ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — Late last summer, Courtney Krabbe and the other stylists at be a belle salon moved onto a new location near just across the street from Bay Park Square Mall in Ashwaubenon.

The move gave the six-year-old business more space.

“This was kind of home to me and it felt right. I like how busy it is over here,” Krabbe said.

It also put the salon in an area that officials say is seeing an uptick in business interest.

“It’s definitely changing now. A lot of things were taken down, or put back up, or they’re getting there,” Krabbe said. “Right across the street, we’re going to have a huge grocery store. I’m excited for that. That will hopefully be done by the fall. I think that will generate a lot of people back over here.”

She’s referring to a new Hy-Vee grocery store being built in a former Shopko store at the mall. It’s expected to open later this year.

Ashwaubenon’s Community Development Director, Aaron Schuette, said the mall has seen a reinvigoration the past few years with the addition of varied stores.

In recent years the mall lost anchor tenants like Shopko, Younkers and a Younkers Home Furniture Gallery.

“I think the mall, and Simon Properties, have done a great job in diversifying the interest there,” he said. “It’s not just department stores, but really now looking at entrainment there with Dave & Buster’s, a furniture store — Steinhafel’s — and bringing in Hy-Vee is really going to be a boost to that whole area as well.”

He said that upward swing in business has a wider impact across northeast Wisconsin.

“You look at the mall where it was two or three years go when it basically had three vacant anchor stores and all of a sudden we have all the anchor stores filled and in-line stores are stating to fill up,” Schutte said. “Developers see in that that this is an area that’s really growing and sustaining that growth over the long term. It does generate interest. Success begets success.”

Krabbe said the move to an area on that is growing may create some additional walk-in traffic for the salon.

“We’re kind of tucked away a little bit, so the grocery store that’s going in across the street will probably give us a little more exposure to other people who probably wouldn’t come over here and check it out,” she said.