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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqrsks7 wrote

Malls are dinosaurs from a time that no longer exists.

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Usedtoknowsomeone45 t1_iqrydie wrote

Yeah instead of walking around with your friends and girlfriend, playing in the arcade, eating at the food court, seeing a movie....

Now you just order a shirt from Amazon sitting in your cum soaked underwear and microwaved hot pocket boxes and captain morgan bottles scattered on the floor, sending more tinder messages that go unread.

Life is so much better now.

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqspyax wrote

Hey I’m from the mall times. I actually miss it. But now it’s fuckin depressing to go. 2/3 of the shops empty. Just sad. I grew up in the 80s. Malls were the bomb. Especially if they had a movie theater!

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MessyRoom t1_iqvv6zx wrote

WeHa mall still poppin like crazy.

I guess it depends on location? Westfarms is close to a lot of things and right off the highway. Buckland just has the mall and other shoppes and there really isn’t anything around the same way WeHa has a lot around.

I think a mall closer to Hartford would be more profitable. Like somewhere in east Hartford instead of Clanchester

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqsqk88 wrote

Also I don’t drink, so it’s a no for the captain Morgan for me, I hate hot pockets, I prefer taquitos, I got married before tinder was a thing so I’m afraid I missed that boat, and I’m a squirter for sure but not generally when I’m wearing my underwear because by that point my husband has already gotten me out of them. Hey, you brought it up 😂

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blakeusa25 t1_iqu5hbk wrote

But when you do go out - you find the freeways full of trucks... not stop 24/7 ready to get you your box of cookies. In another 20 years it will only be trucks and mega warehouses. Its a hoax... its not better... only for a few greedy people at the top of the pyramid.

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Kodiak01 t1_iqs7n82 wrote

The rest of that mall is still pretty busy, though.

We recently were up at the Burlington Mall in MA. They took the Sears location and built an entire extension of the mall with a bunch of new stores, several restaurants and communal outdoor areas with everything from fire pits to cornhole to open turfed areas where they hold free exercise classes for the public. They really did a beautiful job, showed what can be done with the old spaces that isn't just a health club and urgent care center.

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Feralhousewife930 t1_iqsy3tf wrote

Burlington Mall is one of a few that are surviving. The big high end malls are hanging on.

Meanwhile, the searstown mall/ mall at Whitney field in Leominster MA is turning into an apex entertainment center.

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Kodiak01 t1_iqt06r2 wrote

Ingleside in Holyoke is still doing good as well.

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genji2056 t1_iqum4qj wrote

Round 1 is really clutching it for Holyoke imo

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Feralhousewife930 t1_iqvs6a6 wrote

I still miss Kahunaville and drunken college nights dancing on that bar. In the Holyoke mall. Gorgeous.

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HomerJSimpson3 t1_iqu8djv wrote

Buckland has been a dying mall since I started working there in 2010 at that Sears before moving to the mall office. The politics and egos of the both mall management, and to a lesser degree the store owners, lead to a mass exodus. Many of the anchor stores and main attractions are gone: Panera, Bertucci’s, Dick’s, Sears, Regency, all gone. Many replaced by dollar stores. I’ve heard rumors about Newburry Comics about ready to leave too. One of the mall’s biggest blunders was not attaching Dave and Busters to the mall itself. Management expected a huge increase in mall customers which never happened because it’s so far away from the main building.

Couple that with the mall having an absolute shit reputation due to the high profile Mall Brawls involving kids, shootings, drugs, etc Buckland is circling the bowl. The higher end malls like Westfarms are still doing very well for themselves though

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Vespaeelio t1_iquawyp wrote

I found the norwalk one pretty busy last time I went, not sure about Milford.

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PhilipLiptonSchrute t1_iqvf15t wrote

I walked through the Brass Mill Center last week, and I think the ratio of empty to occupied stores is close to 2:1

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Kodiak01 t1_iqvfisd wrote

This is what Burlington did with the old Sears property. There is also a mall entrance with more interior stores.

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PhilipLiptonSchrute t1_iqvfqzw wrote

That's smart. I don't see something like that ever getting legs in Waterbury though.

Watertown did something similar with the old Kmart. It doesn't have the outdoor seating, but very similar otherwise. Seems to be working well. All the spaces have been occupied for some time now.

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KittyKittyMeeeeoooow t1_iqt5qgt wrote

Don’t tell that to Westfarms.

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqt8wep wrote

A lot of stores have closed at west farms too. I was just there last weekend.

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KittyKittyMeeeeoooow t1_iqt929a wrote

Oh man, that’s a bummer; it’s always been a great mall. Love that we have a Lego store in the Hartford area.

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqta2f4 wrote

Oh god my husband loves that too.

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KittyKittyMeeeeoooow t1_iqtakh6 wrote

As he should! Don’t currently live in CT but it will always be home. Just today, drove 3 hours to the closest Lego store!

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqtauxm wrote

Ever been to Disney world? There’s a MEGA Lego store there.

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KittyKittyMeeeeoooow t1_iqtb3lf wrote

It’s been a solid 25 years since I’ve been to Disney World. We plan to go within the next 1-3 years though!

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqtqmxp wrote

Well it’s in downtown Disney and it’s worth the trip. Awesome selection.

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Windbreezec t1_ir0k7jx wrote

A lot of stores have closed at Westfarms, but they have been consistently filling up the vacant stores. One of the biggest losses was Lord & Taylor because that was an anchor store.

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LordConnecticut t1_iqtokpp wrote

Wait which ones? Oh man. When I was last there a few months ago only the old Lord & Taylor was empty. There were a couple coming soon space though, like Abercrombie returning after leaving 7 years ago.

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqtqiid wrote

Actually I just realized I was talking about the Crystal mall not westfarms. My bad.

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LordConnecticut t1_iqtqphd wrote

Ah that makes sense, I haven’t been down there in awhile but I heard all the anchors are gone. Unless you count target. Doesn’t seem Like it has long left.

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Windbreezec t1_ir0ke8a wrote

The ones that come to my mind are Lord & Taylor and one of the eye brow threading places, Brow Art 23. For me, everything else is solid. WestFarms has also recently opened a number of stores, so they are doing well (at least on the surface).

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