SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - CD Plus has moved locations, again, but this time, general manager Aaron Hernandez said he believes his business has found the right groove.

Aaron Hernandez, manager of CD Plus, stands in front of his store's new upper level location in the Centre Square Mall, where Hernandez and his staff of four relocated as of yesterday. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

"I think it's the perfect location for us because it's right on main street," said Hernandez of the store's new digs, situated across from Grower Direct in the Centre Square Mall, in the former home of By George.

The store opened there yesterday.

In the past CD Plus was located by the 50th Street entrance in the lower mall. Recurrent problems with flooding drove the store to a location beside the library elevator.

The lower level of the mall has been marked by the departures of several businesses in recent years whose spaces remain empty. The Bank of Montreal and Headgear moved out of the mall last year, while Jan's Cards and Gifts closed for good earlier this year, to name only three examples.

Not that the upper level is brimming with retailers; several spaces there – including that formerly occupied by Barren Land Jewelry, now located in the uptown Center Ice Plaza – also remain empty.

"The upper mall and lower mall are two totally different malls," said Hernandez. "The upper mall, there's just more happening upstairs. Downstairs, especially with a lot of the stores closing down, it's tough to find some of the stores because you never know what's around the corner. People general stay around The Source/Bootlegger area and never really come down our way.

"It was okay when Robin's Nest was open, because people would come down there. When they closed, we were screwed."

Shawnette MacNeil, property manager for the mall's lower half, could not be reached for comment.

Hernandez also said the store's old layout – it was split into two sections by a wall – made it difficult to display merchandise to his liking.

"Our main obstacle was not having a real wall to display most of our stuff, like in our old store," he said. "In this new location, we have half the store (being) wall space. We'll be displaying a lot more stuff, and it'll be a lot easier to access."

CD Plus currently employs four people, and if business picks up in the new location, more may be hired, said Hernandez.

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