Furniture store plans to relocate to north Macon. Here’s what we know.

Rooms To Go, a Florida-based furniture store chain, plans to open a new store on Riverside Drive to replace its location near the Macon Mall.

Peter Weitzner, vice president at Rooms To Go, said the company plans to open the store next to Hobby Lobby in the summer of 2020.

“We liked the Riverside location. It seems like a thriving … shopping area,” he said. “We think a store will do well in that area.”

The move follows a similar trend of stores relocating from shopping centers along Eisenhower Parkway to the Shoppes at River Crossing on Riverside Drive and North Macon Plaza on Bass Road.

“When a new shopping area opens, it’s the new, glitzier shopping area, so people often gravitate to a new, glitzier place,” Weitzner said.

The employees from the location at 3172 Macon Tech Drive, off of Eisenhower Parkway, will be moved to the new location, and Weitzner said he believes they will need to hire more employees because the new location will have more customers. They will have around 20-25 employees at the new location, he said.

They plan to have a sale at the Eisenhower location this summer, he said.

The Eisenhower location, which opened in 1998, will close around the same time the Riverside Drive location opens. The new location will have an updated design from the current location.

“I think people are going to be excited. It will be a beautiful place to shop for furniture,” Weitzner said.

The chain has about 100 stores in states like Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Texas and as far away as Puerto Rico.

This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 6:00 AM.