylvania-based Golf Galaxy opened a new, 18,000-square-foot interactive store on Naples Boulevard, not far from Golfsmith's new location.

Rolling-on-the-floor-laughing rink

By the way, I also followed up on a tip I received that the former Wild Oats store in Promenade at Naples Centre was going to be a roller skating rink.

"I don't think so. It would be news to me," said a spokesman for Sembler Co., the owner of the shopping center.

This statement followed an awkward period of loud, extended laughter after I posed the question. Perhaps this rumor was wishful thinking on the part of the nearby Hollywood 20 matinee crowd.

Good news for Sembler: Whole Foods, which bought Wild Oats and closed the local grocery store in 2008 when it opened its own North Naples store, is still responsible for the lease of that unoccupied space.

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