Rooms To Go, Miller's Ale House finally opening at Daytona's Tomoka Town Center
Clayton ParkDAYTONA BEACH — Two stores whose plans to relocate to Daytona Beach's Tomoka Town Center were announced in 2019 are finally set to open in the next few days.
Rooms To Go will open its new 3-in-1 format home-furnishings store on Saturday, along the east side of Interstate 95, directly north of Tanger Outlets. The 55,400-square-foot standalone store is more than three times the size of the Seffner, Florida-based chain's previous Daytona Beach location 3 miles to the south.
The now-closed store at 2375 W. International Speedway Blvd. had been a fixture on the southwest corner of ISB and Williamson Boulevard for nearly 30 years.
"We are so excited about our new Daytona Beach showroom," said Rooms To Go CEO Jeffrey Seaman in a news release. "We have been a part of the Daytona community since 1993 and can't wait for customers to discover our latest store design, featuring adult, kids and patio furniture, all under one roof."
Monday to be Miller's time
On Monday, another longtime tenant along ISB will reopen in a newly completed standalone store at Tomoka Town Center: Miller's Ale House, which is located on the southwest corner of LPGA and Outlet boulevards, just east of the I-95/LPGA Boulevard interchange.
The new Daytona Beach home for Miller's Ale House replaces the restaurant chain's former location at 2610 W. International Speedway Blvd. which opened in 1994.
The News-Journal was unable to reach officials at Miller's Ale House for comment on Thursday.
At 7,220 square feet, the restaurant chain's new eatery is roughly 1,000 square feet smaller than the previous one, but features a more modern, brightly lit interior, and is in a highly visible location directly facing LPGA Boulevard, across the street from the 104-pump Buc-ee's, the state's largest gas station/convenience store.
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LPGA area keeps on growing
Rooms To Go and Miller's Ale House are the latest in an increasing number of retail stores and restaurants relocating to the LPGA area. The corridor has become a hotbed for growth in recent years.
Since Tanger Outlets opened in November 2016, the area immediately surrounding the Interstate 95/LPGA Boulevard interchange has welcomed three more shopping centers: Tomoka Town Center, Latitude Landings, and the Shoppes at Williamson Crossing. It has also seen an explosion in new homes, including the fast-growing Jimmy Buffett-themed Latitude Margaritaville 55-and-older community and ICI Homes' all-ages Mosaic "full life" community, and luxury apartment complexes.
"I think the hot growth in the LPGA area is going to continue," said G.G. Galloway, a commercial Realtor and principal with Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark in Ormond Beach. "With all the new roof tops (new homes and apartments) going up over there, it's one of the hottest areas between Jacksonville and Melbourne. It's hotter than hot."
Carl Lentz IV, managing partner of SVN Alliance Commercial Real Estate Advisors in Ormond Beach, said he expects to see more new stores, restaurants and commercial development along LPGA Boulevard in the future. "There's still a lot of interest in that corridor," he said.
New Rooms To Go gets thumbs up from customers
Palm Coast residents Gerry and Antonia Agerbeck dropped by the new Rooms To Go store on Thursday, unaware that it was a "soft opening" to give its 50 employees a chance to get used to showing customers around the new 3-in-1 concept store prior to Saturday's official grand opening.
"We actually went to the old store and there was a sign saying they had relocated here," said Antonia Agerbeck, while checking out the "sleep gallery" section in the new Rooms To Go store with her husband and their dog, Sadie.
"It seems very spacious and it has a lot of product to look at," she said as her husband stretched out on one of the mattresses on display.
Gerry Agerbeck said it was his and his wife's first time shopping at a Rooms To Go store, which they decided to check out after visiting the nearby Daytona International Auto Mall, on the other side of I-95 from Tomoka Town Center. "This store is very bright," he said. "Easy to get around."
Saturday's grand opening festivities for Rooms To Go at Tomoka Town Center will begin at 10 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting. The event will include raffles for prizes including furniture, consumer electronics products and gift cards. A portion of the sales made on opening day will be donated to the local nonprofit charity Food Brings Hope. The store's regular hours of operation will be Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Miller's Ale House opens on Monday. Its regular hours of operation will be Sunday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.