Big change at The Summit: Clothing store out, first KY Amazon store coming
Brooks Brothers, one of the original tenants at The Summit at Fritz Farm, is closing after four and a half years, apparently to make way for another major retailer: Amazon.
The high-end clothing store opened in April 2017 when the $165 million mixed-use development at the corner of Nicholasville Road and Man o’ War debuted. The brand was one of the first tenants announced by developer Bayer Properties in March 2015.
Now signs on the store say the last day of business there will be Nov. 2.
Brooks Brothers store manager Taylor Robinson said that he has been told that “another retailer is taking our spot.”
A permit has been filed with the city to remodel that location for an Amazon 4-star retail store. A commercial permit was requested in August for an $860,000 remodel for a 5,185-square-foot retail store.
Amazon did not respond to requests for comment on the permit.
Representatives for The Summit at Fritz Farm also did not respond to requests for comment on Amazon or Brooks Brothers.
According to Amazon’s web site, Amazon 4-star stores are “designed to help customers discover products they will love. It’s a physical store that carries a highly curated selection of products from the top categories across amazon.com including devices, consumer electronics, toys, games, books, kitchen, home, and more. Every product in the store is rated 4 stars and above by our customers, a top seller, or new and trending on amazon.com.”
You can also test Amazon devices and smart home accessories there. Prime members get discounts on many products.
About the only thing you can’t get at the store is food. But The Summit also has Lexington’s Whole Foods store, which also owned by Amazon.
Amazon debuted the 4-star store concept in 2018 and has been gradually expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint, adding stores around the country. As of the end of September there were 31 but none in Kentucky yet. A location has been announced for the Kenwood Towne Center in Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, Brooks Brothers customers will have to go to the Oxmoor Center in Louisville for the nearest location.
Robinson, a Lexington native who has been with the store since it opened, said that he and the store’s handful of other employees don’t know if they will be offered jobs there.
“I thought we were doing pretty well. I love this company, love working for Brooks Brothers,” Robinson said. “Honestly I’m not sure what will happen. We’re all just pretty unsure of things.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 12:57 PM.
