How shopping malls in Rockford area, U.S. are adjusting to stay open, attract customers
Longstanding policies that require stores in shopping malls to open and close at specific times seem to be the thing of the past in malls across the country, including those in the Rockford area.
Since the pandemic, mall and non-mall retailers have struggled to keep their stores staffed and busy. Many brick-and-mortar locations closed or reduced their hours of operation to better compete with Amazon and other online sellers. Stores in malls, once the shopping standard in the United States, were no exception.
To keep occupancy rates up, more malls turned to local businesses, who came in with new sets of demands, including the freedom to be open and close whenever they wanted.
"There's no point in being here when it's not busy," said Drew Willis, owner of Sports & More inside the CherryVale Mall.
That is why there is a clause in the Sports & More lease that allows Willis to set his own hours.
CherryVale is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Willis closes at 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday and is open noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
"They were once very strict on the hours," Willis said. "Now, they're OK with it."
Staffing struggle
Justin Shea, CherryVale's general manager, understands the plight. He's working to bring in new tenants and making a point to post available jobs on the mall's website to keep them there.
"People can go into the stores as well to get applications or go on the local corporate website for the stores," Shea said. "We're just hoping that we can get back to the staffing levels where we used to be, but sometimes it's hard."
While some stores struggle to hire employees, Shea said some businesses like Modern Nails hold their own hours and are thriving.
"They have a lot of workers in there, and I think they actually open up at (8:30) in the morning and then close at 8."
Businesses with outside entrances like Barnes & Noble and the businesses in the District of CherryVale, the strip of stores located south of the book store, have always set their own hours and are often still open after the main mall closes.
Closed doors vs. empty storefronts
Saed Hashem of Aladdin's Jewelry has been a mall tenant for nine months. He can't say for certain how much of an impact there is on his business when neighboring mall tenants close up shop early, but he is certain it doesn't help him.
"I feel like it would hurt anybody's business if a store around you isn't open," he said. "It makes it look almost dark."
Some shoppers agree with Hashem and say while it's nice to see CherryVale doing well again, allowing stores to open and close at will can take away from the overall experience, especially inside the main building, where everything is under one roof.
"It seems like when it gets dark, some stores want to close and get out of the area," said Breauna Cain, of Freeport. "Maybe it's because of the crime. But it looks like there aren't as many stores."
Hashem said he, too, understands the challenges other businesses are facing.
"Some people here are locally owned, and they don't have employees," he said. "So, it's a hiring process for them."
At Freeport's Lincoln Mall, mall hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, closed on Sunday. But these days the mall opens earlier and closes later to accommodate a single tenant.
"We have a lot of ma and pa shops. ... So, the mall stays open for as late as the latest tenant wants," said Mall Manager Chris Eilers. "We're a little bit of an anomaly."
Our Journeys Cafe and Boba Shop, a family-owned business in Lincoln Mall, is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Russ Nygard, who owns and operates the cafe with his wife, Lisa, said the cafe has an outdoor patio, but patrons still have to enter through the mall, which means he opens and closes the mall.
Malls are changing hours, too
In some cases, malls are the ones changing their hours to better fit consumer trends and tenant needs.
"Our 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Monday-Saturday) and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday is perfect," said Julie Revallo, general manager of Northwoods Mall in Peoria. "We're not having any problems, and we still have all our national stores."
But there were plenty of issues before Northwoods adjusted to its current schedule.
For years, the mall was open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Since the pandemic, numerous tenants, especially the smaller locally owned stores, were struggling to hire enough staff for an 11-hour day, Revallo said.
So, the mall shortened its hours.
There are currently around 700 shopping malls left in the United States, down from 2,500 in the 1980s. Economists say although the pandemic didn't help, the decline is largely because of online sales.
"There's really not much here anymore," Cain said of CherryVale. "It's not like if you go to Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg."
Chris Green: 815-987-1241, cgreen@rrstar.com, @chrisfgreen; Jim Hagerty: jhagerty@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Stores set own hours at Rockford area malls to stay in business
