‘Devastating’: Small stores at Northlake Mall say new owner is pushing them out
Three Black-owned small businesses at Northlake Mall told The Charlotte Observer that they and other locally-owned shops have been pushed out recently by new ownership of the financially-struggling north Charlotte complex.
Just last year, the mall’s prior owner turned to those same locally-owned businesses to fill vacancies at Northlake.
Along with store closings now, business owners said they are embroiled in financial disagreements with Augusta, Georgia-based mall owner Hull Property Group over lease issues. None of the minority-owned businesses that the Observer spoke with indicated that race was a factor at all in the mall’s decisions.
Danyell Butler, co-owner of customizing shoe shop Modified Kicks, shared what he called a “nightmarish” experience dealing with Hull Property. He’s one of eight businesses the Observer recently spoke with about Northlake Mall after many storefronts went dark.
Hull Property owner James Hull did not answer questions about the store closings or lease disagreements during a recent interview with the Observer. Hull defended his stewardship of the property and the vision for the mall’s future, starting with investing in aesthetics and making the mall relevant for long-term viability.
Despite having a lease until mid-2026, Butler said he received notice on June 15 from Hull Property demanding his shop vacate in two weeks, by June 30.
“It’s amazing how just a couple of months changes everything,” Butler said. “For me, it’s devastating.”
At Priority Printing Charlotte, a poster hung in the mall store window recently that said: “Hull Property Group does not want us here anymore so we have to move.”
Shawnie O’Neal, owner of Priority Printing, said Hull Property did not want to renew her expiring 13-month specialty lease. Hull Property officials told her the mall is moving in a new direction and did not want businesses like her print shop there, O’Neal said.
“A lot of the small businesses had to pack up and leave,” she said.
Small businesses part of Charlotte mall’s success
Northlake Mall is Charlotte’s youngest mall, opening 20 years ago.
Investment firm Starwood Capital purchased it for $248 million in 2014 from the original owner, Taubman Center Inc. The mall, off W.T. Harris Boulevard near interstates 485 and 77, includes an AMC movie theater as well as Belk, Macy’s and Dillard’s department stores.
But a lot has changed at Northlake Mall in the past few years.
The two-story, 1.1-million-square-foot mall fell into receivership in 2021 after failing to pay its debts. It was managed by receiver Spinoso Real Estate Group, based in Syracuse, New York.
.JPG "IMG_NorthlakeMall3_3_1_KOFSQOM3_L472088395 (1).JPG")
The mall also has faced other problems.
After three shootings within three months at Northlake from December 2022 into 2023, a number of big retailers like Apple, Buckle, Michael Kors, Chico’s, Soma, White House Black Market and American Eagle abruptly closed in 2023. The mall then added more security measures including a gun-sniffing dog and a greater police presence.
Plus, like other malls, Northlake also lost national retailers, including anchor store Dick’s Sporting Goods, Starbucks and Express.
By spring 2024, about a dozen locally-owned businesses, many of which were owned by Black entrepreneurs, began filling some of those vacancies. Spinoso, which was preparing the mall for sale, said supporting the small businesses contributed to Northlake’s overall success.
Of Northlake Mall’s 111 stores, 17% were Black-owned, The Charlotte Observer reported in March 2024.
In March of this year, Hull Property bought Northlake for $39 million. At the time, Hull officials told the Observer that Northlake Mall could attract new tenants like gyms, health and wellness centers, and locally owned coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques.
But over the past couple of months, many of the small businesses that had opened are now gone, and walls have been built covering vacant spaces.
Northlake Mall has 85 stores and restaurants as of Aug. 11, according to the mall’s directory.
Building walls over Northlake mall storefronts
On a recent Friday around lunchtime, Northlake’s food court was bustling with passersby, people ordering at counters and about 50 people sitting at dining tables as the sound of conversation and children’s screeches filled the air.
In the hallways, construction was underway with the sound of grinding and beeping, and the smell of fresh paint.
The glass windows and doors of Modified Kicks’ space next to Lovisa are gone, covered by a white wall. Well over a dozen former storefronts, including for Apple, GameStop and Urban Outfitters, are no longer visible as sheetrocked walls go up with fresh coats of paint.
“Instead of filling them with more stores, they just deleted them,” said Christian Hamilton, an employee at D. Williams Suits, which opened in fall 2023. “Like they were never there. It’s kind of scary.”
Business closings ‘alarming’
Edmund Washington co-owns the No Grease barbershop franchise at Northlake. He was optimistic when the mall sold but is now unnerved by what he called an exodus of stores within a month’s time.
“It’s alarming,” Washington said. “The biggest thing is forcing a lot of these small businesses out with no plans to really backfill them.”
While rent goes up 3% every year, Washington said his revenue is down 6% because of declining foot traffic with fewer retailers. “Now, those opportunities are gone,” he said.
Along with Modified Kicks and Priority Printing, other small, Black-owned businesses that had opened over the past couple of years at Northlake Mall are gone. They included women’s clothing stores 3Six92 and Juicy Body Goddess, Destination Sweets, Northlake Beauty Supply and Charlotte’s Nails. Others like Applause Nails remains open and now has two businesses next to eachother: Applause HD Hair Salon and Applause HD Nail Salon and Spa./
Juicy Body Goddess owner Summer Lucille left following a disagreement over lease terms with Hull Property. It’s unclear what led the other businesses to close.
National retailers that recently left include Forever 21, Kay Jewelers, AT&T and Spencer’s.
“I’ve just never seen a mall retailer force a temporary tenant out with no plans of bringing in a permanent tenant to replace them,” Washington said. “It’s just really disappointing.”
Northlake Mall’s future under Hull
Despite store closings, Hull said his plan for Northlake Mall is “going beautifully.”
Hull Property’s plan includes an undisclosed investment in mall renovations and upgrades to aesthetics including murals and lighting.
As for mall tenants, Hull said they must provide good customer service, have full inventories and be aesthetically pleasing. Tenants must be profitable and show long-term viability. If the business does not “comport” with Hull Property’s strategy, they will not be retained, Hull said.
“We don’t want to do anything in the mall that’s not inspirational or aspirational or clever,” Hull said. “We’re going to have a safe, relevant property.”
Hull said his financial strategy is based on good stewardship and plans to work with the mall’s surrounding business community to create a retail corridor. “No property operates as an island; it’s all interconnected,” he said. “It has to be a sense of place.”
Hull Property owns 35 malls in 17 states. And seven are in North Carolina, including two others in the Charlotte region — Cleveland Mall in Shelby and Carolina Mall in Concord.
“I am very proud of our track record of taking malls in these cities and transforming (them),” Hull said. “We’ve got to keep improving (Northlake) and make our mall as relevant as it can be.”
Meanwhile, Juicy Body Goddess and Priority Printing have landed new, larger locations at Simon-owned Concord Mills mall and the university area, respectively. “It has been a blessing in disguise but the road to get here was very, very stressful,” O’Neal said.
But others are still looking for a new home.
“I’m trying to be optimistic in my hour of darkness,” Butler said of Modified Kicks, which is operating online now. “I’ve never had a company do business this way.”
NC Reality Check reflects the Charlotte Observer’s commitment to holding those in power to account, shining a light on public issues that affect our local readers and illuminating the stories that set the Charlotte area and North Carolina apart. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@charlotteobserver.com
This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 5:03 AM.
