It is steady, not enormously busy, but steady. We have our peak times. Our busiest time is on the weekend. The Ottawa department store occupies 10,000 to 12,000 square feet in the old Wal-Mart store at 2204 Princeton Circle Drive. It was the biggest retail opening of 1998 and filled a void left when Ottawa's J.C. Penney store closed following a devastating fire in its downtown building in 1992.
Stage also has departments for shoes, jewelry and fragrances.
Name brands include Liz Claiborne, Sag Harbor, Calvin Klein, Guess, Polo, Levi, Adidas and Chaps. Boyd said she just finished with a customer who found a certain style of Levi jeans for her daughter that usually sent her to the Kansas City area. Boyd said the Ottawa store has 11 employees, including management staff. The southern one-third is home to a Dollar General store, which opened in October, and the middle third remains vacant and available for lease. Boyd said the store's location has served Stage well, although some newcomers don't know what Stage is.