So Long Shoe Carnival, Loveland’s Getting a ‘Five Below’ – What Is ‘Five Below?’

If you've been over to the Centerra Marketplace lately, you may have noticed that Shoe Carnival has closed. Coming soon, a new discount retailer lands in Loveland.

It wasn't that long ago that we brought you the story on how the first Dollar General is coming to west Loveland; now on the other side of town, Loveland has another new discount retailer.

Though I don't shop at Shoe Carnival, I have been driving passed their Centerra Marketplace location every day for a while now, after getting my morning coffee at Panera. It was just the other day that I noticed workers working on taking down the Shoe Carnival sign.

RELATED: Create Your Own Sneakers at Colorado Shoe School

Shoe Carnival started out in 1978, bringing a carnival experience to buying shoes: Loud music, folks on the loudspeaker harking out sales, "spin-and-win" wheels, etc. I've never shopped at one, but they sound like fun; especially when getting kids their shoes. They'd toned that down over the last few years, however.

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It seems there were Shoe Carnivals all over the Fort Collins area, but that is no longer the case; with the closing of the Loveland store, that only leaves Aurora, Lakewood and Grand Junction having locations.

FIVE BELOW ON THE WAY

I tried reaching out to the Centerra/McWhinney folks to find out who was moving in, but it only took a phone call to the business next door, Maurice's, to get the scoop. The women there told me that Shoe Carnival closed back in January of 2022, and a Five Below was coming in. "Five Below?" I asked, "Is it an ice cream shop?"

Nope.

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 fiVe BEL°W is a chain discount store that has been around since 2002, mainly trying to capture the "tween" and "teen" demographic. Most of their items run less than $5, though they do have items that run between $6 and $25.

There are currently 11 Five Belows in the Denver area; this will be the first in the Fort Collins/Northern Colorado area.