Crepe Soleil in Suite 108 in the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley closed in late December, when its owners relocated the business to the Crossings Premium Outlets in the Poconos.
It’s not exactly been a happy start to the new year for the management at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, with several businesses closing their doors with little warning either just before or after Jan. 1.
In addition to the photo studio Portrait Innovations, which closed Jan. 3, and the restaurant Cosi, which apparently closed around Dec. 30, a shop that sold crepes at the Upper Saucon Township lifestyle center has also closed.
In the case of Crepe Soleil, the closure was because the shop’s owners decided to relocate their business approximately 45 minutes away to the Crossings Premium Outlets in Tannersville, Monroe County, according to a Dec. 20 post on the business’s Facebook page.
A post on the page from September encouraged Promenade Shops customers to “come visit us at the new location in the Crossings Premium Outlets.”
“Our last day open at The Promenade Shops Center Valley will be Thursday, Dec. 26,” the Dec. 20 post said. “We would like to send a HUGE thank you and Happy Holidays to our amazing customers who have supported us throughout the years. This week we have extended holiday hours and would love to see you all!”
Neither Portrait Innovations nor Cosi provided customers with notice that they would be closing, and in both cases other locations that were part of the respective chains that owned them also closed more or less simultaneously.
Crepe Soleil opened in early 2015 in an area of the Promenade Shops that once housed a small row of “fast-casual” eateries, including the former Pandini’s–which closed in October 2017–and the former Pita Pit. That area has been rebranded “The Patio” and includes a fire pit, outdoor seating and a stage for live entertainment that is offered in the warmer months.
In late September, a local Playa Bowls franchisee opened a new store on The Patio.
That opening, however, has been one of relatively few recent bright spots in terms of new retail at the Promenade Shops.
Other restaurants that have closed there in recent years include the Green Pepper, Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream and Shula’s Steak House, a high end restaurant which relocated to Center City Allentown before closing for good in early 2016.
Shula’s was an original tenant of the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, which opened in the fall of 2006 on Center Valley Parkway in Upper Saucon Township.
The shopping center was one of the first outdoor “lifestyle centers” to open in the area.
An inquiry form for information about leasing space in the Promenade Shops is available here.
“The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley offers great opportunities for long-term, short-term or seasonal leasing,” the center’s website says. “Space is limited and terms of agreement vary based on type of merchandise sold, space requirements and time of year.”
