'The location is personal': Peoria shopping center soon to mark 50 years in business

PEORIA — Marvin Goodman died almost 15 years ago. But his office in the shopping plaza he founded 50 years ago in Peoria will live forever, if his grandson has his druthers.

“It’s untouched from when he died,” Eric Brinker said. “It literally is an ‘Austin Powers’ time machine in there.”

Brinker is president of Metro Centre, located near the southeast corner of Glen Avenue and University Street. Its first stores opened in 1972. Today, it has about 40 tenants, ranging from butcher shops to jewelers to restaurants and bars.

In an era where big-box national retailers can be primary occupants of even the smallest shopping centers, Metro Centre might be unique for not having one.

Many Metro Centre tenants are local small-business entrepreneurs, not part of national chains. That also might set it apart. So might the physical and emotional stake Brinker and his family have in the outdoor property.

That family includes Nancy Brinker — Goodman's daughter, Eric Brinker’s mother, former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and founder of the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation.

“They say the No. 1 rule in real estate is it should never be personal, because then you start making mistakes. Unfortunately, this is, like, highly personal,” Eric Brinker said with a chuckle.

“To me and my mom, we believe the location is personal. It’s a legacy that represents our family, but we also think it’s a way that we can continue to support the community. ... I’m very passionate about (it).”

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Management still has an office on the property

Brinker is passionate enough about Metro Centre to return to Peoria for about one week a month from his home in New York. There, he operates businesses that specialize in hospitality, retail and travel marketing.

In Peoria, Brinker bases himself at a Metro Centre desk adjacent to his grandfather’s office. It’s all part of a suite where Jason Fuller, the shopping-plaza manager, maintains a full-time presence.

Such a suite is unusual for this size and type of mall, to hear Brinker tell it.

“A lot of my friends in real estate think I’m crazy for keeping a staffed office here,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Why would you do that in Peoria? It’s a waste of money.’ Most places like this would not have on-site management that’s here every day.”

But it enabled the manager of a Metro Centre fabrics store to walk a few doors west to ask Fuller for help with a problem. And a Metro Centre restaurateur was able to enlist Brinker’s assistance in rebranding the establishment and updating its menu.

The personal touch and a central location might help explain why the plaza is at about 85% occupancy, Brinker and Fuller said. That’s the case even after the coronavirus pandemic affected retailers’ operating hours, procedures and profits.

According to Brinker, Metro Centre has lost only one tenant during COVID-19 — Seno Formal Wear, which closed all its stores nationwide. New tenants include Leah & Mack, a home-furnishing business that opened late last year.

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Being able to work with tenants individually regarding rent and other issues has helped limit attrition, according to Fuller.

“We’re one of the shopping centers that is still attainable for the mom-and-pop businesses,” he said. “You don’t have to be a large, corporate store to be able to rent space here.

“We’ve been fortunate. If you look at our tenant mix, many, many tenants have been here more than a decade. Lots of tenants have been here two decades. Some have been here three decades. They don’t move. If you’re successful, you stay.”

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Murals to be part of 50th anniversary celebration

Alexander Travel and Holmes Shoes are among the longest-standing Metro Centre retailers, Fuller said.

Last year, the outside look of the shopping center began to resemble its appearance when those businesses first opened. Roofs and other public areas were returned to a dark color scheme, to replace the recent bleached brown-beige.

The redecoration took place ahead of the Metro Centre 50th anniversary celebration. Officially, it’s to begin in June, Brinker said.

As part of that commemoration, Metro Centre plans to partner with local not-for-profits. That includes a continuing effort with Big Picture Initiative, a local arts-advocacy group.

Big Picture and Brinker developed a Peoria-centric mural, unveiled in December along a Metro Centre wall that faces University Street.

A cellphone app allows the public to access mural features through augmented reality, in which computer-generated information enhances real-world objects.

Set for installation this summer elsewhere in the complex is a triptych that is to depict Nancy Brinker and her sister Susan Komen, both Peoria natives.

Komen died in 1980 of breast cancer. Her widower, Stan Komen, operated a wine-and-liquor store for decades in a Metro Centre outbuilding.

The local Race for the Cure, a major Komen-foundation fundraiser, and its successor More Than Pink walk have begun and ended at the shopping center.

Again, for Eric Brinker, it’s personal. But it’s also business, which appears to be solid.

“We want the community to know that we’re here, we’re committed to this project and property, we’re committed to Peoria and, most importantly, we’re optimistic,” Brinker said.

“We’re not down in the dumps. We think there’s a lot of opportunity here, which is why we’re doing what we’re doing.”