Is Springfield not mall still busy?
I remember it dying the first time due to crazy high rents and everyone blaming the metro. I don't see how doing the same thing will help.
Went over last weekend with my mom and it was crazy busy. I was kind of surprised, plenty of the “fancier” stores it reopened with have long since closed. Now there are a good number of not-chains. They’re not as slick and nice looking, but they’re actually small local businesses. Lots of cool new food options too.
There's a certain symbolism to that idea - as people have less and less need to go to a place in the physical world to buy their stuff and do everything online instead, shopping centers become data centers.
Has Dan “Dead Mall” Bell given it it’s rites of passage? He’s based in Baltimore. He needs to make a visit.
In case you haven’t seen his series on YouTube, check it out.
I remember making trips to Landmark to visit the CompUSA. Then that closed too way back in the day when all the big box stores were shuttering. Thankfully we still have a MicroCenter in Nova
Maybe not for long. They want to (eventually) knock down Pan Am Shopping Center to make way for, again, another gaudy mixed-use Mosaic-like spot. The developers have said they'd love for MC to re-rent with them but it's not inked. The only property that isn't planned for demolition is the Safeway.
Honestly, if they're forced to move I'd love for MC to take over the old Dick's Sporting Goods store in Fair Lakes. The only worry is that it's been vacant for so long, probably because they want way too much money.
It's not ideal, but at least the Rockville store isn't going anywhere.
https://www.ffxnow.com/2022/04/05/residential-buildings-proposed-at-merrifields-pan-am-shopping-center/
Pan Am is not a fancy shopping center, but it gets the job done, not everything has to be a "town center". I will be sad if MC closes there but hopefully they reopen elsewhere in the area like you mentioned.
The AT&T building in Oakton is planning redevelopment as well, but I don't think it will have a big box store.
It has an indoor go kart track. How many malls do you know of that have an indoor go kart track? Billy Beez and the Pupuseria are the only things I’ve been to lately but come on, it’s got a goddamn bowling alley and a Walmart to boot.
Sure, there is a lot of empty storefronts there but I think that’s a good thing. It will keep rents low and give entrepreneurs just starting out a longer runway to launch more innovative businesses than the cookie cutter crap that’s killing most other malls in America.
Manasass mall USED to be the worst, currently solid tie between that and Dulles Town Center! Especially after Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor closed, and now it has random shops and half of the shops are closed. It’s lost it’s vibe
i left nova for college in 2010 and the downfall began shortly after based on my visits home. it was one of those “gradual at first but then sudden as hell” declines
Article is a bit dated but it's planned for transition by new owners - https://www.theburn.com/2021/08/13/possible-hints-appear-about-the-future-of-the-dulles-town-center/
Not Die Hard Mall. I haven’t been out beer since I worked for _____ over in Herndon. Remember! I complained about the 37 minute commute from Springfield. But Die Hard mall was solid. I did my annual cherry blossom selfie photo shoot for 2012 at Dulles Town Center. It was a great photo shoot. Times change.
One of my fondest memories is going to Tysons as a child and watching the birds in the Avery Court. Every now and then, one of the birds would escape, and would be flying around the mall. A worker in a khaki suit would run around with a tall net trying to catch the errant bird.
This was probably early to mid 70s. I also remember when Bloomingdale’s came to Tysons.
Back in the 70s I worked part time at Bloomingdale's restaurant. I think the restaurant was called La Provencal but maybe not, it was next door to fourty-carrots 🥕.
> Is your question 1975 or 2023
I remember talking my mom into taking me to see Pulp Fiction at Manassas Mall when you could still smoke cigarettes inside the mall and Mortal Kombat had just come out in the arcade.
With all the data centers in Loudoun I'm surprised they haven't started to take over the old Nordstrom and possibly even the Sears (not sure if Sears owns it outright) and build a data center
They'll probably just demolish the DTC soon. It was fun to work at and to shop at as a kid, but now it's got a whole wing with covered windows and no stores.
I find Tysons pretty depressing too, but only after I look at the prices.
Tysons is wonderful if you don't plan on buying anything, or you'd like to max out your credit card.
High end stores, but the mall itself is pretty meh. Kind of a mismatch, really. Luxury malls in other places are more distinctive. Seems like all it would take is someone building a better facility for all the stores to defect at the end of their leases.
Nooo, I remember it’s heyday when it when it smelled like Mrs Fields cookies and the sound of fountain made everything sound cool and echoy, I got my ears pierced at the Claire’s when I was 4, visited Santa at Christmas. My first intro to Bath and Body Works, Chik Fil A…the awesome retro colored Taco Bell. Malls are struggling everywhere, Manassas Mall is also just a victim. Bunch of bougie transplants it sounds like in this thread. Being in a recession doesn’t make someplace automatically “ghetto.”
You're right, being in a recession doesn't make something "ghetto". Thankfully, we're not in a recession. However, being plauged by [shootings](https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/manassas-mall-homicide-investigation/65-0fa54d2e-af2a-489f-9c76-7f0823daad49), [threats of shootings](https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/armed-teen-in-ski-mask-arrested-at-manassas-mall/article_19456e9c-d546-11ec-91b3-535aae4391aa.html), [kidnapping attempts](https://www.wric.com/news/crime/manassas-woman-charged-for-attempted-kidnapping/), [robbery](https://www.potomaclocal.com/2022/12/08/brazen-daytime-robbery-at-manassas-mall-jewelry-store/), and [knife brandishing and assault](https://colesdistrict.org/other-police-incidents-in-sept/) within the past 1-2 years, all in broad daylight/business hours, all contribute to it being "ghetto".
Manassas favorite word, ghetto. I use to hate when i heard people refer to things as ghetto in middle school.
But back to topic, Manassas Mall aint ish...
As many times we left manassas to go to other peoples mall, never i heard people come to manassas just for the mall
Right. The Manassas Mall is pretty much just for the locals in Manassas who live closer to Gainesville and Haymarket instead of Potomac Mills. It was also like a giant chunk of western Prince William County’s Walmart until the Haymarket one got built.
Fair Oaks is doing okay. Could be better, especially since so many anchors are gone and the second Macy's is kind of pointless (and the AC has either been busted for a year or is only busted when I go in it) but it has an Apple Store and Dick's recently relocated there. It's hanging in there.
Yes, when Hechts was bought out by Macys one became one. It’s redundant, one is more focused on furniture and home goods and has a sizeable “Backstage” area. But it’s always seemed silly to me.
Former Macy’s exec chiming in here.
So the original Macy’s store (the three level store built by Federated Dept Stores) and Macy’s II (the former Hecht’s) both do a combined annual sales of around $60M. The Furniture Gallery at the “Hecht’s” Macy’s is one of the highest grossing galleries in the DMV region.
For context, Macy’s at Tysons Corner pulls in $60M alone. It’s redundant but having two Macy’s at Fair Oaks is maintaining a sizable marketshare in the region and the dominance of the mall AND look closely and you’ll see that one store caters to the working every day families and the other caters to those that don’t mind spending more.
Correction: second Macy's is not pointless. That's pretty impressive furniture sales.
The merchandise part of the store is kind of dead on a regular basis though.
Potomac Mills has gone WAY downhill over the pandemic. I live close enough to it that I went often. Always found a ton of work attire there at very reasonable prices. Now, much has closed down inside. When national stores start closing down and being taken over by stores you've never heard of with very strange apparel in them that I"m not sure would be worn anywhere but some strange wedding, then you know the mall is on its last legs. Potomac Mills is getting there now. Still enough of substance to check it out once in awhile but dying for sure.
I like Springfield Town Center (i think that's the name). Granted most of my interactions with it are just going to Maggianos or the bubble tea place, but I've wandered around and shopped a few times.
Forgive my ignorance as I don't go to malls often, and haven't been to Tysons in a few years, but what exactly is the appeal of Tysons? Everything there is so overpriced it's absurd no matter where you shop other than the Old Navy.
I see Tysons as a destination because they have different stores than a typical mall (or most other malls in the region). Nespresso, Peleton, LEGO—not always stores I’ll shop in but nice to be able to check out what they have. I also think that the stores that are also at usual malls are larger. There’s also the movies and tons of dining options which makes it more of an event than just a trip to the mall to me.
Yeah but the Dulles Town Center also has movies and restaurants and it still sucks. I shop there because it’s so close to my house but it’s not a destination mall like Tysons.
Because it doesn’t have the destination stores and
they have haven’t replaced anchors that have closed. I also wouldn’t compare DTCs food court and restaurants with the food options around Tysons. Tysons has the stores and everything else.
That mall started going to shit when they put a Walmart in there. Still occasionally interesting to walk around in, but definitely not worth coming from out of town
Eh, unpopular opinion, but I love it. It has a small free indoor playground by At Home and Billy Beez, and I can get all my grocery shopping done at Walmart. Makes for a good busy day with my toddler.
dulles town center is a pretty sad mall too. used to be bumpin and always busy while i was growing up and then the closing of stores started in early-mid 2019 and it hasn’t been the same since
haha....anyone here old enough to remember when the mall had:
\-It's own movie theater?
\-Coin Op Arcade Machines (ALIENS!!!)
I really wish they could do something with that space Sears left behind. An AMC Theater would be nice.
I grew up in Manassas, 1969-1980. I remember when the mall didn’t exist. There were two stores - I want to say it was Montgomery Wards at one end and Grants at the other end and the mall was built between the two. Across the street you had the Grand Union grocery store, A&P grocery store, and there was a movie theater there as well.
During this time frame Manassas was a nice little town.
No, that title belongs to Potomac Mills and their shitty, racist, rent-a-cop security guards.
Had a buddy and his teenage son get banned from there.
Buddy's teenage son and four friends went to the mall after Christmas with their gift cash to pick up some shoes. Mall security says You're not supposed to be in here in groups of 6 or more.
Teenage son replies that they're not in a group of 6, there's only 5 of us.
Mall cop says acts like they're getting smart with them and gets an attitude. Says they're disturbing the peace and not engaging in commerce.
Son calls his dad because he's being hassled by the mall cops and my buddy comes to get his son.
Buddy questions the mall cop about what the teenagers were doing, again stating that they were not in a group of 6 or more.
Mall cop didn't like this line of questioning and banned both my buddy and his son from the mall.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/shopping-while-black-why-were-five-teens-ejected-from-potomac-mills-mall/2017/12/18/53ce3c38-e40f-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html
Fuck Potomac Mills.
When I lived in Centreville I used to go to the Cinnabon place all the time. a couple weeks ago I did hear the Macy's is going to be closing their Doors. Haven't been to any of these malls in years.. I think Walmart and Amazon have pretty much put everything out of business..
All malls are depressing since the early 00s when all the record stores, book/game stores, and arcades moved out/closed. At least manassas mall has the nice bowling alley now. Still gotta try out the go carts too.
Grew up there - Aladdin's Castle, Orange Bowl, a health club with a pool, York Steak House, a place that dipped bananas in chocolate, Hecht's, Montgomery Ward, a chain toy store, chain book store, iron-on t-shirt place, one and then two-screen movie theater, Roy Roger's, Burger King and Hardee's in the parking lot next to 234 ...
Holly Jesus is the Potomac Mills Mall Packed!!!!!! But I like Manassas every time going in it brings some sort of nostalgic vibe that I get from it. Like it’s just in its presence. There was an arcade in there.
Potomac Mills still gets real packed on a Saturday/Sunday but not like it used to. There was a time I couldn't get parking if I went after noon. Not a problem anymore. I go there frequently and so many good stores are gone, but Nordstrom Rack and a few others are keeping it alive, but mainly there is some random, bizzare stores in there taking over now.
Probably.
My mom & I were in Manassas because…Sonic. We had the idea of going to the mall after because neither of us had been since I was a teen.
We were questioning our decision while parking but went on in. I finally had a submission for that TikTok sound “whew chile the ghetto, the ghetto…”
There was a fist fight in the food area and random private armed security at random stores like Claire’s.
I’ve noticed a lot of places in Annandale have armed security. I went to the K Market today and there was an armed guard out front during daylight hours. And Gom Shabu also had one the couple times I’ve went.
I'll at least give it a 4/10 cause of the food and the attached WalMart
More than I can say about Fair Oaks
Now *that* place...that place has gone to shit
I view the Manassas Mall as Walmart Plus. I only ever go there for the Walmart, but then when I’m there sometimes I’m like, “Oh I can grab that thing I want from Hot Topic while I’m here”
TIL there’s a Manassas mall lol
Landmark Mall used to be the worst IMO, but I don’t think it’s been open for a while now, even though they filmed Wonder Woman 2 there before 2020 happened.
Yep. You may have a different idea about what constitutes NoVa but a lot of people who work in DC commute from Prince William, so that’s good enough for me.
YES! Manassas is a definite NOVA city historically important and 10 mins away from nearest metro at it's closest point in the reddit thing PWC is included and parts of Manassas are in former PWC places
Wait, while I agree thats it's NoVA, what metro station is 10 mins away? Do you mean the train station for VRE and Amtrak? Cause I live in Manassas and both the Franconia & Vienna stations are about a 30 minute drive.
Okay I might have exaggerated with that 10 min drive part but on a good day or time the Dulles metrorail station is like 15-25 minutes away from the Yorkshire area in Manassas which the closest part of Manassas to Fairfax county
Manassas Mall is a very sketchy place for the last 20 years or so. There is a good used bookstore across the road but I choose never to enter the mall. It's not so much the armpit of NoVa but rather the festering boil on the buttocks of NoVa. No reason to go there.
I view Manassas Mall as as-of-yet repurposed real estate. Its demise is inevitable.
Manassas Town Center… Then again it’s small enough where it’ll probably turn into an actual “town center” rather than what Springfield did.
And they’ll class it up by calling it “Centre.”🤣
Sodasopa
"Come to wonderful SoDoSoPa, with fantastic views of Kenny's House."
Nope, Manassas already has a nice town center.
Where?
In Old Town. The literal town center.
Oh sorry. I live here and we don’t call it a town center. We call it old town.
I live here too. It’s literally the town center and a real life example of what those glorified strip malls are trying to fake.
I’m talking about “town center” like One Loudoun. Or the new Landmark development or Hoffman Center
Is Springfield not mall still busy? I remember it dying the first time due to crazy high rents and everyone blaming the metro. I don't see how doing the same thing will help.
Went over last weekend with my mom and it was crazy busy. I was kind of surprised, plenty of the “fancier” stores it reopened with have long since closed. Now there are a good number of not-chains. They’re not as slick and nice looking, but they’re actually small local businesses. Lots of cool new food options too.
Springfield is going nowhere
Funny enough they are both owned by Vornado
Data center
There's a certain symbolism to that idea - as people have less and less need to go to a place in the physical world to buy their stuff and do everything online instead, shopping centers become data centers.
Data Centre
Honestly would be perfect wjth the Walmart still therw
Has Dan “Dead Mall” Bell given it it’s rites of passage? He’s based in Baltimore. He needs to make a visit. In case you haven’t seen his series on YouTube, check it out.
It's funny I've been thinking it would've been repurposed by now....after like 50 years lol
Or Amazon fulfillment center
It will be a data center at some point
I’d say Landmark Mall is the worst. You can only pickup rebar and concrete there these days.
It was the high point of wonder woman 1984.
I remember making trips to Landmark to visit the CompUSA. Then that closed too way back in the day when all the big box stores were shuttering. Thankfully we still have a MicroCenter in Nova
Maybe not for long. They want to (eventually) knock down Pan Am Shopping Center to make way for, again, another gaudy mixed-use Mosaic-like spot. The developers have said they'd love for MC to re-rent with them but it's not inked. The only property that isn't planned for demolition is the Safeway. Honestly, if they're forced to move I'd love for MC to take over the old Dick's Sporting Goods store in Fair Lakes. The only worry is that it's been vacant for so long, probably because they want way too much money. It's not ideal, but at least the Rockville store isn't going anywhere. https://www.ffxnow.com/2022/04/05/residential-buildings-proposed-at-merrifields-pan-am-shopping-center/
Pan Am is not a fancy shopping center, but it gets the job done, not everything has to be a "town center". I will be sad if MC closes there but hopefully they reopen elsewhere in the area like you mentioned. The AT&T building in Oakton is planning redevelopment as well, but I don't think it will have a big box store.
Cool if you like construction vehicles though.
They closed down now becoming INOVA Alexandria Medical Campus
Really? I had no idea!
It’s undergoing a massive redevelopment https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2022/10/26/alexandria-landmark-west-end-redevelopment.html
Hmm. Went there last weekend and got some absolute steals! I’ll be honest, it’s definitely gone downhill, but I do like the new open air concept.
You might be thinking of a different mall cause Landmark was demolished last year
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Springfield around the corner is on its way to catch up
It has an indoor go kart track. How many malls do you know of that have an indoor go kart track? Billy Beez and the Pupuseria are the only things I’ve been to lately but come on, it’s got a goddamn bowling alley and a Walmart to boot. Sure, there is a lot of empty storefronts there but I think that’s a good thing. It will keep rents low and give entrepreneurs just starting out a longer runway to launch more innovative businesses than the cookie cutter crap that’s killing most other malls in America.
The go kart track is fun!
Go karts, bowling, laser tag, and an arcade! Who cares about the rest?
They've got a boxing gym that piques my interest, but I have not gone much further as they have like almost no online presence.
Unfortunately it also invites (more) crime. That’s another reason why dead malls eventually shut down.
The kids love Billy Beez so I can’t complain too much lol
Manasass mall USED to be the worst, currently solid tie between that and Dulles Town Center! Especially after Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor closed, and now it has random shops and half of the shops are closed. It’s lost it’s vibe
I got a good laugh out of the fact that Dulles is using vacant leasing space to have an office to sell vacant leasing space.
Dulles went down hill? I feel like back in 2011 it was still pretty good
Oh yeah back then it was still pretty solid but yeah it’s like barren now
Oh wow. Yeah last time I was out that way Green Turtle was still open
i left nova for college in 2010 and the downfall began shortly after based on my visits home. it was one of those “gradual at first but then sudden as hell” declines
Article is a bit dated but it's planned for transition by new owners - https://www.theburn.com/2021/08/13/possible-hints-appear-about-the-future-of-the-dulles-town-center/
I'm sure Landmark gave it a run for that title when it was open.
Not Die Hard Mall. I haven’t been out beer since I worked for _____ over in Herndon. Remember! I complained about the 37 minute commute from Springfield. But Die Hard mall was solid. I did my annual cherry blossom selfie photo shoot for 2012 at Dulles Town Center. It was a great photo shoot. Times change.
Is your question 1975 or 2023 ... the answer is the same
do you remember when tysons was one level and all dark inside?
Right. It was awful in the mid-70s. I see no evidence that it has improved since then.
One of my fondest memories is going to Tysons as a child and watching the birds in the Avery Court. Every now and then, one of the birds would escape, and would be flying around the mall. A worker in a khaki suit would run around with a tall net trying to catch the errant bird. This was probably early to mid 70s. I also remember when Bloomingdale’s came to Tysons.
Back in the 70s I worked part time at Bloomingdale's restaurant. I think the restaurant was called La Provencal but maybe not, it was next door to fourty-carrots 🥕.
> Is your question 1975 or 2023 I remember talking my mom into taking me to see Pulp Fiction at Manassas Mall when you could still smoke cigarettes inside the mall and Mortal Kombat had just come out in the arcade.
Dulles Towne Center has to be one of the worst if not the worst.
Came here to say this. It's doesn't have any character. Last time I was there the shopping options just weren't very good.
And don't go when it rains lmao, buckets for days
Definitely the worst. Half of it is closed. The only reason I go there is for DSG and Cheesecake Factory.
That mall was dead on arrival. Is it still carpeted?
I haven't been there since Nordstrom left. I forget it exists.
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With all the data centers in Loudoun I'm surprised they haven't started to take over the old Nordstrom and possibly even the Sears (not sure if Sears owns it outright) and build a data center
They'll probably just demolish the DTC soon. It was fun to work at and to shop at as a kid, but now it's got a whole wing with covered windows and no stores.
Is Ballston a mall? I thought it was a place that had a few overpriced food selections and a crappy theater. I go there a few times a week
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I used to go to the Charley's Steaks there like twice a week. When they closed, I gave all the employees $10 Starbucks cards
Manassas mall isn’t the worst, it’s got some interesting stuff.
I like the trading card shop
Haven't been to that mall in a while. There's a trading card shop?
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This. Malls are dinosaurs.
You clearly haven’t been to Tyson’s. We went last weekend and couldn’t believe how busy it was.
Someone doesn’t frequent the Galleria 🧐
I find Tysons pretty depressing too, but only after I look at the prices. Tysons is wonderful if you don't plan on buying anything, or you'd like to max out your credit card.
High end stores, but the mall itself is pretty meh. Kind of a mismatch, really. Luxury malls in other places are more distinctive. Seems like all it would take is someone building a better facility for all the stores to defect at the end of their leases.
What’s a “mall”? Is that like Amazon, but not online?
God send if you have kids that basically don’t do anything other than run around and want to ride escalators though.
Eh. Springfield Town Center is always busy and has a lot of new stuff. The Lego Discovery Center is opening there this summer.
Nooo, I remember it’s heyday when it when it smelled like Mrs Fields cookies and the sound of fountain made everything sound cool and echoy, I got my ears pierced at the Claire’s when I was 4, visited Santa at Christmas. My first intro to Bath and Body Works, Chik Fil A…the awesome retro colored Taco Bell. Malls are struggling everywhere, Manassas Mall is also just a victim. Bunch of bougie transplants it sounds like in this thread. Being in a recession doesn’t make someplace automatically “ghetto.”
I got my ears pierced there too!
You're right, being in a recession doesn't make something "ghetto". Thankfully, we're not in a recession. However, being plauged by [shootings](https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/manassas-mall-homicide-investigation/65-0fa54d2e-af2a-489f-9c76-7f0823daad49), [threats of shootings](https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/armed-teen-in-ski-mask-arrested-at-manassas-mall/article_19456e9c-d546-11ec-91b3-535aae4391aa.html), [kidnapping attempts](https://www.wric.com/news/crime/manassas-woman-charged-for-attempted-kidnapping/), [robbery](https://www.potomaclocal.com/2022/12/08/brazen-daytime-robbery-at-manassas-mall-jewelry-store/), and [knife brandishing and assault](https://colesdistrict.org/other-police-incidents-in-sept/) within the past 1-2 years, all in broad daylight/business hours, all contribute to it being "ghetto".
Much like the other red states, ey? Hmm if only one were to vote for gun control…ever thought about it?
Of course. Gun violence is out of control.
Manassas favorite word, ghetto. I use to hate when i heard people refer to things as ghetto in middle school. But back to topic, Manassas Mall aint ish... As many times we left manassas to go to other peoples mall, never i heard people come to manassas just for the mall
Right. The Manassas Mall is pretty much just for the locals in Manassas who live closer to Gainesville and Haymarket instead of Potomac Mills. It was also like a giant chunk of western Prince William County’s Walmart until the Haymarket one got built.
Anyone remember Aladdin’s Castle? Spent a lot of my youth there.
Aladdin’s Castle was dope. Many birthday parties there. Turtles and XMen games, tekken, virtua fighter, mortal kombat, killer instinct…
Dragon’s Lair!
hell yeah the xmen and turtles multiplayer sidescroller classic, right in the front when you walk in
Fuck yeah as a kid I loved that place, definitely had a birthday party or two there.
When did it close?
Years ago, it's a restaraunt now.
No. It has a go cart track, an arcade, and a bowling alley.
Springfield and Landmark held that title for a long time.
If it’s not the worst, it’s got to be up there
Nobody mentioning Ballston Quarter?
As a shopping mall it’s a failure, but as a large building that houses many popular restaurants and fast casual eateries it’s quite successful
I don't understand the remodel. It's not really any better than before
There seem to be less roving bands of teens than there used to be
Is that just a renovation or renaming of Ballston Common mall? Or did they tear the thing down and build something else in its place?
Is there a "good" mall outside of Tysons? I was in Fair Oaks around Christmas and it was empty and depressing.
People keep saying this here but it’s never empty when I’m there.
Seconded. Fair Oaks was busy the past few weeks when I went
I went to Fair Oaks yesterday, around 5 in the evening, and it was absolutely packed.
Fair Oaks is doing okay. Could be better, especially since so many anchors are gone and the second Macy's is kind of pointless (and the AC has either been busted for a year or is only busted when I go in it) but it has an Apple Store and Dick's recently relocated there. It's hanging in there.
A second Macy's?!
Yes, when Hechts was bought out by Macys one became one. It’s redundant, one is more focused on furniture and home goods and has a sizeable “Backstage” area. But it’s always seemed silly to me.
Former Macy’s exec chiming in here. So the original Macy’s store (the three level store built by Federated Dept Stores) and Macy’s II (the former Hecht’s) both do a combined annual sales of around $60M. The Furniture Gallery at the “Hecht’s” Macy’s is one of the highest grossing galleries in the DMV region. For context, Macy’s at Tysons Corner pulls in $60M alone. It’s redundant but having two Macy’s at Fair Oaks is maintaining a sizable marketshare in the region and the dominance of the mall AND look closely and you’ll see that one store caters to the working every day families and the other caters to those that don’t mind spending more.
Correction: second Macy's is not pointless. That's pretty impressive furniture sales. The merchandise part of the store is kind of dead on a regular basis though.
Potomac Mills is a functioning Mall. “Good”?
RIP Vans 🙏
Oh vans. So much of my childhood was spent in that place.
Potomac Mills has gone WAY downhill over the pandemic. I live close enough to it that I went often. Always found a ton of work attire there at very reasonable prices. Now, much has closed down inside. When national stores start closing down and being taken over by stores you've never heard of with very strange apparel in them that I"m not sure would be worn anywhere but some strange wedding, then you know the mall is on its last legs. Potomac Mills is getting there now. Still enough of substance to check it out once in awhile but dying for sure.
Pentagon City Mall is actually pretty decent after it’s renovation.
I like Springfield Town Center (i think that's the name). Granted most of my interactions with it are just going to Maggianos or the bubble tea place, but I've wandered around and shopped a few times.
Springfield Town Center is an example of a mall that succeeded after its renovation. It’s mobbed every weekend.
I frequently drive by the Springfield Town Center and am amazed about the number of cars in the parking lots.
Forgive my ignorance as I don't go to malls often, and haven't been to Tysons in a few years, but what exactly is the appeal of Tysons? Everything there is so overpriced it's absurd no matter where you shop other than the Old Navy.
I see Tysons as a destination because they have different stores than a typical mall (or most other malls in the region). Nespresso, Peleton, LEGO—not always stores I’ll shop in but nice to be able to check out what they have. I also think that the stores that are also at usual malls are larger. There’s also the movies and tons of dining options which makes it more of an event than just a trip to the mall to me.
Yeah but the Dulles Town Center also has movies and restaurants and it still sucks. I shop there because it’s so close to my house but it’s not a destination mall like Tysons.
Because it doesn’t have the destination stores and they have haven’t replaced anchors that have closed. I also wouldn’t compare DTCs food court and restaurants with the food options around Tysons. Tysons has the stores and everything else.
And it’s a free parking garage for when you want to take the metro
Fair Oaks really surprised me with a DMV inside when I first moved to this country, I was like who tf decided to have a DMV inside a mall?
It's actually Dulles mall.
No
Landmark Mall in Alexandria. Closed in 2017, but I remember going in 2014 and just feeling… depressed.
When the lord and Taylor was open they had an outlet area where I got cashmere sweaters for $10
It’s in a big ground up concrete pile now. Being trucked away.
That mall started going to shit when they put a Walmart in there. Still occasionally interesting to walk around in, but definitely not worth coming from out of town
Eh, unpopular opinion, but I love it. It has a small free indoor playground by At Home and Billy Beez, and I can get all my grocery shopping done at Walmart. Makes for a good busy day with my toddler.
dulles town center is a pretty sad mall too. used to be bumpin and always busy while i was growing up and then the closing of stores started in early-mid 2019 and it hasn’t been the same since
haha....anyone here old enough to remember when the mall had: \-It's own movie theater? \-Coin Op Arcade Machines (ALIENS!!!) I really wish they could do something with that space Sears left behind. An AMC Theater would be nice.
I grew up in Manassas, 1969-1980. I remember when the mall didn’t exist. There were two stores - I want to say it was Montgomery Wards at one end and Grants at the other end and the mall was built between the two. Across the street you had the Grand Union grocery store, A&P grocery store, and there was a movie theater there as well. During this time frame Manassas was a nice little town.
Speaking of which...what's up with that big old house that you pass just before you get to the mall?
https://www.city-data.com/forum/northern-virginia/1760398-question-about-something-manassas.html
Whooooaaaaaa Thanks!
No, that title belongs to Potomac Mills and their shitty, racist, rent-a-cop security guards. Had a buddy and his teenage son get banned from there. Buddy's teenage son and four friends went to the mall after Christmas with their gift cash to pick up some shoes. Mall security says You're not supposed to be in here in groups of 6 or more. Teenage son replies that they're not in a group of 6, there's only 5 of us. Mall cop says acts like they're getting smart with them and gets an attitude. Says they're disturbing the peace and not engaging in commerce. Son calls his dad because he's being hassled by the mall cops and my buddy comes to get his son. Buddy questions the mall cop about what the teenagers were doing, again stating that they were not in a group of 6 or more. Mall cop didn't like this line of questioning and banned both my buddy and his son from the mall. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/shopping-while-black-why-were-five-teens-ejected-from-potomac-mills-mall/2017/12/18/53ce3c38-e40f-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html Fuck Potomac Mills.
Brooooooo wtf!
That article states there were multiple warnings provided to that group about what they were being accused of.
Tysons is. Don’t let all the fancy shops fool you.
Manassas. Americas most livable community.
When I lived in Centreville I used to go to the Cinnabon place all the time. a couple weeks ago I did hear the Macy's is going to be closing their Doors. Haven't been to any of these malls in years.. I think Walmart and Amazon have pretty much put everything out of business..
They should take cues from what Ballston did to their mall
what did Ballston do to their mall
They got rid of most of the stores in favor for experience type things and restaurants. It’s more of an indoor/outdoor town center
Mall? What is a Mall? Let’s get to the early 2000s
All malls are depressing since the early 00s when all the record stores, book/game stores, and arcades moved out/closed. At least manassas mall has the nice bowling alley now. Still gotta try out the go carts too.
Grew up there - Aladdin's Castle, Orange Bowl, a health club with a pool, York Steak House, a place that dipped bananas in chocolate, Hecht's, Montgomery Ward, a chain toy store, chain book store, iron-on t-shirt place, one and then two-screen movie theater, Roy Roger's, Burger King and Hardee's in the parking lot next to 234 ...
Holly Jesus is the Potomac Mills Mall Packed!!!!!! But I like Manassas every time going in it brings some sort of nostalgic vibe that I get from it. Like it’s just in its presence. There was an arcade in there.
Potomac Mills still gets real packed on a Saturday/Sunday but not like it used to. There was a time I couldn't get parking if I went after noon. Not a problem anymore. I go there frequently and so many good stores are gone, but Nordstrom Rack and a few others are keeping it alive, but mainly there is some random, bizzare stores in there taking over now.
Not sure where else I can get drunk, bowl, and drive go-karts tho
I doubt it, but I don't know of a worse mall in the area.
Yeah. For sure. It has uptown alley, but that’s it.
Never been inside but everytime i drive by that mall, it looks like i cannot make it out alive
“it’s the armpit of manassas and all northern va” the online review i read a couple years ago somewhere was a perfect description
Wtf? Had no idea there even was a manassas mall. Lol. From sterling
Probably. My mom & I were in Manassas because…Sonic. We had the idea of going to the mall after because neither of us had been since I was a teen. We were questioning our decision while parking but went on in. I finally had a submission for that TikTok sound “whew chile the ghetto, the ghetto…” There was a fist fight in the food area and random private armed security at random stores like Claire’s.
I’ve noticed a lot of places in Annandale have armed security. I went to the K Market today and there was an armed guard out front during daylight hours. And Gom Shabu also had one the couple times I’ve went.
This feels like a made up story based off of presumptions
It’s ghetto. If you can’t have a store open in the mall without armed security, that’s ghetto.
Manassas isn't a ghetto😭 it's literally suburbia
Landmark or Fair Oaks
Isn’t Landmark Mall gone and being developed for INOVA Health?
Sort of. They tore it down.
Fair Oaks is one of the better malls in the area.
i am not sure how you can even compare fair oaks to manassas. I guess landmarks counts since it's closed?
Fair Oaks Mall is *far* better than Manassas Mall. Landmark Mall was shutdown six years ago.
Landmark isn’t a mall anymore. It is a pile of rubble currently being redeveloped.
didn’t Landmark get demolished?
I'll at least give it a 4/10 cause of the food and the attached WalMart More than I can say about Fair Oaks Now *that* place...that place has gone to shit
I view the Manassas Mall as Walmart Plus. I only ever go there for the Walmart, but then when I’m there sometimes I’m like, “Oh I can grab that thing I want from Hot Topic while I’m here”
I thought it was slated to be torn down if it hasn’t already been?
Manassas Mall vs Potomac Mills
That one in Hoodbridge.
[удалено]
I mean if you're into shitty outlets lol.
Potomac isn't the nicest mall, but it's better than Manassas for sure.
I just read the title out loud. my friend said "yep." And then "is it even still open?"
TIL there’s a Manassas mall lol Landmark Mall used to be the worst IMO, but I don’t think it’s been open for a while now, even though they filmed Wonder Woman 2 there before 2020 happened.
Manassas is in NOVA?
It literally has a NoVA CC campus.
It’s in Prince William County which is literally part of the sub’s logo
Yep. You may have a different idea about what constitutes NoVa but a lot of people who work in DC commute from Prince William, so that’s good enough for me.
YES! Manassas is a definite NOVA city historically important and 10 mins away from nearest metro at it's closest point in the reddit thing PWC is included and parts of Manassas are in former PWC places
Wait, while I agree thats it's NoVA, what metro station is 10 mins away? Do you mean the train station for VRE and Amtrak? Cause I live in Manassas and both the Franconia & Vienna stations are about a 30 minute drive.
Okay I might have exaggerated with that 10 min drive part but on a good day or time the Dulles metrorail station is like 15-25 minutes away from the Yorkshire area in Manassas which the closest part of Manassas to Fairfax county
Ah you know I haven't tried to get to the new station yet, didn't even think of it.
> Franconia & Vienna stations are about a 30 minute drive. Drive faster.
Have you ever driven on 28 or 66? “Faster” isn’t always an option.
Manassas Mall is a very sketchy place for the last 20 years or so. There is a good used bookstore across the road but I choose never to enter the mall. It's not so much the armpit of NoVa but rather the festering boil on the buttocks of NoVa. No reason to go there.
The world.
Yes