In a year that has seen several business closings throughout Austin, a new leaf is turning on 18th Avenue Northwest as three of the five stores going into the old Hy-Vee have opening dates.

The first one, Shoe Sensation, will have a soft opening on Tuesday followed by a grand opening Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17, according to store manager Jody Orth. A ribbon cutting will take place at noon on Friday with the Austin Chamber of Commerce chamber ambassadors.

“We have a ton of different promotions going on Friday and Saturday,” Orth said. “Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., anybody that comes out, they get our employee discount of 30 percent off anything. On Saturday, the first 100 customers get a gift bag that will have a coupon card, gift card, and different stuff.”

Other promotions include a chance to win free shoes for a year on Aug. 16 and a chance to win free shoes for your immediate family on Aug. 18.

“Shoe Sensation is a brand-name family shoe store with shoes for men, women, children, as well as backpacks, socks and several other different accessories,” Orth said. “Come on out (next weekend) and join in the fun.”

Maurices will open in its new location at the old Hy-Vee on Thursday, Aug. 22, according to second assistant manager Bryn Koenigs.

“We are planning to move the following week,” she said. “We’ll be closed Monday through Wednesday (Aug. 19-21) and plan to be open (at the new location) Thursday, Aug. 22.”

Maurices assistant manager Madyson Pepper believes the move will be beneficial.

“(The move will allow Maurices) to be around more retail stores other than just the restaurants,” she said. “It’s better to be around the retail stores than over here. We’re excited to open.”

Five Below could not be reached for comment; however, a sign on the façade has a grand opening date of Friday, Aug. 30.

Austin also welcomed a new business this week as The Pet Authority opened its doors on Thursday at 803 18th Ave. NW. Owner Michelle Nelson said the reception has been “great.”

“The response has been overwhelming,” she said. “It absolutely blew away my expectations of what my first day in Austin would be like. I’m very, very happy.”

Nelson, who has owned The Pet Authority in Albert Lea for 14 years, saw the decision to open in Austin as practical.

“We have a large number of people from Austin coming to shop in Albert Lea, so being able to now bring the great products we have and the experience and the expertise we have at The Pet Authority to Austin and share with the rest of the community, we’re super excited about that,” she said. “We look forward to building great relationships with all of our human customers, along with their pets, and we’re looking forward to getting more involved in the community. We’re big community supporters and we can’t wait.”

Many were disheartened when it was announced in February that Shopko was closing its Austin location, one of many closed throughout the country. But despite the retail store’s closing, Shopko Optical remained, opening its doors at its new location at 1004 18th Ave. NW on Aug. 1.

“It’s the same company, same people at the top that we’re working for, they’re not changing anything,” said Shopko Optical manager Katie Mallory. “We have the same warranties, the same policies as we have always had.”

Mallory said that the closing of Shopko has caused a little bit of confusion.

“People think that because the store closed, everything closed,” she said. “Being where we’re at now, seeing as how there is a lot of traffic here, we’re getting more phone calls from people realizing we’re still here. The Albert Lea Shopko Optical did not go forward, so we’re getting a lot of clients from them as well.”

Mallory also said that while Shopko Optical employees were happy to still have jobs, it has been hard not seeing other former Shopko employees.

“It was heart-breaking to know that all of our co-workers from the main store were not going to be with us, but we’re still happy to be here and be a part of the community,” she said.