Two new stores are popping up in Marketplace Center, Warsaw: Pier 1 Imports and a new branch of Courthouse Coffee.

Courthouse Coffee, located next to Elder-Beerman, is open now and the open house is coming up.

"It's just beautiful," said Gary Salyer, the exclusive leasing agent of Marketplace, of the new enterprises.

Salyer owns Warsaw Real Estate, which specializes in commercial-retail sales.

Salyer started negotiations with Courthouse Coffee owner Paula Bowman in May and is pleased with the results.

The exterior for Pier 1 is finished and all that remains to do is landscaping and interior remodeling. Salyer said the owners are not commenting on the exact date for the store to open, but he said it will be soon.

"'Soon' could mean several more months," he said. "The lease is signed. That's critical."

"They're excited about coming to Warsaw," he said of Pier 1.

Negotiations for Pier 1 started more than a year ago.

Elder-Beerman is also a recent addition to Marketplace. Salyer said the store opened in October 1999 and he had been negotiating with the owners in the fall of 1998. The preliminary lease was signed in March 1999.

"Elder-Beerman's been a big plus," said Salyer. "The shopping center is doing well."

He's selective about which stores he considers for Marketplace. He said there is about a 50-percent turndown of possible tenants. Stores need to match the other stores and fit into the Marketplace atmosphere. Salyer said he doesn't want too many stores doing the same kind of business and he wants stores that feel Warsaw is big enough to support them.

There are plans for two or three more stores.

"We have two or three vacant stores and we're negotiating them," said Salyer. [[In-content Ad]]