NORTHWEST PRESS Your Community Press newspaper serving Colerain Township, Green Township, Sharonville, Springdale, Wyoming and other Northwest Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Sears closings will affect Florence, Northgate malls Jennie Key and Melissa Reinert Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Leaders from Colerain Township and Florence were not shocked by Thursday’s announcement that Sears stores in their malls were closing. Sears Holdings announced it is closing 46 more Sears and Kmart department stores in November, including Sears in Florence and Colerain Township. The Sears at Northgate Mall is a legacy anchor, there since the mall opened in 1972. The mall manager could not be reached for comment. Colerain Township officiais are aware that so-called big-box retail is waning, and administrator Geoff Milz has secured a grant to pay consultant Dinn Focused Marketing to produce a housing market analysis for the mall site. The study evaluates the viability of transforming the mall into a mixed-use center. Milz said in June that traditional and regional malls are in a time of change. In an effort to be proactive, he approached the Tabani Group, which owns the mall, to talk about transitional uses for the property and the owners were willing to consider other uses.
Milz said adding residential uses to the mall site would introduce new potential customers for the mall. Trustee Dan Unger said the announcement was not unexpected, but mall owners are innovative and he expects they will see this as an opportunity. “Sears started as a mail-order retailer and changed the face of retail 100 years ago,” he said. “I’m sorry to see it, as I always liked the store. But we are looking at this as an opportunity for the mall and the township.” Reaction from shoppers was mixed. Mary Hughes, who lived in the township for more than 50 years, said it was no surprise. “I liked the Land’s End things, but not much else. They need a change,” she said. “The whole mall does. I am only surprised it did not happen sooner. You never see anyone in there when you shop. It’s only a matter of time before the mall closes, too.” But Kay Thibault, who moved to the township in 1978, said the announcement was a disappointment. “I always liked to shop there and I loved their appliances,” she said. “It’s a shame.” See SEARS, Page 2A
The Sears at Tri-County Mall closed in June and now stores at Northgate Mall and Florence Mall are set to close in November. FILE PHOTO
Steve Mondy, owner of Wyoming Shoe Repair, dies on bucket list trip Sheila Vilvens
Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
They flew to Las Vegas together to check off bucket list items in the surrounding area. Their trip ended abruptly on Aug. 14 with a tragic car accident on the Interstate 11 highway near Boulder City, Nevada that took both their lives. Steve Mondy and Chris Levo, both of Milford, were the best of friends. Their families say the friendship started about five decades earlier in high school. Mondy was a Loveland student. Levo attended Sycamore. Levo was like Guy Fieri and loved food, Kyle Mondy, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said of his father’s friend. The bucket list journey on which both men embarked was an opportunity for Mondy to visit sites of interest like Mt. Rushmore and the Grand Canyon. Levo was in it for the food. He wanted to experience diners along Route 66. Their entire trip was built around this concept. No advance reservations were made, according to Levo’s wife, Susan Levo. The men would call, she said, and work with her to find a hotel room each night in a nearby town. They were nearing the end of their travels when the crash occurred. "They were having a great time," Levo said. A Celebration of Life for both Levo
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Best friends Chris Levo and Steve Mondy of Milford died Aug. 14 while on a bucket list adventure out west. PROVIDED
and Mondy was scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 26 at Horizon Community Church Chapel in Newtown. Members of the Levo family were volunteers and attendees at Horizon Community Church, connections pastor John Kirby said. Chris Levo’s sense of humor and energy will be greatly missed, he said. The trip was a chance of a lifetime for Mondy who never had the opportunity to travel. He spent the majority of his life helping other people, daughter Stephanie Mondy said. He married twice. He lost both wives to illness, she said. As their health failed, he was there to care for them. He was also tethered to his business, Kyle Mondy said. A third-generation cobbler, he learned the business from his
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father. Wyoming Shoe Repair was opened by Claude Mondy in the 1960s. Steve Mondy purchased the business from his father in the 1980s. Kyle and Stephanie Mondy used the Wyoming Shoe Repair Facebook page and webpage to announce his death. They are making plans to reunite people with their belongings. Susan Levo said her husband worked many years as a distributor for Dolly Madison, which later became Hostess. His route brought him into contact with numerous people. Many of them are generously reaching out to the family expressing sympathy and support, she said. As the families struggle to make sense
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