Economy and the local mall

We moved to CT from NYC in December 2006. We found that the local mall (Buckland Hills Mall) was a very nice, neat and reasonably crowded mall. It wasn't empty and wasn't as crowded as the NYC malls we were used to. We moved here during the winter months and the mall served as the primary destination almost whenever we ventured out in the evening. First of all, we found a newly opened outlet in the food court that served Indian and Thai food. We fell in love with it. We started going there so frequently that I befriended the guy that operated it. He was from Bangladesh and we used to chat up in Hindi. There were other places in the mall that also became attractions for my son. There was a Disney Shop with large characters on display. There was a pet store with lots of dogs, hamsters, birds, etc. Of course, there was a fountain too. And there was a candy shop that my son loved. There was a Minnie Moo Ice cream shop as well in the food court. There was a play area, but my son wasn't too interested in it.

Sometime last year, my friend from Bangladesh told me that his business was slow. I told him casually that it would pick up during winter. Little did I realize that he could not have survived until winter. One fine day, I saw that the shop had been closed for good. Very soon, I saw Minnie Moo shutting the door down. Even the large chain Arby's could not keep its shop open in the food court. These seemed alarming to me. And none of these spots had been taken up by any other merchant. Shortly thereafter, Mickey Mouse and his friends at the Disney Store were also forced out of the mall due to lack of business. I still used to take my son out there for a ride on the carousel and a brief stop at the pet shop. One fine day after a couple of months, I found out that the pet shop had been shut down overnight. My son felt very bad that the dogs were gone. Oh, the candy shop was gone long back too. And these are cases of just the shops we were interested in. There were many others that shut the door in the mall. Some of them were replaced by new stores, and some of them are still empty.

The last time I took my son for the carousel ride, the operator mentioned that they were closing down at 7 PM, instead of the regular 8 PM closure. I could only shake my head at how economy had affected my local mall. I felt really bad about it, but there was nothing I could do about it. Winter is right around the corner and I need to find other spots to entertain my son over the next 5-6 months! Because the only thing that now attracts my son to the local mall is the fountain that has stood as a witness to all these closures!