Jill Fier

The University Mall has seen quite a few changes over the last few months, including stores relocating, new businesses arriving and remodeling.

Lewis pharamcy opened its doors the week after Thanksgiving near the main entrance of the mall.

Pharmacy manager Ken Main said the business came to Brookings because of the growing need for another pharmacy in the area.

“Lewis is a progressive business, and the last couple of years there has been a huge demand and need in Brookings,” he said.

“They have had their eye on Brookings for some time, and the time was right to help with the pharmacy needs of Brookings.”

Main also said that Lewis has made a commitment to Brookings to build a full-size store in the future.

He said the company had originally been looking to build a full-size store in town, but they were unable to find a good location and wanted to at least open a pharmacy while they kept on looking for a space for the larger store.

Main said the building they hope to see in the near future will be comparable to the new Lewis store that was built in Madison last April. “The sooner, the better.”

Two other existing Brookings businesses recently made the move over to the University Mall.

Hometown Variety, which was previously located on South Main Ave., moved in December, as did Cowboy Up, which had previously been located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Third Street.

David Spaulding, owner of Cowboy Up, said that he moved his business to the University Mall because they sold their old building and were looking for a location to give the store more traffic.

Employees of Hometown Variety echoed similar sentiments.

The University Mall has also been remodeling in the north end of the building, but mall employees will not say whether or not the area has specific businesses moving in.

The construction has blocked the northeast entrance to the mall and the south entrance to Runnings Fleet and Farm in the north end of the building.