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j85s13 t1_iqrl3ir wrote

I didn't realize that was the last one - wild!

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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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bubbygups t1_iqrvmli wrote

Coming for Roebuck next, mf'ers ...

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PenguinLegos t1_iqrm08r wrote

I’m just wondering what will happen to Meriden Mall. That place is definitely closing soon.

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Mr_YD t1_iqrq8du wrote

Buckland hills mall seems like it will close soon also.

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Flylatino24 t1_iqs893i wrote

Looks like Westfarms will be the last standing mall in CT.

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missvicky1025 t1_iqtw6fd wrote

Danbury Fair isn’t going anywhere. They’re opening a 5 below and a target in the mall, and primark is a huge draw.

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lorde_vick t1_iqv3nfl wrote

I was just there today and it was so busy it made me smile

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Flylatino24 t1_iqvxu3t wrote

It brings back childhood memories huh? I think the peak of that mall was the 90s

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lorde_vick t1_iqvxzvr wrote

I grew up in the 2000’s and my local was brass mill, even then it was always sooooooo full, it was great

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Flylatino24 t1_iqvyyb1 wrote

Even during that time it was still crazy especially in the fall Christmas rush

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midnightIIrider t1_iqshfag wrote

I can’t see Buckland Hills closing any time soon. It’s always got people shopping in there and I have to go through it to get home and there’s always cars.

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PrpleMnkyDshwsher t1_iqt7ddz wrote

Malls nearly never come back from 2 dead anchors. It just takes time.

If Macys or Jcp close, it will accelerate.

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqt9nju wrote

Eastbrook mall in storrs too.

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EroticEmpress t1_iquz2s4 wrote

I can't believe this mall is still open. There's basically no stores along the side not facing the main road. I've watched so many businesses come and go through the last couple years. It also looks like it got stuck somewhere in the 70s.

I get the impression they're converting it into a strip mall though.

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqvoy94 wrote

Me either. It’s pathetic. I feel bad for the movie theater. I don’t want it to go away but it’s literally handcuffed to a corpse at this point.

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EroticEmpress t1_iqvp0ic wrote

That movie theatre is in serious need for an upgrade too.

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BirdBearHareFishy t1_iqwcoi3 wrote

I know but I doubt they can afford it because they have so little money coming in! I can’t believe they even stay open.

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EroticEmpress t1_iquymfn wrote

It is still hanging in there pretty well considering other makes I've been to. People still like to shop at these places.

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Mr_YD t1_ir4ksbg wrote

Ever since covid it just seems pretty dead when I go in there (compared to pre covid). Online shopping is booming. Plus a few stores has closed in there. Hopefully it doesn’t close soon bcuz that’s just lost jobs. But West Farms stays pretty packed.

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Mandalore108 t1_iqt4bza wrote

Malls just aren't needed anymore, not in this era and I don't see a future for them.

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MrSteven20618 t1_iqtakj7 wrote

Absolutely, now find out what they still charge for rent for the smallest space. Doing it to themselves. Buckland is no different

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angeldeb82 t1_iqri269 wrote

Wow! We used to go there to shop for clothes many years ago. So much memories!

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DJPicard2004 t1_iqtl3pl wrote

I never understand why people like malls so much but then vehemently fight against having a walkable neighbor hood. It's basically just a mall but people don't need top drive to get to it. I'd imagine a big reason for these mall's closures is because people just don't want to make the drive when amazon is cheaper. If we could walk 5 min to a store i think it would be a different story. Hopefully whatever comes after the malls close is more productive with their land use.

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myrmad0n t1_iqs522q wrote

From what I understand the owners of sears were free market fetishists who believed in "the power of competition" sooooo much that they had the departments of their own stores compete for resources

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jay_sugman t1_iqswk3f wrote

Sears was systematically gutted by the CEO to squeeze all the value out until there was little left. https://prospect.org/economy/sears-gutted-ceo/

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myrmad0n t1_iqsx1bc wrote

Turns out, we're both right https://www.businessinsider.com/eddie-lamperts-sears-strategy-disaster-2013-7

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PrpleMnkyDshwsher t1_iqt7qzx wrote

Sad part is they had the inventory, logistics, supply partners and infrastructure to be the online monster Amazon is now. They even dabbled in some early online shopping ideas.

But sometime in the 90s they decided they would rather be a real estate holding company and shut down all the catalog distro.

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throwawaysscc t1_iqt7bue wrote

Craftsman tools. Kenmore appliances. These were great items, but are they now?

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Crixxxxxx1 t1_iqrczgd wrote

🎵Come see the deader side of Sears🎵

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murbike t1_iqs6zrb wrote

Last time I was in Sears at Buckland was to drop off a rental car at Avis in 1999. I had time to kill, so I wandered the store. It was well on the way out then, I'm surprised it hung on for so long.

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Magmaster12 t1_iqsuidv wrote

Didn't they just renovate the one Danbury, what a waste of money?

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missvicky1025 t1_iqtwgsj wrote

Danbury Fair isn’t going anywhere. Target is moving into where Sears was. 5 Below across from Old Navy.

They also just built the 2 new restaurants in the parking lot that are always jammed and Dicks expanded as well. Urban Outfitters opened this year too.

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Magmaster12 t1_iqty32p wrote

If only the rest of Connecticut was as vigorous as Danbury.

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wydellasaurus t1_iqsxgvy wrote

If only they had more parking. That would have saved it.

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iamspartacus5339 t1_iqt6m56 wrote

Wild. I bought my lawnmower from Sears in new london circa 2015. They were mostly closing up shop back then. Lawnmower is great.

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PorgCT t1_iqtwjf5 wrote

I bought a floor model dishwasher for a house I was selling during their final sale. It was like $200. Entire place felt like stepping back into time.

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CLS4L t1_iqvb2k4 wrote

Looks like most CT malls no people anywhere

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sgtpepper220 t1_iqvp7ar wrote

I wonder if my old manager from Bernie's was still there

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Last-Instruction739 t1_iqvpjqr wrote

My wedding band came from Sears. Sears You will always be with me. Pretty sure that’s the last thing I bought there, been married 11 years.

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TheSilentPartnerInCT t1_iqtaxi5 wrote

Is it any surprise when you constantly hear of the "young people" rioting/fighting in the malls,! Who wants to go there if they cannot be safe?

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/new-haven/large-police-presence-reported-at-ct-post-mall/

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/fairfield/man-6-juveniles-arrested-after-fights-break-out-at-trumbull-mall/

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/hartford/mall-fight-breaks-out-at-westfarms-mall-in-west-hartford/

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