I thought the food court revival in dead malls was a gimmick until I ate at one in Columbus

Walked into Northland Mall in Columbus last weekend expecting maybe a pretzel stand and a sad hot dog cart. Instead there was a legit food court with five local places, real tables, and people actually eating there. Had this Jamaican place that made jerk chicken fresh to order. No corporate chains, just local folks running their own spots. I figured dead malls were dead for a reason but this one proved me wrong. Anyone else seen a mall pull off a comeback like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles14d ago

Wait until you try the food court at that abandoned mall in Akron. They turned the old Sears into a taco hall and somehow it works better than any new development I have seen in years. The only downside is you have to walk past three empty storefronts and a guy selling knockoff Beats headphones to get there. It gives the whole place this weird post apocalyptic vibe like you are eating jerk chicken in the middle of a zombie movie. But honestly the food is so good you stop caring about the flickering lights and the creepy escalator that only goes down. I think malls figured out that nobody wants another Claire's or Foot Locker but everyone wants a place to sit down and eat something that is not from a drive thru.

allen.amy14d ago

Hold up, you're acting like this is some groundbreaking thing when it's just a food court in a dying mall. People have been eating tacos in weird places for years, it's not that deep.