Can we talk about how I used to shop at malls vs. how I explore them now?

Back in 2008, I'd hit the Oxford Valley Mall every Saturday with my buddy Dave to grab a pretzel and browse Hot Topic. Now I go to the same place just to see how far the decay has spread since the Macy's anchor closed in 2019. Last month I walked through the food court and counted 14 empty stalls with old signage still hanging. The weirdest part is finding old receipts stuck to the floor from when people actually bought stuff there. Anybody else notice the little trash details that tell the story of a mall's fall?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_owens25d ago

That Hot Topic was in Sears, not near the pretzel place.

cora_martinez25d ago

Oh man, YES. Thank you for saying this because I always get that wrong in my head too. I swear that Sears layout was so weird with the mall entrance dumping you right into the clothes section, and then the Hot Topic was tucked away in this little nook near the electronics. I remember walking past that pretzel place and thinking it was close, but it was actually a good five minutes away on the other side. God, those mall maps were impossible to read too, everything looked like it was right next to each other. Glad I'm not the only one who had that mixed up.