An application to split the Silver City Mall site into two parcels has been filed and a demolition permit requested for the eastern half of the mall, apparently to make way for a proposed Lowe's Home Improvement Store.
But businesses still leasing space in the mall have not been notified to find other locations.
Operators of Los Tres Amigos and Thai Spice Gardens restaurants, at the east end of the mall, said Wednesday they have received no word from owner Tsutomu "Tom" Wakimoto if or when they would have to vacate their leased spaces.
Lowe's representatives told local officials in January, as they sought permits for construction of the store, that the company planned to move quickly on the project and wants to have the 135,197-square foot store open by the end of the year.
A Lowe's spokesman could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
The demolition permit request was logged at the city Community Development Department and the parcel map requesting division of the mall site.
Wakimoto has declined to confirm the rumored sale to Lowe's, reportedly telling tenants that anything could happen until final papers are signed.
But several commercial tenants have found new locations without waiting for their leases to be terminated.
Silver State Fitness was the most recent, moving across Fairview Drive last weekend after remodeling a former beauty school at 1945 Idaho Street.
The Palladium, a slots and video poker arcade in the mall owned by the operators of Slot World, recently closed down.
Gary's Sports Cards and Sam's Collectables also moved across Fairview Drive, the Spear Me hair studio move to Winnie Lane and J&R Electronics now is operating out of the owners' Silver Springs home, while still servicing Carson City and Douglas, Washoe and Lyon counties.
Plans filed by Lowe's show that the eastern half of the mall will be demolished, but the Sav-On Drugs and Office Depot stores would remain, as would the Big Al's Pizza and Ming's Chinese Restaurant buildings.
Wakimoto owns several businesses in the mall, including the Amimoto Japanese restaurant, the Bookcellar bookstore and the Gift Box and Treasure Island gift shops.