RETAIL/LEISURE : Withered Market Prompts Closure of Mall Nursery

Most nurseries are located outdoors, which made the plant nursery at a mall in Santa Ana seem a little odd. Apparently, a lot of customers must have thought so, too.

Roger’s Gardens at the MainPlace/Santa Ana mall is closing as tight as a Venus flytrap in the next few months.

“We have been planning the announcement for some time but were delayed by the need to complete arrangements with Roger’s Gardens, which has not been able to find a substantial market here for its nursery and boutique products,” said Tanya Thomas, the mall’s general manager.

The nursery will be replaced by one of Orange County’s most lavish record and videocassette stores. Trans World Music Corp., based in Albany, N.Y., plans to open a Record Town/Saturday Matinee store at the site of Roger’s Gardens next July. The store will feature a giant piano on the wall next to the checkout counter, a wall with a giant video screen playing the latest movies and a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible at the front of the store.

A “music preview” counter will allow customers to listen to highlights of 125 current recordings.