By Dave Niinemets
Enquirer Contributor

NEWPORT - Newport on the Levee officials don't want the shopping and entertainment destination to have empty stores fronts that have plagued Forest Fair Mall for years.But they also don't want to be like Tri-County Mall or the Kenwood Towne Centre. The levee plan is to avoid recruiting stores found everywhere else.

The shopping center is 80 percent leased, said Ellen Brows, levee general manager. "(Developer) Steiner and Associates is working diligently to lease the property 100 percent," said Ms. Prows.

Some levee tenants, a combination of restaurants, retail and entertainment venues, have expressed concern that holiday sales are dipping from last year.

"Our sales for the day after Thanksgiving were $2,000 less than last year," said Kelly Funke, general manager of the Wacky Bear Factory. "We expected them to go up from the first year."

But Ms. Prows says recent overall sales numbers at the levee have been strong, especially in December. She says any slowdown could be a result of bad economic conditions.

Ms. Funke fears that the novelty of the first levee holiday season may have boosted last year's numbers.

Amy Neltner, manager of Sweet Dreams Candy Co., says she has heard older patrons complain that there are not enough clothing stores for their age group. She admits sales are down but says that is true at candy stores in other parts of town as well.

The candy store is technically part of the Newport Aquarium, but she doesn't think the levee's choices for tenants are a problem.

Ms. Prows said four new establishments will open in the coming months: Restaurants CafÈ Istanbul and Bar Louis and retail stores Deb Shop and Voicestream Wireless.

"This is a mix," said Ms. Prows. "It's not like Kenwood Towne Centre or Tri-County Mall. It's a unique mix of entertainment, dining and retail."

She added there was no truth to media reports a tenant meeting would be held to discuss concerns over tenants and empty store fronts. She said an anonymous e-mail was sent to the media.

The only meeting planned is today's monthly tenant meeting, which has been held every month for more than a year.