A report released Tuesday shows that retail sales in downtown Salt Lake City were up 36 percent last year, largely driven by business at City Creek Center. But some businesses at The Gateway Shopping Center say they are not seeing the same trend.
To find Bear Country Cookies at The Gateway Shopping Center you just follow your nose. Down the escalator from the movie theater, next to a few restaurants, you start to smell the cinnamon, almond, lemon, and butter. Owner Joel Clark says they rely on that smell to bring people in.
Clark says his business has consistently done well since they opened in 2003 - one of the first shops at the Gateway - but sales have dropped 35 percent since City Creek Center opened in downtown Salt Lake more than a year ago.
A recent Economic Benchmark report commissioned by Salt Lake City’s Downtown Alliance sees new retail leasing activity at The Gateway as a positive sign that sales will go up. KUER
