Luxury furniture retailer Arhaus to open massive store at International Plaza in Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 29, 2020

Luxury furniture retailer Arhaus will open a massive store at International Plaza in Tampa.

To make way for Arhaus, mall owner Taubman Centers demolished the walls between seven smaller stores on the lower level near Dillard's, according to city building records. The demolition, a $150,000 project, took place in late 2019. Building out Arhaus' new 14,320-square-foot store was a $1.6 million job, according to city records.

The store officially opens Nov. 6. Arhaus bills its furniture as "heirloom quality" and sustainably sourced and built.

At over 14,000 square feet, Arhaus is a major win for International Plaza. Enclosed malls have been pummeled by the novel coronavirus pandemic, as apparel stores, restaurants and department stores have all struggled to keep their doors open. Dozens of mall-based retailers have declared bankruptcy or shrunk their physical footprint in recent years, and Covid-19 has exacerbated the competition brick-and-mortar retailers face from e-commerce.

The location is the fifth Arhaus store in Florida; the others are in Jacksonville, Palm Beach Gardens, Naples and Sarasota.

In Tampa, Arhaus is moving directly onto the turf of one of its main competitors: Restoration Hardware operates a four-story design gallery at International Plaza.

“Through another exciting design partnership with Philip Michael Brown Studio, Tampa’s storefront and exterior facades elicit the same timeless character as our handmade, artisan-crafted products, all while maintaining our commitment to sustainability and using reclaimed materials as much as we can," John Reed, CEO and co-founder of Arhaus, said in a statement.