Saxon Shoes set for Fredericksburg

Saxon Shoes' footprint is expanding.

The family-owned retailer, which operates a store in the Short Pump Town Center in western Henrico County, plans to open a second location in the planned The Village at Towne Centre in Fredericksburg next spring.

The official announcement — which will include the names of retailers and restaurant operators on the initial list for the retail development — was made Monday.

"There is a real need for a shoe store like Saxon that can cater to everyone's wishes and whims in footwear," Saxon President Gary Weiner said.

The store at The Village will have about 19,100 square feet and carry nearly as much inventory of shoes, handbags and accessories as the Short Pump location does, Weiner said.

The company's first store was opened on East Grace Street in downtown Richmond in 1953 by Weiner's father. Saxon Shoes made a variety of other moves over the years, eventually landing a 26,700-
square-foot spot in Short Pump in 2005.

Saxon Shoes will be part of The Village development, a 200,000-square-foot open-air shopping center being built next to the Spotsylvania Towne Centre mall off Interstate 95.

Plans call for about 35 retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Construction of The Village is nearing completion, with most of the stores opening between next month and spring, said Joe Bell, a spokesman for the Cafaro Co., the Youngstown, Ohio-based developer and mall operator that owns Spotsylvania Towne Centre and The Village.

Bell declined to say which retailers had signed leases, but the mall's Web site said the Colonial-inspired lifestyle center will have Coldwater Creek, J. Crew and Lucky Brand Jeans stores and a Bravo restaurant.

Three streets run through the project, enabling customers to park in front of stores. A fourth street would be pedestrian-only.

Weiner said the retail project and demographics in the area are favorable for his store. Some customers from the Fredericksburg-area shop in his current store, he said.

"What we are seeing and hearing is the need for a shoe store in that area," Weiner said.

Gregory J. Gilligan is a staff writer at Media General's Richmond Times-Dispatch.