Eric Stendal

The other day I stopped in at a local shopping mall to see the shoe cobbler there. This location also services watches, and I had my watch and that of my wife’s to have the batteries changed out because they were both dead.

I dropped off the watches and the fellow behind the counter said, “they’ll be ready in about 15 minutes, okay?” “Sure thing…I’ll just stroll around,” I replied.

I walked through the mall amazed at the emptiness of it all. There used to be a jewelry store that faced the cobbler’s shop. It was gone. Gone. Nothing left in that jewellers except an abandoned desk and some loose lumber lying on the floor next to exposed electrical outlets that once provided power to magnificent glass booths full of resplendent, shiny offerings.

I know that this particular jeweller (the place where we bought our wedding rings) has simply moved locations, but the shock of seeing it empty was impactful.

Strolling through the rest of the mall there was a cell phone cover vendor idly scrolling through his phone. He was sitting inside his booth surrounded by all sorts of cell phone covers and cases. No foot traffic besides me and maybe three others in the whole of the mall.

Amazingly, there was a record store in the mall celebrating 45 years of being in business! That would mean they ‘opened their doors’ in 1979. The mall could be that old. Astounding.

There used to be an Independent Grocers in the mall. And a Zellers before they closed and Target moved in. Now, that location serves as a GoodLife Fitness location. Many business have come and gone. One, a nail salon that was a long time tenant, left and moved their business into a home in the area. My wife is a loyal client and goes to this house to get her ‘mannies and peddies’ as I call it.

Oh. Don’t get me started on the “food court”. Here’s a photo of it. Anyone hankering for a little somethin’ to eat can use the vending machine that sits smack dab in the middle of what my wife once described as a major hub of activity and hanging out. There were two ladies each at separate tables eating their own lunch they brought from home when I walked by.

I stepped into a Reitman’s store thinking I’d be able to at least find a nice top to surprise my wife with. I looked over all the new arrivals and even her favourite part of the store (anyone hear ‘clearance’?). There was nothing that I knew she would like, so I left the store empty-handed.

Making my way back to the cobblers to collect our watches, I remembered how growing up the mall was a great place to go. It provided not only a place for us to gather for a shake or some food; it was also the place where many of us in high school obtained our first jobs. I worked at a Randy River location in the Surrey Place Mall. The same mall Mom used to bring us to for shopping (stopping at the Malt Stop for a hotdog and frosty).

I did a search on Google and came across the following article that summarizes succinctly and accurately the mall situation. Why Are Shopping Malls Dying?

Paying the $45.00 to the cobbler for our new watch batteries, I left the mall to continue on with the errands I had on my list that morning. I left sad at the state of the mall and the loss of life it once had. I know and understand why it’s that way, but it’s still sad. Especially for those of us who, growing up in the genre of the shopping mall and true ‘department’ store, miss those golden days.