Business openings: Orange Leaf, Five Below, more

MUNCIE – A variety of new businesses are set to open in Muncie in the coming days and weeks — although some will come later rather than sooner.

Here's the lowdown on the status of new businesses:

Orange Leaf, a national frozen yogurt chain, will open in a commercial shopping center off McGalliard Road, near Buffalo Wild Wings, Panera and a new Burger King. Orange Leaf will open soon, owner Gurpartap Gill told The Star Press recently.

"We are probably 10 to 14 days away from opening," Gill said Friday. "The store is built out and ready to go. A unit on our rooftop that keeps our yogurt cold is missing two parts and we're just waiting on those parts."

Gill expressed some frustration that his opening has been delayed.

"I would have loved to open four months ago in the dead heat," he said.

Another frozen yogurt business, Let's Spoon, is working toward its opening in the Village Promenade development near Ball State University, local franchise owner Trake Carpenter said last week.

"We're shooting for the first day of the second semester (at Ball State)," Carpenter said. That's the first Monday after New Year's Eve.

Work toward some of the 20,000 square feet of commercial space in the two Village Promenade buildings has been slow but steady since the 200-plus apartments and 300-plus-spot city parking garage opened in August. Brothers has opened its restaurant and bar in the west building, where Let's Spoon also will locate.

"I don't think the delayed construction affected my build-out," said Carpenter, who is bringing the northern-Indiana-based frozen yogurt business to Muncie.

Along busy McGalliard Road, work continues in the Muncie Marketplace commercial development near Target and Muncie Mall. Dick's Sporting Goods and Michaels, an arts, crafts and decor retailer, opened this fall.

Work is ongoing and the name is up on the storefront that will be home to Five Below, a retailer that features merchandise priced at $5 and less. But don't look for Five Below to be open for Christmas shopping,

"Our location in Muncie will not open this year and we do not have a confirmed date for it yet," Five Below spokesman Liz Romaine told The Star Press.

In outlots in front of Dick's, Michaels and Five Below, construction is still underway on McAlister's Deli. Franchise manager Charlie Hensley did not return recent calls seeking comment, but he had previously told The Star Press that the local outpost of the restaurant chain might not open at the start of winter, saving an opening until late winter or early spring.

In a Muncie Redevelopment Commission meeting last week, MRC director Todd Donati said McAlisters "was not anticipating opening until spring or February."

In another outlot at Muncie Marketplace, the storefront for Men's Wearhouse looks to be nearing completion. The company did not return calls seeking comment, but posters in the store's windows say the company is hiring and Donati said Men's Wearhouse "should open soon."

Building permit filings indicate that at least one smaller storefront in the development could be occupied by an AT&T store.

Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Twitter: @keithroysdon