Seven local businesses are being asked to relocate as a west-side strip mall is being sold and demolished.

Bob and Judy Lewis, who own the strip mall at 821 Jackson Blvd., informed the tenants last week of the sale and asked that they evacuate by the end of the year.

The Lewises wouldn't comment on what might replace the strip mall, but some business owners said they had heard a fast-food restaurant was considering the location.

"I was kind of surprised," said Dory Kent of Emy's Salon and Day Spa, who has a business in the location near the west-side Safeway. "I expected to be here for a long time."

Vicki Barlean of Cakes & More and Quilt Time is facing the challenge to find a place big enough for her two businesses.

"I'm sure I'll find something," she said. "I'm tickled to death for the landlords," who Barlean said were retiring.

Ted French, owner of Rapid City Hearing Aid Center, said the news knocked the wind out of him. His company would have been celebrating its 20th year at that location, but now will have to do it somewhere else.

"When I first heard about it, I felt bad. I was bummed," said French, who likes the location. "Onward and upward," he said. "The office is small. We're looking for a bigger and better office with higher visibility. We're trying to be positive."

Betsy St. Pierre of Magic Touch Beauty Salon was sad when she found out.

"It's been 46 years as a beauty shop. That's a lot of history," St. Pierre said. Most of her customers already know about the change, and now, St. Pierre has found a new place a couple blocks away. "I hate to lose my little shop."

It doesn't take long to walk from one end of the strip mall to the other, creating a feeling of a close-knit mini-community.

"We all get along so well," St. Pierre said. "I hope to have as good of neighbors as I have here."

The news was difficult for at least one customer Thursday.

"I'm disappointed," said Jodi Mills of Rapid City, whose daughter, Jordan, was getting her hair cut at Emy's Salon and Day Spa. "It's inconvenient," she said about the move. "We know what's here and where it's at."

Businesses in the strip mall at 821 Jackson Blvd.:

* Magic Touch Beauty Salon

* American Family Insurance

* New Image Styling Salon

* Black Hills Appraisal

* Cakes & More

* Quilt Time

* Emy's Salon and Day Spa

* Rapid City Hearing Aid Center