Lufteburgs Bridal has decided to move to a new location after 72 years in business there.
Luftenburgs Bridal is one of the last, larger retailers at the Fulton Mall. Almost everyone you talk with has bought a prom dress, wedding dress or tuxedo from the locally-owned shop. But over the years the owners said Fulton Mall has lost it's luster, the city is slow to revitilize, and they are concerned it is dragging down their business.
Luftenburg's Bridal has sold designer gowns and tuxedos to families in Downtown Fresno for more than seven decades.
"The name has been on the fulton mall for 72 years so it's been a long time," said Delores Sulenta, Luftenburgs owner.
Even if you haven't shopped at Luftenburg's before you probably remember it's name from the backwall overlooking Chukchansi Park. But that will change, Sulenta has decided to move the long-time Fulton Mall fixture to a new location.
" You hear of all the things they're hoping to do and it just hasn't come about. That's not saying it's going to happen, it's just not happening fast enough for us and I want to just get some place where I don't have to worry about it anymore," Delores Sulenta Lufteburgs Owner.
A place like the Old Golden Horse on Shaw and Blackstone, where the store will have it's own parking lot and construction crews are building bigger fitting rooms to accomodate larger crowds
But with another vacant space opening up what does this mean for the future of the fulton mall? Director of business development Craig Scharton said a number of investors have expressed interest in the building and he is confident the store will be sold soon.
" You can see this building from every seat of the ballpark, right? You've got an entrance here that only one out of 14 people use because nothing is opened right here so the excitement for this building is to get an entertainment venue here," Sharton said. " And the real dream is to get fresno's first rooftop bar."
Sulenta and a few customers Action News talked with supported the idea of a rooftop bar and thought an entertainment district would be a good fit. In the meantime, the city has also applied for a federal grant to open up the Fulton Mall to vehicle traffic. The results of that application will be known in September.
