Crabtree retailers were abruptly told to leave the mall. Here’s what we know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Crabtree Valley Mall kiosk owners must vacate by end of September 2025.
- New owner Macerich plans $60 million in renovations.
- Operators face lost holiday sales and scramble to relocate.
For the better part of two decades, Dana Avitan has spent her days curling and straightening hair at her Hair Sensations retail cart at Crabtree Valley Mall.
She is one of about a dozen people operating the retail merchandising units at the mall, offering products such as sunglasses, custom fragrances and chocolate. Over the years, they have established themselves in the hyperlocal community, chit-chatting with mall walkers and growing their businesses alongside each other.
“It’s like neighbors, but like best friends, almost like family,” Avitan said. “We always took care of each other and helped each other.”
But recent news will soon put an end to all of that. Avitan and the other RMU operators at the Raleigh mall were informed last week they have to leave by the end of September. The permanent kiosks are not included in this decision.
“It’s definitely shocking and heartbreaking,” Avitan said.
The decision means that the RMU operators will miss out on the busy, and lucrative, holiday shopping season. Avitan said she has customers who make the trek every year from as far as Wilmington, Fayetteville and Greensboro.
“This is the hot season,” Avitan said. “That’s when we make the most money.”
WRAL first reported this news.
Crabtree mall’s new owners
RMUs have been a fixture at Crabtree Valley Mall, and some of the businesses that call them home have been under the same ownership for more than a decade.
But the popular Raleigh mall was purchased earlier this year by California-based real estate investment trust Macerich Company. And the new owners have plans for $60 million of upgrades to lighting, landscaping, handrails and paint.
Eliminating the RMUs, longtime and newcomers alike, wasn’t announced along with the property improvements.
“As part of our vision, we’re reimagining our common areas,” Drew Dunzweiler, senior specialty leasing manager at Crabtree, said in an emailed statement. “This means creating a more open and vibrant environment that enhances traffic flow, improves space utilization, and allows for the introduction of exciting new retail, dining, and entertainment offerings for our guests and the community.”
Previously, Avitan said RMU operators heard they would be getting new, more modern-looking carts. That never happened.
Avitan wants the mall to reconsider its decision — maybe allow RMU operators to stay until at least the end of the year, so everyone would have more time to figure out their next move. Or perhaps the RMU operators could adjust their businesses, to help bring about the “light, bright and more modern” look the mall’s new owners are building.
Next steps for retail carts
A business like Avitan’s needs the foot traffic that a mall provides. She has already contacted The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, but there isn’t room for her there.
Some RMU operators run the businesses themselves. But some, including Avitan, have hired help who would also be affected by the closures.
Not all RMU operators see this news as a negative, though. Terrance Taylor, owner of Nazar Fragrances, had already been planning to leave Crabtree by January 2026.
“Nazar is still a company as long as I’m breathing,” he told The N&O in a phone call.
Customers will still be able to shop for Nazar Fragrances’ products, made with a high oil content to create a long-lasting scent, online. And eventually, Taylor said he wants the fragrances to be sold inside large retailers, such as department stores.
Still, he echoed what Avitan suggested, and said it would have been more fair to allow the RMUs to remain throughout the holidays.
This story has been updated with clarification about the retailers leaving the mall and a statement from Crabtree.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 12:05 PM.
