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The lights might be on here, but it's clear nobody's home.

Whether it's a weekday evening, a Saturday afternoon or lunchtime on Friday, there just aren't shoppers at the city's international mall.

As you walk the bright halls and peer into shop windows, the only footsteps you'll hear at FantaCity are your own.

This $10 million investment seems like a fantasy — a dream the center's owners can't quite realize. Look at the empty halls. The papered store windows. The clothing shops where well-lit displays beckon you — until you try the doors and realize that, despite the posted hours, business is done for the day.

When John Kim, a local businessman, bought the former headquarters of Guilford Mills, this quiet wasn't what he envisioned. In the crumbling, cluttered building, he saw the potential for a melting pot.

He saw a mall where different cultures could shop, eat, learn and mingle.

The first stores opened there early this year, with retailers and restaurateurs steeped in Indian, Latin, African, Asian and Southern cultures scheduled to follow.

Some have. Others, though, have shut down, bailed out or stalled.

Spaces sit empty with "For lease" signs slapped in the windows. A few have popped up on Craigslist online, with owners advertising "negotiable" prices and willing to sell or lease — whatever brings in a tenant.

The sign advertising Dream Tours, a Maryland-based bus service that runs along the East Coast, has come down. A deal with the company owner has fizzled, just another dream likely to be cast aside. The station where travelers were supposed to wait for buses to New York, Atlanta and Washington has become a small, glassed-in conference room.

And the intended anchor, GrandMart International Foods, has backed out of opening a supermarket at the center. FantaCity owners never had more than a verbal contract with the ethnic market chain, said Corey Soldano, the center's marketing manager.

Despite this, Soldano seems optimistic.

He and John Kim have found a replacement grocer, a GrandMart take-off called Super GMart International Food.

Owner Stephen Kim, a former restaurateur, insists he could open the huge GMart by February.

The 75,000-square-foot store will feature about 36,000 square feet of groceries and 17 smaller eateries and boutiques carrying items such as flowers, videos and cosmetics.

Stephen Kim also hopes to secure a Korean restaurant or an upscale Chinese restaurant for inside the supermarket.

"This is what will make this place go up and down," he said. "It will be jumping. It better be jumping, let me put it that way. Because my theory is that I sell cheap, but I want a lot of people to come."

The center's other major draw — a 20,000-square-foot nightspot and restaurant — could open by the end of this month. The club, called Rumba D'Cache, features an indoor performance stage, a billiards room and long dance floor split by an enormous bar.

It can hold 1,000 people.

These large attractions seem to be what Soldano, who plans to open his own bakery at the mall within a month, is resting his hopes upon.

His struggles with small businesses may get simpler, he said, once shoppers at the grocery store and visitors to the club begin exploring the halls of FantaCity's two main retail buildings.

Retailers and management also are keen to point out the businesses that are growing.

An Indian convenience store, one of the first businesses to open at FantaCity, is expanding. Customers wait along one wall for shaves and trims at the barber shop, and women slip in and out of a nail salon and a shop that offers permanent makeup.

A tienda advertising 99 cent food sees steady traffic, and a martial arts academy regularly brings in students.

Kwan Juon, who opened his family's laundry at the mall in late September, isn't disappointed with the traffic. It will be months before his Laundry Depot breaks even, he said, but that's a natural part of opening any new business.

Standing outside his sparkling clean laundry, Juon looked down a hall lined with dark stores. These shops were full of merchandise, but their owners were absent.

He shook his head as he walked back through the laundry's double doors. FantaCity is the right idea, he said. The demographics are good, and shoppers are there, he said.

But the vision of a bustling mall full of shoppers from every imaginable ethnic group?

Well, that's still a fantasy.

Fresh Market to open store

The Fresh Market will open its relocated store in Winston-Salem at 9 a.m. Oct. 24.

The Greensboro-based grocer is replacing its store in the Thruway Shopping Center with a new model at 3285 Robinhood Road. Opening events will include performances by a live jazz band, free barbecue, a free coffee sample for the first 1,000 customers and cooking demonstrations throughout the week.

Aldi opens on Randleman

Bargain grocer Aldi has opened a Greensboro store at 2920 Randleman Road. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday and Saturday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Fashion house unveils line

Greensboro fashion house Mack & Mack will show off a new collection of Ultrasuede jackets at its downtown studio this week.

The three-day event, which is free, starts with a reception at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Do you have retail news for Michelle Jarboe? Call 373-7075 or send e-mail to mjarboe@news-record.com