I live in Hyde Park, NY. I've been going here since the late 80's. The Poughkeepsie Galleria is 15 minutes away from me but I could care less. Danbury is clean and has better stores...and stores like Newbury Comics that are not close to me. They also have Chick-Fil-A!!! People need to keep coming here...this is a great example of what malls still can be today. Great video!!!
This is the legendary "Danbury Mall" of my childhood where we drove 45 minutes from the Hudson Valley of NY. It was a BIG mall. That carousel brings me back. That mall was always more impressive than the ones in NY we went to. If you keep people coming, the stores don't want to leave! People still like the idea of malls for casual shopping. Looking for clothing online is quick and has more options for sizes/colors, but you can't beat the racks for browsing and trying on.
Finally, someone else has noticed this about a mall. Not sure what it is, but going here has been magic for me my entire 22 year life. And I'm beyond grateful that it's still plenty packed to this day. 😁
This is my local mall. I really miss the way it looked prior to renovations when I was a kid in the early 2000’s. There was so much thought into the tile and paint choice. The green metal accents all over the mall were really pleasing to look at. The initial renovations weren’t even bad until they painted white over everything.
This mall and West Farms have managed to defy gravity. I think it's close proximity to the New York line really helps this mall. Plus they have a nice blend of stores to cater to lots of different shoppers + lots of shopping in and around the mall that brings crowds.
@@fleabittenadventures The third most successful in Connecticut seems debatable. It comes down to Buckland Hills, Sono, Trumbull, and Connecticut Post. I'm leaning towards Sono the most because they have luxury anchors. Their stores range from mid to high-end. Buckland Hills lost 2 anchors and Trumbull is owned by Namdar (still doing ok but Namdar is a bad sign for the future).
The 2 malls in the wealthier areas are doing just fine, while malls in lower income areas are dying. Makes sense as the middle class fades away into either lower class or upper class.
I cannot even begin to estimate the amount of Saturdays I spent at this mall in my teen and young adult years with my parents in the 80's and 90's. It was a short hours drive from the part of New York I'm from and the nicest mall around. I love that it's still thriving. :)
Weird seeing my local mall on this channel haha. My partner and I go almost every week and shop. Last time we went, it was absolutely packed and we could barely get around. I think a large part of why it is still popular is because there’s really not much to do in this part of CT, also combined with the rising population of the area.
Grew up going to this mall as a kid in the early 2000's, it was always super busy. Came back recently and was surprised at how busy it was considering how every other mall in the surrounding area seems to be declining.
A very nice mall I go there because they have so many good stores. Primark and Target are a big draw and Barnes and Noble Thanks for the video Tom! Happy shopping and can't wait to see more video's.
The two-tiered carousel, which has been in the mall since it opened in 1986. The carousel is an exact replica of the one that was used at the Danbury Fair for decades prior to the mall being built on the site of the fair. The carousel itself was built in 1985
One of my favorite malls of my childhood, and the one I go to with my best friend most often. It’s pretty busy all the time, especially around this time of year!
8:30 never seen a chick fil a in a mall??? That’s the only place you could find one when they started. And they were not in the food court, but always far from it and gave out free samples to get people to see how good their food was. It helped that they didn’t have to compete with other more established restaurants. It was years before they built any free standing locations and moved into food courts instead of far away locations in malls. At least that’s how it was when I was a kid in Texas,
Freehold Race way Mall is my mall since childhood. 1:17 it does look similar to Freehold. The roof is the same, the layout is similar, the abondened anchor stores have similar murals. The food court is similar with a double decker merry go round with Elavator close by over looking where the fountain used to be. Looking forward to your analysis on the Freehold Race way mall
The carousel itself was built in 1985 by the 3/B Bertazzon Company in Sernaglia, Italy. It is a themed carousel by S.B. Ramagosa and Sons of Wildwood, NJ
It is a pretty dangerous place to go. For years there were a bunch of robberies, assaults and a ton of stolen vehicles, but they were never reported. They didn’t want to turn people away
As someone who visits the Freehold Raceway Mall every other week, I can tell that it is thriving. In spite of losing three anchors store over the past few years (Sears, Nordstrom, and Lord & Taylor), Macerich continues to maintain a class A regional shopping center in the Freehold Raceway Mall.
This mall was always our post Christmas trip. We would take our Christmas money and hit all the clothing stores with big sales. And there was a Chik Fil A in Marley Station Mall Glen Burnie MD.
Yes, this is very similar to the Freehold Raceway Mall in NJ, and at first glance, I was almost fooled. Good location in central NJ down the road from Six Flags Great Adventure, and in the heart of Monmouth County (one of NJ's most affluent). The FRM used to easily be a top three NJ premiere mall. Now, it is sadly a dying mall. I would be willing to give you a VIP tour if you like. Great channel, keep up the fantastic work sir.
honestly i doubt the "dying" claim on freehold as somebody whos local mall is freehold, granted it obviously had a slow downturn (especially the department stores) as the pandemic went on but as the storm went away i feel like much of the vacant spaces (even by the lord and taylor) were being filled up again, granted i've been seeing a trend of less brand names and more local businesses but the mall still seems to be holding up in my opinion, and also much of the vacant department stores finally getting confirmed tenants in the future, with dicks moving into the lord and taylor and also dave and busters. but at the same time, i see what u meant by describing the mall as dying :D
@ as much as it pains me to make that claim, simply go visit other malls in NJ. Cherry Hill Mall, Willowbrook Mall, Garden State Plaza Paramus, and American Dream, for example, are much more lively and filled with shoppers, even on weekdays. Simply a different tier of activity, you’ll see what I mean.
I’ve been a Mall Rat since the early 70’s. Menlo Park Shopping Center, Woodbridge Mall, were my main ones growing up and I would go to Quaker Bridge, East Brunswick, Garden State in Paramus, Short Hills, Livingston, and Willowbrook once or twice. Now Danbury is my local Mall and we love it. It did have a slow period coming out of covid, I thought it was gonna die - but it really bounced back. Although a couple of weeks ago we had to go to J.C. Penney’s and we were the ONLY people in the entire store, it was a Thursday night about a month ago. I don’t think they’ll ever come back to the glory days of the 80’s and early 90’s especially with online shopping. But it’s still good to go and experience shopping and touching products before you buy them.
i been a patron since 86. i do miss the original mall. there was a french fry store that sold fresh cut fries that were the best ever. Banana republic looked like a safari store & i miss that. there was a sears that did complete auto repair. no parking garage in the back. instead the back would flood out & the mall would lose the parking.
I miss the fair. Wasn't as big as Big E, but it was really fun. Closed when I was 6. This mall has always been good. It would get so busy during the Holidays.
Been to Freehold so many times and yeah it’s got the same kind of ceiling lights, and it also has a 2nd floor food court with a double decker carousel in the middle just like this one, cool to see a mall so similar to one I’ve gone to for years, thanks for the vid
i live about 15 minutes away on the new york side.. the family ad i come here after work on random weekdays, and while not as packed as a saturday afternoon, this mall is busy. and it's Target is the best Target we've ever been to.
I think the advantage this mall has is its proximity to downstate New York, half the shoppers there are New Yorkers and many of the tenants live in New York as well.
The uniqueness of having the L.L. Bean store draws in more just the typical mall crowd. Plus the surrounding WholeFoods, Aldi, Mercedes-Benz, VW plus BMW just south of place all help keep a flow of people there. Every time I drive by the mall always seems busy.
This is a great mall! Super-crowded. I was in Danbury this past summer for a weekend event. Had lunch one day at the Chick Fil-A and the next day at the Shake Shack.
Norwalk has SONO which is closer than Danbury and more upscale. Danbury draws from some wealthy areas in Fairfield, Westchester and Putnam county. Seems like a normal Saturday at Danbury, it's deader during the week. It's a great mall actually and usually the only one I go to, so I was surprised to hear that malls were doing so poorly these last years. It has good parking, good stores, restaurants and easy on/off the highway. Not sure if it is discussed later, but the owners are planning to transition it out of 100% retail and incorporating other attractions, businesses and maybe even a school or condos. BTW the flooding in the parking lot is legendary. I grew up at the Livingston Mall - have to see if you've hit there yet, I think there's like 2 stores left.
I'm back here in the area. I was 14 when they opened this mall in 1986. We weren't mallrats but spent many hours in this mall back in the day as a teenager. Being back now it's nice to see this mall is thriving when I am back in it again as most are going belly up. This mall was rand still is looked down upon for killing downtown main street business and the beloved Danbury Fair. Now with Amazon and brick and mortar becoming extinct it's somehow nice to see business thriving where there's real live people interacting in some way.
Tom I like your channel a lot. My one suggestion would be maybe discuss some stores that aren't always common. Many times I can't quite see the sign or I do and I wonder what it is. Just a thought
Danbury stays pretty busy, the parking lot is pretty well packed every weekend and many weekdays. I think the two story Kid zone was an Old Navy when they put the stair in between the two levels. Chikfila was mall staple in the South in it's early days, they evolved into stand-alone restaurants in more recent history.
I live pretty close by, less than a ten minute drive away. I’d say this flow of traffic is an average Saturday, maybe a bit slower since Saturday had really nice weather. Very funny that you missed the fountain and got the tree again - they had literally installed the tree late Friday evening. Norwalk and their SoNo Collection mall are probably a little closer than Trumbull, at least by distance even if taking 7 south is a slow go. The Lord & Taylor has been approved by the city for a zoning change to be converted into apartments. The last I’d heard, the plan for that conversion was still many years out, assuming they even pursue it.
@ That’s the plan for the apartments! Really strange but they’ve been slowly working with the city on it for a couple of years, they were rezoned to support up to 150 apartments throughout the whole mall so you figure maybe 20-25 apartments in Lord & Taylor across the three floors? Strange times for all these huge spaces, glad Danbury Fair’s at least planning ahead instead of letting things die.
Worked in many different stores in the mall over my years of living in CT. It’s a nice place, you wouldn’t believe that the entire lot is full almost every Christmas holiday.
It seems like any mall with an Apple Store is doing well. That Danbury Family Diner looked like an old Johnny Rockets diner. Five Below has items above $5. That was the first two story Barns and Noble I’ve seen. Did you figure out the two story Target? That Round 1 did not require payment to get into? The one we have does. Great video, thanks for sharing.
18:41 It seems pretty common that Hollister stores in thriving malls have that updated storefront while the ones that aren’t doing so great still have the roof design.
I live in Jersey. Funny you said that, because I’m looking at this mall and it reminded me of Freehold Mall (that’s where we call it here or just “Freehold”). 😂
I have been going to this mall since the late 90's. On Saturdays it used to be busier than what you see here, but it was the 90s-00's. I will say what you see here is "jumpin" for today's world.
Yes! If/when I do a Round 1 video, it will probably be at that location. I was going to go a few months ago, but then someone drove their car through part of it and it was shut down for a little while.
This is just about a regular day there. I love this mall. I go maybe twice a month or more. Especially for the Lego store but the food court has great food. Believe me, just before Thanksgiving, you won't be able to walk as easy. It also get more beautiful with decorations. They just added and bowling alley too. Great place to spend a few hours.
Always love going to the danbury mall. Im from ny and always go here over the two malls that are closer to me (jv and palisades). It's just so much livelier there.
well I would only disagree that losing their anchor store Lord and Taylor was a big hit. I wish they would put one very upscale store and the mall such as Neiman Marcus
First time went to this mall would have been a good 35 years ago when I was a kid. Rarely ever went because it was a good hour drive. Farmington Valley Mall, however, was a mall I visited weekly.
The carousel is vintage and was a big sttraction back in the day with crazy lines. The Danbury Mall as it was known in Ct, was always the go to mall for neighbors of this Norther Fairfield region. Glad they got rid of that Hunter Green accenting on the rails. Those lampshade fixtures are a modern upgrade as it was all Victorian style I recall. Naturally the mall has always been a mix of poorer plebs and a showering of NYC commuters who are wealthier and live in the many towns of Northern Fairfield County. No matter how crowded it got it always was wide and high in design. That said people have always been hyper there. I remember it in the 80's- 90's. It took forever to drive out of the complex huge property. I have not set foot in there since 1998 winter. Move to NYC . Weird seeing where friends used to work.
This was my local mall that I used to go to a lot I really miss it and I don’t really go to it as much like I used to and also i think it’s probably going to be renovated again after 17 years of the earth and white tones
You must live in the perfect location to be able to go to so many different malls. But I think it’s really cool how you’re able to do this. Malls are definitely a thing of my generation. & idk but it seems like it’s not going to be a lasting thing.
The commenter remarking on safety is correct and may contribute to its being busy as well as it being a Saturday. I haven't been to the Mall in a while, but there always was any number of Security Guards walking around and observing. I believe Safavieh, the furniture store occupied the upper level area where Kidz Club is. And a big Thank You for allowing me to PRETEND walk around. Much appreciation.
def freehold is so similar to danbury and still healthy despite losing 3 anchors sears, lord and taylor and nordstrom I go to freehold to visit my grandmother at the nursing home. so commonly I stop there for lunch departing outta town don't go on black friday its packed you will not get parking
I live near freehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey and this mall interior looks very similar in design and 98% occupancy for this mall that’s pretty good for today’s standards
Mall is in one of the richest regions of the usa and a stones throw from rural ny towns that have limited shopping choices.... thus the popularity of the mall.
Good adjacent stores like Cheesecake Factory, Dicks Sporting Goods, Macy's (most are gone) are a few big stores for this place. I get a massage and eat at Cheesecake Factory every know and then. There is also good spending money from Westchester county in New York close by.
Great to see you at the Danbury Fair again! I’ll share some tidbits: Weekdays can be pretty busy as well, but yeah, the weekends are especially packed. There’s a rumor they’re going to put an apartment complex where the Lord and Taylor’s was supposed to be. I think the Barns and Nobel has been there late last year. It used to be down the road near where the Toys R Us used to be. And I was actually there at Round1’s opening day. It was a big event. The mayor was even there to cut the ribbon for the occasion. I also came across this video of the mall from when it originally opened if you want to have a look. Hope you have a good time when you come back. 👍 th-cam.com/video/HeCSXSnH5sU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=t7OIVX6l8Y-krLey
75% is underestimating. Most of the vacancies are around the Lord & Taylor wing. The rest of the mall, not so much. Maybe about 10 spaces. The whole mall is about 1.3 million square feet. L&T building itself is about 80,000 sq ft, add up the rest of the vacancies and we're looking at 10% vacancy at worst.
The mall is not like how it used to be. I am not too crazy about people that loiter and start all kinds of trouble. I do not like rap music. Rap music should be banned. I live and love heavy metal music and forever. Metal is for life. I like safety
On the topic of restaurants, you got there shortly after the chomp chomp opened, been in the works for a good while, shame it replaced probably the last desert moon, loved that place
The demographics have changed dramatically as there are way too many very young people comprising the customers base - they are not the type who frequent the high end stores which are the lifeblood of a successful mall. There used to be predominant professional older population with families from the contiguous affluent towns which appears not to be the case any longer - a bad sign for the continued success of any mall. I think we may be seeing the first signs of a mall on the decline.
Yes, what's your point though? I do full walkthroughs of mall. The bigger the mall, the longer the video. You should see how long my American Dream Mall video is.
I live in Hyde Park, NY. I've been going here since the late 80's. The Poughkeepsie Galleria is 15 minutes away from me but I could care less. Danbury is clean and has better stores...and stores like Newbury Comics that are not close to me. They also have Chick-Fil-A!!! People need to keep coming here...this is a great example of what malls still can be today. Great video!!!
This is the legendary "Danbury Mall" of my childhood where we drove 45 minutes from the Hudson Valley of NY. It was a BIG mall. That carousel brings me back. That mall was always more impressive than the ones in NY we went to. If you keep people coming, the stores don't want to leave! People still like the idea of malls for casual shopping. Looking for clothing online is quick and has more options for sizes/colors, but you can't beat the racks for browsing and trying on.
Finally, someone else has noticed this about a mall. Not sure what it is, but going here has been magic for me my entire 22 year life. And I'm beyond grateful that it's still plenty packed to this day. 😁
It's definitely a nice mall!
It's amazing how many people are willing to go to a mall when they feel safe there.
Yes, it seemed safe to me. Nice mall and great selection of stores too.
This is my local mall. I really miss the way it looked prior to renovations when I was a kid in the early 2000’s. There was so much thought into the tile and paint choice. The green metal accents all over the mall were really pleasing to look at. The initial renovations weren’t even bad until they painted white over everything.
Yeah, I'm not a fan of the all-white or tan malls. Bring back the bright colors!
wish they never took that beautiful fountain away, and the sit-in saborro
This mall and West Farms have managed to defy gravity. I think it's close proximity to the New York line really helps this mall. Plus they have a nice blend of stores to cater to lots of different shoppers + lots of shopping in and around the mall that brings crowds.
Yes, Danbury Fair and Westfarms are without question (in my opinion) the most successful malls in Connecticut! Thanks for watching!
@@fleabittenadventures The third most successful in Connecticut seems debatable. It comes down to Buckland Hills, Sono, Trumbull, and Connecticut Post. I'm leaning towards Sono the most because they have luxury anchors. Their stores range from mid to high-end. Buckland Hills lost 2 anchors and Trumbull is owned by Namdar (still doing ok but Namdar is a bad sign for the future).
The 2 malls in the wealthier areas are doing just fine, while malls in lower income areas are dying. Makes sense as the middle class fades away into either lower class or upper class.
I cannot even begin to estimate the amount of Saturdays I spent at this mall in my teen and young adult years with my parents in the 80's and 90's. It was a short hours drive from the part of New York I'm from and the nicest mall around. I love that it's still thriving. :)
Ridgefield Tigers 🐅
@@SSNESS I have no idea what Ridgefield Tigers is.
@@ohlookitsmaria it’s the town next door
@@SSNESS I wouldn't know. I'm a New Yorker. Just would come into CT to the mall.
Weird seeing my local mall on this channel haha. My partner and I go almost every week and shop. Last time we went, it was absolutely packed and we could barely get around. I think a large part of why it is still popular is because there’s really not much to do in this part of CT, also combined with the rising population of the area.
Thanks for the Danbury Fair Mall tour!
No problem! Thanks for watching!
@@fleabittenadventures Thanks! Round One Arcade is a big, nice arcade. Thanks for the walkthrough.
Great mall… busy, beautiful design! Hey! Meriden! Get with the program!
Grew up going to this mall as a kid in the early 2000's, it was always super busy. Came back recently and was surprised at how busy it was considering how every other mall in the surrounding area seems to be declining.
Yeah, it's definitely doing much better than 95% of the malls I've been to!
A very nice mall
I go there because they have so many good stores. Primark and Target are a big draw and Barnes and Noble
Thanks for the video Tom! Happy shopping and can't wait to see more video's.
Thanks! Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
The two-tiered carousel, which has been in the mall since it opened in 1986. The carousel is an exact replica of the one that was used at the Danbury Fair for decades prior to the mall being built on the site of the fair. The carousel itself was built in 1985
Thanks for the info!
I work at this mall! A lot of customers tell us that they come from New York, so I definitely think that factors into how successful it is
Never been to this mall, but I would definitely go to it. I think a BoxLunch location would be perfect to be there.
Marcus Dairy
One of my favorite malls of my childhood, and the one I go to with my best friend most often. It’s pretty busy all the time, especially around this time of year!
This is my local mall lol this is awesome to watch
Thanks for watching!
So many memories here❤️
Thanks for watching!
8:30 never seen a chick fil a in a mall??? That’s the only place you could find one when they started. And they were not in the food court, but always far from it and gave out free samples to get people to see how good their food was. It helped that they didn’t have to compete with other more established restaurants. It was years before they built any free standing locations and moved into food courts instead of far away locations in malls. At least that’s how it was when I was a kid in Texas,
Freehold Race way Mall is my mall since childhood. 1:17 it does look similar to Freehold. The roof is the same, the layout is similar, the abondened anchor stores have similar murals. The food court is similar with a double decker merry go round with Elavator close by over looking where the fountain used to be.
Looking forward to your analysis on the Freehold Race way mall
The carousel itself was built in 1985 by the 3/B Bertazzon Company in Sernaglia, Italy. It is a themed carousel by S.B. Ramagosa and Sons of Wildwood, NJ
It is a pretty dangerous place to go. For years there were a bunch of robberies, assaults and a ton of stolen vehicles, but they were never reported. They didn’t want to turn people away
Wow!! Most beautiful mall I’ve ever seen!!❤❤❤
I still miss the Fair!
As someone who visits the Freehold Raceway Mall every other week, I can tell that it is thriving. In spite of losing three anchors store over the past few years (Sears, Nordstrom, and Lord & Taylor), Macerich continues to maintain a class A regional shopping center in the Freehold Raceway Mall.
Good to hear! I hope to get out to see Freehold Raceway Mall sometime early in 2025! Thanks for watching!
This is pretty cool! I live close by, so it's often fun to just wander around the stores. Greetings from the 203 area! ^^
What a beautiful mall! My gosh! ❤
This mall was always our post Christmas trip. We would take our Christmas money and hit all the clothing stores with big sales. And there was a Chik Fil A in Marley Station Mall Glen Burnie MD.
Cool! Thanks for watching!
Yes, this is very similar to the Freehold Raceway Mall in NJ, and at first glance, I was almost fooled. Good location in central NJ down the road from Six Flags Great Adventure, and in the heart of Monmouth County (one of NJ's most affluent). The FRM used to easily be a top three NJ premiere mall. Now, it is sadly a dying mall. I would be willing to give you a VIP tour if you like. Great channel, keep up the fantastic work sir.
honestly i doubt the "dying" claim on freehold as somebody whos local mall is freehold, granted it obviously had a slow downturn (especially the department stores) as the pandemic went on but as the storm went away i feel like much of the vacant spaces (even by the lord and taylor) were being filled up again, granted i've been seeing a trend of less brand names and more local businesses but the mall still seems to be holding up in my opinion, and also much of the vacant department stores finally getting confirmed tenants in the future, with dicks moving into the lord and taylor and also dave and busters. but at the same time, i see what u meant by describing the mall as dying :D
@ as much as it pains me to make that claim, simply go visit other malls in NJ. Cherry Hill Mall, Willowbrook Mall, Garden State Plaza Paramus, and American Dream, for example, are much more lively and filled with shoppers, even on weekdays. Simply a different tier of activity, you’ll see what I mean.
I’ve been a Mall Rat since the early 70’s. Menlo Park Shopping Center, Woodbridge Mall, were my main ones growing up and I would go to Quaker Bridge, East Brunswick, Garden State in Paramus, Short Hills, Livingston, and Willowbrook once or twice. Now Danbury is my local Mall and we love it. It did have a slow period coming out of covid, I thought it was gonna die - but it really bounced back. Although a couple of weeks ago we had to go to J.C. Penney’s and we were the ONLY people in the entire store, it was a Thursday night about a month ago. I don’t think they’ll ever come back to the glory days of the 80’s and early 90’s especially with online shopping. But it’s still good to go and experience shopping and touching products before you buy them.
i been a patron since 86. i do miss the original mall. there was a french fry store that sold fresh cut fries that were the best ever. Banana republic looked like a safari store & i miss that. there was a sears that did complete auto repair. no parking garage in the back. instead the back would flood out & the mall would lose the parking.
I miss the fair. Wasn't as big as Big E, but it was really fun. Closed when I was 6. This mall has always been good. It would get so busy during the Holidays.
I'd love to see video of the Danbury Fair! I'm from northern CT, and I had never heard about it until I started doing these mall walkthroughs.
Been to Freehold so many times and yeah it’s got the same kind of ceiling lights, and it also has a 2nd floor food court with a double decker carousel in the middle just like this one, cool to see a mall so similar to one I’ve gone to for years, thanks for the vid
i live about 15 minutes away on the new york side.. the family ad i come here after work on random weekdays, and while not as packed as a saturday afternoon, this mall is busy. and it's Target is the best Target we've ever been to.
Thanks for watching!
I think the advantage this mall has is its proximity to downstate New York, half the shoppers there are New Yorkers and many of the tenants live in New York as well.
Makes sense. Thanks for watching!
The uniqueness of having the L.L. Bean store draws in more just the typical mall crowd. Plus the surrounding WholeFoods, Aldi, Mercedes-Benz, VW plus BMW just south of place all help keep a flow of people there. Every time I drive by the mall always seems busy.
Huge mall very busy
Yes, very!
9:30 That used to be a McDonalds, where you can sit and eat. They even had a fountain machine where you can get free refills.
Thanks for the info!
Freehold is absolutely this mall’s twin. No question.
those atrium skylights are a dead giveaway
Cool! I can't wait to see it for myself!
Thanks for watching!
This is a great mall! Super-crowded. I was in Danbury this past summer for a weekend event. Had lunch one day at the Chick Fil-A and the next day at the Shake Shack.
Norwalk has SONO which is closer than Danbury and more upscale. Danbury draws from some wealthy areas in Fairfield, Westchester and Putnam county. Seems like a normal Saturday at Danbury, it's deader during the week. It's a great mall actually and usually the only one I go to, so I was surprised to hear that malls were doing so poorly these last years. It has good parking, good stores, restaurants and easy on/off the highway. Not sure if it is discussed later, but the owners are planning to transition it out of 100% retail and incorporating other attractions, businesses and maybe even a school or condos. BTW the flooding in the parking lot is legendary. I grew up at the Livingston Mall - have to see if you've hit there yet, I think there's like 2 stores left.
I'm back here in the area. I was 14 when they opened this mall in 1986. We weren't mallrats but spent many hours in this mall back in the day as a teenager. Being back now it's nice to see this mall is thriving when I am back in it again as most are going belly up. This mall was rand still is looked down upon for killing downtown main street business and the beloved Danbury Fair. Now with Amazon and brick and mortar becoming extinct it's somehow nice to see business thriving where there's real live people interacting in some way.
Interesting points! Thanks for watching!
Tom I like your channel a lot. My one suggestion would be maybe discuss some stores that aren't always common. Many times I can't quite see the sign or I do and I wonder what it is. Just a thought
Danbury stays pretty busy, the parking lot is pretty well packed every weekend and many weekdays. I think the two story Kid zone was an Old Navy when they put the stair in between the two levels. Chikfila was mall staple in the South in it's early days, they evolved into stand-alone restaurants in more recent history.
I live pretty close by, less than a ten minute drive away. I’d say this flow of traffic is an average Saturday, maybe a bit slower since Saturday had really nice weather. Very funny that you missed the fountain and got the tree again - they had literally installed the tree late Friday evening.
Norwalk and their SoNo Collection mall are probably a little closer than Trumbull, at least by distance even if taking 7 south is a slow go.
The Lord & Taylor has been approved by the city for a zoning change to be converted into apartments. The last I’d heard, the plan for that conversion was still many years out, assuming they even pursue it.
Bad timing for the fountain I guess.... Oh well. Do they want to build apartments INSIDE the old Lord and Taylor? That would be weird.
@ That’s the plan for the apartments! Really strange but they’ve been slowly working with the city on it for a couple of years, they were rezoned to support up to 150 apartments throughout the whole mall so you figure maybe 20-25 apartments in Lord & Taylor across the three floors? Strange times for all these huge spaces, glad Danbury Fair’s at least planning ahead instead of letting things die.
Worked in many different stores in the mall over my years of living in CT. It’s a nice place, you wouldn’t believe that the entire lot is full almost every Christmas holiday.
Look at all these happy people
I miss the Danbury Fair.
We drove from NY to the Danbury Fair from childhood through my college years! I, too, miss the Fair. It left indelibly happy memories on my heart!
It seems like any mall with an Apple Store is doing well. That Danbury Family Diner looked like an old Johnny Rockets diner. Five Below has items above $5. That was the first two story Barns and Noble I’ve seen. Did you figure out the two story Target? That Round 1 did not require payment to get into? The one we have does. Great video, thanks for sharing.
The mural painting was done by a artist named kepto he did a whole you tube video. On what it means
Thanks for the info!
18:41 It seems pretty common that Hollister stores in thriving malls have that updated storefront while the ones that aren’t doing so great still have the roof design.
Most of the old Hollisters that I see with the roof design are either vacant or occupied by a new business, especially up north.
I live in Jersey. Funny you said that, because I’m looking at this mall and it reminded me of Freehold Mall (that’s where we call it here or just “Freehold”). 😂
Cool! I should be taking a look at Freehold Mall sometime early in 2025.
@ Yeah! Enjoy! There are a lot of restaurants in the area, too. But I don’t want to spoil it anymore. 😂
I have been going to this mall since the late 90's. On Saturdays it used to be busier than what you see here, but it was the 90s-00's. I will say what you see here is "jumpin" for today's world.
There is a Round 1 arcade at the Holyoke Mall in the former 21 forever (originally Steiger's) space.
Yes! If/when I do a Round 1 video, it will probably be at that location. I was going to go a few months ago, but then someone drove their car through part of it and it was shut down for a little while.
This is just about a regular day there. I love this mall. I go maybe twice a month or more. Especially for the Lego store but the food court has great food. Believe me, just before Thanksgiving, you won't be able to walk as easy. It also get more beautiful with decorations. They just added and bowling alley too. Great place to spend a few hours.
16:17 That’s Barnes and Noble’s logo for many of their new locations which are typically smaller in size
Thanks for the info. That's the first logo like that that I've seen.
The connection between malls booming after Primark becomes the anchor!
Yes, that seems to be true. Also, all the Primarks I have seen seem to leasing out old Sears stores. Primark almost feels like the new Sears to me.
Always love going to the danbury mall. Im from ny and always go here over the two malls that are closer to me (jv and palisades). It's just so much livelier there.
I remember getting a job there when it first opened up back in 1986. A lot has changed.
This and Trumbull were the malls I went to when I lived in Connecticut I’m glad it’s we’ll
well I would only disagree that losing their anchor store Lord and Taylor was a big hit. I wish they would put one very upscale store and the mall such as Neiman Marcus
16:58 I love that store, always going in there to check on what they have for Dreamcast
I would have taken a look if I'd had more time! Next time!
Yes they’re so nice there! I always stop in!
In the remodel they redid the foundation also. I remember as a kid you can smell the bleach from the old foundation
Have you ever thought of coming down to the DC area for MAGFest? They have hundreds of Pinball, Arcade systems, indie games and console machines.
Never heard of it actually. Sounds fun though. When is it held?
First time went to this mall would have been a good 35 years ago when I was a kid.
Rarely ever went because it was a good hour drive.
Farmington Valley Mall, however, was a mall I visited weekly.
The carousel is vintage and was a big sttraction back in the day with crazy lines. The Danbury Mall as it was known in Ct, was always the go to mall for neighbors of this Norther Fairfield region. Glad they got rid of that Hunter Green accenting on the rails. Those lampshade fixtures are a modern upgrade as it was all Victorian style I recall. Naturally the mall has always been a mix of poorer plebs and a showering of NYC commuters who are wealthier and live in the many towns of Northern Fairfield County. No matter how crowded it got it always was wide and high in design. That said people have always been hyper there. I remember it in the 80's- 90's. It took forever to drive out of the complex huge property. I have not set foot in there since 1998 winter. Move to NYC . Weird seeing where friends used to work.
Mall is booming. Spent many many hours walking around there in the early 90s when in HS.
This was my local mall that I used to go to a lot I really miss it and I don’t really go to it as much like I used to and also i think it’s probably going to be renovated again after 17 years of the earth and white tones
34:40 Primark didn’t take over the whole 2nd level, there was still some vacant space left.
Oh OK. Did Target go into part of that vacant space?
@@fleabittenadventuresYes, the whole building is occupied now.
When will you visit Rockaway Townsquare in NJ?
Already did. Stay tuned...
Footaction, TimeOut, Arby's, Sbarro's, Original Cookie, My Favorite Muffin, The Wall... The good old days
You must live in the perfect location to be able to go to so many different malls. But I think it’s really cool how you’re able to do this. Malls are definitely a thing of my generation. & idk but it seems like it’s not going to be a lasting thing.
Yeah, that's fairly light for the Danbury Fair. Btw, the owners of the mall were trying to get approval to renovate for apartments in Lord and Taylor.
Never seen a Chik Fil-A in a mall before? Pheasant Lane had one........unless it was sarcasm. :) (Didn't sound like it.)
Was there one? I honestly don't remember. After going to something like 100 malls, it all gets a bit blurry.
@@fleabittenadventures I guess it would. Simon ones are "You Seen One, You Saw 'Em All."
The commenter remarking on safety is correct and may contribute to its being busy as well as it being a Saturday. I haven't been to the Mall in a while, but there always was any number of Security Guards walking around and observing. I believe Safavieh, the furniture store occupied the upper level area where Kidz Club is. And a big Thank You for allowing me to PRETEND walk around. Much appreciation.
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked the video, and thanks for the info!
def freehold is so similar to danbury and still healthy despite losing 3 anchors sears, lord and taylor and nordstrom I go to freehold to visit my grandmother at the nursing home. so commonly I stop there for lunch departing outta town don't go on black friday its packed you will not get parking
Yes I live in Wilton and I go to this mall all the time. I usually go in there to get my iPhone screen and camera protectors replaced
This mall is definitely the twin to Freehold Raceway Mall. Same design and layout
I think the calendar store is thier all the time it is in my local mall
Really? Are people buying calendars all year long? In my experience they usually open in the fall and close sometime in January.
I know in Danbury there is a heavy Portuguese/Brazillian population.
Love the dinner ate there a few time
I'll have to check it out someday!
The mural is by an artist name kip toe and he has a youtube channel where you can watch him paint this mural.
I live near freehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey and this mall interior looks very similar in design and 98% occupancy for this mall that’s pretty good for today’s standards
Mall is in one of the richest regions of the usa and a stones throw from rural ny towns that have limited shopping choices.... thus the popularity of the mall.
I've been to freehold and it's extremely similar
Interesting. I'll try to do a comparison when I eventually get down there! Thanks!
@fleabittenadventures If I wasn't told where you were, I would have guessed Freehold.
The carousel was built in Italy, and shipped to the mall when it opened
Kids Klub was Arhaus Furniture, Lord and Taylor is supposed to be redeveloped into apartments
No, Arhaus is where Barnes and noble is now. You can tell from the brick storefront.
@ You’re right. It was Safaveih Home Furnishings. They both left at around the same time period.
They would probably need to tear down the Lord and Taylor building to put in apartments, right? Thanks for the info!
@@fleabittenadventures Not too sure, I have seen anchor boxes heavily modified into apartments. They haven’t really given specifics yet
The Shops at SkyView College Point Boulevard Flushing NY
To answer your question, yes it’s VERY similar to Freehold. Only I think it’s one might be bigger.
Freehold is a bit bigger
@ Is it? It’s hard to tell in the video. 😆
@@cristinacho7881 Yes, Freehold is about 1.5 million square feet while Danbury is about 1.3 million square feet
@@rl8429 Gotcha
Good adjacent stores like Cheesecake Factory, Dicks Sporting Goods, Macy's (most are gone) are a few big stores for this place. I get a massage and eat at Cheesecake Factory every know and then. There is also good spending money from Westchester county in New York close by.
Again I’ll comment on how you must have a very reliable vehicle to be able to drive up and down the east coast visiting all these different malls.
I think they envisioned you when they coined the term fuddy duddy
I'm not sure if you're trying to insult me or just joking around... Either way, what in particular do you think makes me a fuddy duddy?
Great to see you at the Danbury Fair again! I’ll share some tidbits:
Weekdays can be pretty busy as well, but yeah, the weekends are especially packed.
There’s a rumor they’re going to put an apartment complex where the Lord and Taylor’s was supposed to be.
I think the Barns and Nobel has been there late last year. It used to be down the road near where the Toys R Us used to be.
And I was actually there at Round1’s opening day. It was a big event. The mayor was even there to cut the ribbon for the occasion.
I also came across this video of the mall from when it originally opened if you want to have a look.
Hope you have a good time when you come back. 👍
th-cam.com/video/HeCSXSnH5sU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=t7OIVX6l8Y-krLey
Thanks for the info and for watching!
It looks to me that they have 75% occupancy not 98%. There are a lot of vacant stores.
75% is underestimating. Most of the vacancies are around the Lord & Taylor wing. The rest of the mall, not so much. Maybe about 10 spaces. The whole mall is about 1.3 million square feet. L&T building itself is about 80,000 sq ft, add up the rest of the vacancies and we're looking at 10% vacancy at worst.
Rule of thumb: if the mall has an Apple Store, it’s doing just fine.
You may be correct!
Is that a child or a dog doing the high pitch yipping sound? Either way, would totally have been unacceptable when I was a kid
I think a child as I didn't see any dogs.
I remember I shopped here with friends in the 1990s and I was here when I found out Kurt Cobain was found dead
The mall is not like how it used to be. I am not too crazy about people that loiter and start all kinds of trouble. I do not like rap music. Rap music should be banned. I live and love heavy metal music and forever. Metal is for life. I like safety
Yeah this looks about average for a saturday
Its doing well enough that the level one game store gets enough traffic they were able to open a second location in another mall
On the topic of restaurants, you got there shortly after the chomp chomp opened, been in the works for a good while, shame it replaced probably the last desert moon, loved that place
I'll watch the rest of the video later
The demographics have changed dramatically as there are way too many very young people comprising the customers base - they are not the type who frequent the high end stores which are the lifeblood of a successful mall.
There used to be predominant professional older population with families from the contiguous affluent towns which appears not to be the case any longer - a bad sign for the continued success of any mall.
I think we may be seeing the first signs of a mall on the decline.
53 Minutes?!?
Yes, what's your point though? I do full walkthroughs of mall. The bigger the mall, the longer the video. You should see how long my American Dream Mall video is.