Thursday, August 28, 2014

Fiesta Marketplace Sugar Land Texas

Here is the short lived Fiesta Marketplace market in Sugar Land Texas. I visited the store in the day (Late March) and again at night (Final Week) to see what may have caused the quick demise of this store. 
Opened July 17, 2013
Closed April 20, 2014

This sign was on the entrance doors in the final week of business. I wonder if this sign was approved or if nobody noticed it had been placed on the door. 
Now for the inside of the market. The market looked much better in person than it did in the promotional photos. 
The Caribou Coffee was at the front of the store, this was the only location in the Houston area of this popular coffee chain. 
A Red Mango kiosk inside of the store near the prepared foods counter. 
Here are my opinions as to why this store failed so quickly. Many of the departments that Fiesta is known for are downsized to make space for other departments such as the wine section which was probably too big for a store of this size. Many of the departments that were downsized did not have enough products to find what you needed or find a sale item. The basics of what Fiesta has succeeded at along with the extras would have been a better fit, instead of the other way around. The store should have been larger that it was (about 50,000 sq ft) to have been able to compete with the more established higher end grocers. Finally the whole shopping center is mostly hidden behind a freeway ramp you will not see this store unless you are on the service road.
The store had many positives as well, with the variety and kiosks inside of the store with coffee, yogurt, and prepared foods. The employees were very nice and have all been transferred to other area Fiesta stores. 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Pierremont Mall Shreveport La. 2013

The Pierremont Mall is located at 4801 Line Drive about 2 miles Southeast of Mall St. Vincent in Shreveport La. This 67,000 square foot mall opened in 1964 and features local shops and Stein Mart as the anchor. The mix of stores works well in this mall and the mall continues to do well while many smaller malls have closed over the years. The nearby Mall St. Vincent at 570,000 square feet is more than 8 times the size of this mall. The mall was recently renovated but still has a retro style and many retro storefronts. 

Here is the West entrance to the mall. Stein Mart is on the left of this entrance. 
The mall entrance to Stein Mart as it appears near the West mall entrance.
A look down the main corridor of the mall from the Stein Mart entrance. 
The West entrance of the mall looking from the entrance to Stein Mart. 
Another shot near the entrance to Stein Mart looking at the North mall entrance.
The mall entrance to Stein Mart.
A view of about 1/3 of the main mall corridor looking at the North mall entrance.
Looking from the North entrance to Stein Mart. 
The mall directory which is posted at the West entrance to the mall. 
The street sign 
As you can see the whole mall is very small. 
The Northside of the mall

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Westwood Mall, Houston Texas

Westwood Mall closed in the late 1990's and was reinvented as the Westwood Technology Center, and now goes by the name of Southwest Corporate Center. The renovation was quite extensive and removed almost all of the former elements of the mall design. The former mall is open to the public during the weekdays, but a large portion of the parking lot is fenced in and requires a badge to park. Sears which opened before the mall is still open, but the mall entrance is closed off. Westwood also had a Joske's (later Dillard's), movie cinema, and was built in the 1970's just a few short miles from the Sharpstown/ PlazAmericas Mall. When First Colony Mall in Sugarland opened about 7 miles from Westwood in the mid 1990's Westwood lost a large part of their customer base. Foley's at one time was rumored to move from Sharpstown and build a new store at Westwood, but it never happened and the mall closed a few years later. This mall has very little Online information and even less photos from the years this property was a mall. If anyone has any photos they would like to share with the blog email me at southernmalls@gmail.com

The only photos of the mall interior that I was able to find Online are at
http://www.neoteklighting.com/clients_malls.html
http://www.neoteklighting.com/images/mall_westwood1.jpg

During the weekdays especially during lunch hour this property is filled with students and professionals and is much more successful than the mall was in the last few years it was open. Walking the hallways it is hard to imagine this was once a mall until you reach the center court. There is also an abundance of escalators and elevators in this mall which was probably an annoyance for the mall shoppers.  

The second floor main entrance going towards the center court. 
The second floor looking into the center court.
The second floor hallway from Sears to the center court. 
The second floor mall corridor looking towards Sears. 
The closed off Sears mall entrance.
Skylight detail near Sears. 
First floor Sears mall corridor headed towards the center court. 
Another view of the center court.
Second floor looking towards the former Dillard's entrance.
More center court photos.
The center court has a small restaurant and a newsstand.
Another view from the second floor into the center court. 
The second floor at the main mall entrance.
A directory of the property which shows the mall corridor and the former Dillard's.
Sears still operates and has a good location facing US 59. The store had not yet opened for the day when these photos were taken.
The main mall entrance.
A look at the former Dillard's store at the mall.

Here are a few wide views of the mall.
The first floor entrance to the former Dillard's.

Another look at the second floor entrance to the former Dillard's.