I grew up going to this mall. We would ride our bikes 6 miles to spend the day here. Foot traffic was so strong that security guards would have to direct the flow. Across from the Chuck E Cheese was one of the best arcades ever and every quarter I could earn went into it. They also had one of the best movie theaters in the metro. Thanks for doing this.
@@JackLivingston97 Awesome! I remember both, but that frozen yogurt place was the bomb. When I was a kid, I'd always get the chocolate-flavored frozen yogurt. I thought it tasted exactly like ice cream. Also, that place NorthCdogg22 pointed out down in the food-court area was definitely an electronic/video game store, like an Electronics Boutique, or something. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I remember going there several times. 👍
If I remember right this store had a bunch of cds you could scan and sample. It was the first time I listened to slipknot on their self titled album. I was too young to listen and parents wouldnt let me buy explicit CDs. Soo I spent most of my time jamming to the devils music 😂
These videos are a total blast from the past. Thank you. However, I am saddened as well. They're also like a testament to the dying of americana. The spirit of American prosperity. T.T
I’m glad you enjoy them thank you for watching! And it is sad, I just wanna make sure I get all these malls and they’re history on video record so people can remember what once was
For those that are to young, this mall had 4 theaters in it. I saw a lot of movies there in the late 70s through the 80s. This mall has changed a lot since then.
Saw so many movies there. I saw Back to the Future on Oct 26th 1985, the date in the movie. I thought the place would be packed, but it was just a regular crowd for a movie a little past its peak.
14:30 that food stall was a Subway. It was there for a very long time. I grew up in the 80s and 90s in a city next to there and this mall had alot of fun memories in my life. Down by that golf course there was a place called Electronics Boutique. It was like Xmas being in there looking at Gameboy games. Also loved Kaybee Toys on the upper level. There was a arcade for quite awhile by the lower level north entrance. There was something magical about going to a mall and finding stores and things you love while seeing friends and crushes there also. Nowadays that magic is gone. You click a button and the item shows up on your doorstep. Great work BTW. Thanks. The old Music, photos ect well done
That chuck e cheese was where I had my 3rd grade birthday party. Brings tears to my eyes watching this video I remember meeting Santa there every year.
Growing up just a few towns over, I went to Burnsville center frequently, and I still do. I remember getting cotton candy ice cream with my mom at the kemp’s, watching Santa on his big little stage, and Christmas shopping at all the little pop up shops that appeared in November and December. I had several birthday parties at the Chuck e Cheese’s in elementary school. In high school, my friends and I would wander the slowly-decaying mall, browsing accessories at hot topic, laughing at merchandise at Spencer’s, and buying d&d supplies at Games by James. Now, I still swing by every once in a while. My mom and I get soap at the eternal bath n body works, hiking materials at the Eddie Bauer, and clothes at the department stores, but when we’re there, we comment on the gross, splotchy carpet as well. I find myself standing in front of the empty lots where Games by James and FYE once sat, and all I can think is, “they’re gone.” Walking through Burnsville Center’s liminal spaces, I can’t help but feel what they represent to me. It’s like a physical manifestation of my childhood as it decays before my eyes. I’ll miss it.
I want to add more about the Chuck E Cheese’s. At this time, in this memory, I was about seven, and December had arrived. My birthday came around early in the month, and I wanted to celebrate at that Chuck E Cheese’s, so we invited a couple close friends. I remember being in the car with my mom and dad, driving through the dark, then-populated parking lot as snow drifted under the yellow streetlights. The Chuck E’ Cheese’s sign glowed through the flurry. That clear image sticks in my head, but the rest becomes a blur since it happened over a decade ago. I remember eating pizza, crawling through the playground, playing games, and watching the animatronics. I remember my friends and family singing happy birthday. I remember opening presents. Aside from that, though, I remember nothing.
Chucky cheese was a sight to behold if you ever got to have a b day there. I remember the animatronics looked like sparks would shoot from their mouths as they twitched and writhed doing their songs. There was nothing safe about play time in the 80s@@Sarahhud
Wow, thank you for doing this video. It was great to watch. So many good memories growing up at this mall. The space with the neon lights closed last yr and was an FYE music store for many years. The food court spot with the false wall was a subway since the early 80s and you went inside that space to order so they had to block it off to keep people from going in there. Closed in 2020 during Covid. The New Mexican Italian pizza place was a sbarro pizza from 2000 to 2021. The space next to the mini golf used to be a big arcade from 2008 to 2020. Prior to that I remember it being small stores. Voice stream was down there for awhile in the late 90s and also mall security was there for years before they got to cheap and hired the knock off mall cops they have now. The space with the glass next to mini golf was a store that sold snacks pop candy etc for awhile. the Carlson’s turned into Mervyns California for many years then changed to dicks and Steve and Barry’s after bankruptcy. In the last 2 months the mall has now lost American Eagle, Rue 21, Games by James, Buckle, and Old Navy is about to close and move across the road to a strip mall. Sadly, this mall only had a handful of name brand stores left and will be lucky to last another 1 or 2 years.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I’m glad you have so many memories with this Mall and thank you for clarifying where everything was.. it would’ve been incredible to see this place when it still had all this inside
That little shop under the elevators at 13:00 was a place called Famous Snacks, and it was basically a mini mart inside of a mall. Last time I went through there a couple years ago, the owner moved from that location under the elevator to the third floor above the food court. That mini golf place right across from it was an arcade called Tilt, and it was a coin toss as to which machines were actually working on any given day. I remember the Initial D machine’s manual transmission never worked and the steering wheel made your hands smell like blood for some reason. I’m still mourning the loss of the Sbarros to this day.
Hello!! I've been going to this mall since 2009. It has been near and dear to my heart since I started going. I have watched it change quite a lot and it makes me sad to see how awful it is now. I would like to answer some of your questions. 1. the store with the neon lights was FYE, I used to love going for CD's and video games. 2. I have a whole lot of memories of the chuck e cheeses there. Unfortunately they had remodeled it so its a lot different from when I grew up. It had a single animatronic but it was quite advanced. It also had these very unique green screen type thing for the kids to play with as well as these computers next to his stage. 3. the stall behind the pillar used to be a subway lol.
Thanks for commenting and answering all those questions! I’m glad you enjoyed the video and had so many good memories at this mall, I wish I could’ve seen what it used to look like in its heyday.
you know this video gives me a really weird vibe because this place is nostalgic to me and i had never seen realized it was going down as i was growing up. i remember going into the gordman’s to go see my brother while he was working when i was 9 years old and to just see not only gordman’s , but almost every other store gone, is just baffling to me. and as the video goes on, it’s interesting to me as i try to recall which closed store is which and what it used to look like.
I work at Burnsville Mall, and have for 27 years! I like working here. Your video is great! The best of the many dead mall videos. Oh, the large space next to 2nd floor was a martial arts studio and taught martial
This is genuinely surprising to me, because Burnsville Center was always considered a classy mall. My mom lives in Rosemount, and has for decades, so when my sister and I were kids, she'd always bring my sister and I there on weekends. I loved the aesthetic of that mall, even way back then. What a bummer. I need to go there again before they demolish the poor thing.
@@NorthCdogg22 Well, brother, I'm heading there tomorrow. A co-worker wants to go to the Eagan Outlet Mall, and I told him I'd go with, and even drive us down there, IF we can swing inot Burnsville Center. He asked why, and I told him about your YT channel. He was so dumbfounded by the fact I want to go there, not realizing how special it'll be to me to see this place, maybe for the last time in my life.
Just drove there last weekend with my brother to say our farewells. Our mother passed last summer and she would bring us to that mall often. Was great nostalgia for us both. Pretty sad to see what meant so much to us back then, now means nothing to the new generations. The new generation would like not to have any human interaction if they can avoid it. Rather stare at a tablet or a video game for interactions with others. God help us when these disconnected kids are in charge of taking care of us when we are too old to do it ourselves. @@Fluoride_Jones
I came to this mall the day the Guns N’ Roses “Use Your Illusions” albums came out in 1991. Bought the cassettes at the Music Land and had a slice of pepperoni at sbaros.
I worked at Midland Records when that came out. I remember shopping there in the late 70s, when they haf a Woolworths! They had counter seating where you could order grill items, soda, milkshakes, etc. Sometime around 1985 it became a Stuart's clothing store.
Grew up in Burnsville. My favorite store as a kid was "Now and Then". Bought my lip glosses that came in a tin there, as well as pom pom pens and the shoelaces that had designs on them. On the second level near the entrance there was a wonderful, cozy restaurant called "The Brothers." It's logo was a sketch of 2 brothers from around 1850s. I also worked at the mall in 1991.❤
I think the restaurant you mention was Brothers Deli. The drawing was of Sam and Leonard Burstein, the former owners. One of their sons has a Brothers Deli downtown Minneapolis that’s still in operation. Their mazzo ball soup truly is the best!
I worked for 1 Potato 2 in the 90's as a DM and worked at this location, in the food court, quite a bit. Food court used to be filled with restaurants. Then the late 90s-2001 I worked for Cinnabon and managed this location when it was where the Old Navy is now. They moved it up the escalator near Sears but it's gone now.
That under the elevator space used to be a convenience store. I worked above the food court with Sleep Number, and there was a Best Buy mobile, H&M was just opening, then closed 2 years later, and Sears was still going. It was tragic to see what happened from 2014 to 2016. Once Sears closed, 1/3 to 1/2 of the square footage closed in rapid succession.
Indeed. A bellwether test to determine when a Vegas casino was going to close was when they shut down the buffet. If no one stayed long enough to eat, they weren't staying long enough to gamble. With malls, if you don't have destination dining, it's no longer a destination because 75% of shopping is Christmas related. Now that a sizeable portion of holiday shopping is online, no reason to have a store.
Hey, I circled back to the episode that got me started watching this series! It's cool coming back around to it now that I've seen your other episodes and know what to look for. I remember the first time I watched this thinking that it was so weird that the food court would close up. When I was a kid, you'd avoid eating there because it's more expensive, but walking around for an hour and a half, it was like a candy bar by the register in that it's not what you came there for, it's more money than you want to spend, but the impulse to eat was there. That's how the teriyaki chicken places always got my money.
The mini golf area in the food court used to be the arcade. That was there until I believe mid-2020. It's sad to see this mall die so fast in the last two years. Before I moved out of MN in 2020, the mall still had life. When I went o college in 2002 - 2003, this mall was always busy.
As someone who lives in a very close neighboring town to the mall, I’d say that it’s an incredibly underrated dead mall. Seeing old commercials and photos of the mall, with all its bustling customers, and comparing it to the mall today, honestly leaves a hole in my heart. It seemed that it was going to have a good run, but malls like the Eden Prairie center or the Mall of America really brought attendance levels down as both those stores seem to have a pretty considerable amount of customers today, especially the Mall of America. And it’s not like the establishments around the mall have low attendance rates either, they all seem to be running well. Although from what I’ve experienced, the Chuck E. Cheese and the Dick’s sporting goods seem to be running better than the other stores. Sorry for the rant! It’s just great to see more content for this place, as its honestly deserved.
My mom used to bring me here all the time. I remember when I used to beg her for an extra few dollars in the Claire’s you walked past earlier lol. I especially remember playing with the recently bought toys while eating at the food court. I always wanted to stop by the neon area, I can’t remember what it was supposed to be though. You videos make me remember so much. ❤
I used to work at the theater by this mall back in late ‘09! That place you’re talking about at the 12 minute mark was an FYE store. I always wondered if it was still there because it was the last time I went there. Even I saw the writings on the wall!
Thank you for making this video! I lived down the street from this mall while going to college in 2018. I come from a small northern town close to Duluth, so during my first visit to this mall I was excited to see it, because it would have been the only other mall I’ve visited other than Miller Hill in Duluth and MOA. Unfortunately during my time living in Burnsville, the mall had a very bad reputation for sex trafficking and other crimes. I visited by myself only once, and couldn’t explore the places I wanted to see since I felt unsafe, so I get to live nostalgically vicariously through your video! Also A tier song choices for this vid, makes it even that much better 👍
I remember both, I also remember the Sears office area. It seemed strange, but there were offices where insurance agents worked so you could get a policy while you were shopping. I think it was Allstate.
The store with all of the neon at 12:02 was called FYE and it was essentially a pop culture store. They had Japanese sodas, trendy clothes, stuff like fidget spinners when they were goin crazy. They also had giant movie character statues, super detailed ones for sale. I remember going in there everytime I went.Weird store. There was also a biggish un used stage in the back left. Though im not sure it was ever used. Im too young to have seen it. I grew up going there and still live next to it. Been sad to see it fall over the past ten years.
The whole idea of tearing down indoor malls to be outdoor malls in a state where it's covered in snow and ice and super cold for almost six months out of the year seems idiotic. I know I don't like going from store to store outside when it's -10 outside. In all honesty, if they could somehow convert these malls into office spaces or something rather than tearing everything down like they tend to do... Are you covering any of the Minnesota malls in the north like Northtown Mall? That mall has been slowly getting chunks of it cut out for other businesses as time went on.
I don’t get the outdoor malls either in Minnesota: there’s one in Maple Grove that is struggling and a near clone on the opposite end of the metro in Woodbury. Cold. Parking is a pain.
The red neon lit shop at about 12:00 reminds me of the Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores of the '90s. Could it have been one of those before it became an FYE?
What really BAFFLES me about the death of (most) malls, especially in MinneSnowta, is that the malls are surrounded by a good square mile of successful retail stores and restaurants that you have to drive to, park, get out of your vehicle in the snow, rain, cold, heat, walk into the store, do your shopping, leave, drive to another store, rinse and repeat 😞 AND, many of these stores and restaurants used to be located inside the climate-controlled malls, where you parked your vehicle once -- maybe in an parking ramp -- then spend your hours walking and shopping within a pleasant environment (subjective, yes). Why did the malls fail, but the drive-up individual stores succeed? Are we midwesterner's so dumb that we actually like to battle traffic (and in the Burnsville Center square mile surroundings, traffic is snarled and gnarled with turn lanes, side upon side streets, bad parking lots, and so on). Do we enjoy getting out in the 4-season elements? Like I said, baffling and quite illogical. Especially since Victor Gruen, the father of enclosed malls (Southdale) thought it would be nice to offer Minnesotan's a climate controlled indoor shopping experience to replace all the hassles in driving up... well, 'nuff said.
well it has to do with the 80 million dollar price tag that was put on the mall when it was purchased in 1992 from the original owners. They purchased the building for way too much money. This caused the owners to be so much in a hurry to recoup that cost. So the rent for space was astronomical. However the strip malls near by. Rent is much less. So ya you can connect the dots from there. Has very little to do with mid westerners being stupid.
@marcussmith4913 Yes, that makes sense for the demise of B'vlle Center (sale of mall + greed=tenant loss), but my argument applies to many of the enclosed malls (of which you are an expert in portraying their deaths - well done, btw), even the granddaddy of them all, Southdale, which is a ghost town inside, but it's surrounded by a good square mile of successful strip malls (as I described above). I dunno, perhaps the cost per sq ft in the enclosed malls can't compete with the cost of a solo brick and mortar storefront, and the consumer/shopper has no choice but to drive up to the storefront in whatever weather elements exist at the time. There must of been a time where the balance between shopping inside a mall vs. storefront was teetering precariously - malls didn't see the occasional loss of a retailer here and there as a threat until one or more of the major anchors went belly-up (Sears, Bloomingdales, Herberger's in the midwest). Anyhow, I've not researched any studies, I'm not educated with a business degree of any sort -- I'm just shooting from the hip in my observations and thoughts. Maybe I'm the Rodney Dangerfield of Business Basics ;-)
That floor with the playground area has been taken out, along with the flooring/carpet, also it has been taped off from the public with no lights for that area
Your dead mall videos are so awesome! Burnsville center is sad case because I believe there is still time to save this mall but, in the hands of Kohan. This mall is screwed! This mall is going to be the next century III in the next couple of years.
Shame this mall went downhill. Back in the later 80's I used to manage a Burger King that was located on the main level Northeast side there was an Applebee's across the hall from me.
I grew up going to this mall as a kid at echo park. I got my first cell phone here, my parents used to take me to the buffet in the mall right by the entrance…. Wow really sad to see it look so depressing
I watch these videos because I was a teenage mall rat in the 1980's and malls used to be so full of life and commercial activity back then so it's sad that most are now dying today. They were also a place for families but not so much anymore given the increase in criminal activity at many malls. They had to close the food court at the formerly nice mall near where I live due to "teens" fighting all the time.
Grew up just south of the center. Walking there took 10 minutes. Went opening day and did maintenance in the 80's. Movie theatrers, Aladdins castle( arcade) and chicks. JC Penney original and still there 2024. 1/3 of one end of the mall is going to be turned into a sports complex this year. Its not dead yet.
In 1988 The Chuck E Cheese used to be names Circus Pizza, And all around Minnesota and Wisconsin had Circus Pizza Locations, But until 1999 They all had to convert to Chuck E Cheese
Hard to believe a mall could house that number of stores vs now. Bet 75% or more of those “big name” businesses don’t exist anymore. Kinda sad in a way.
I live 15 minutes or so away from this mall, and have been shocked to see how far it's fallen in just a few short years. This was one of the malls I frequented in my childhood, and recent events certainly haven't been kind to it, but I think this mall was between a rock and a hard place even before then. The massive Mall of America in Bloomington kind of swamped other malls in the area (except for the Eden Prairie Mall which is doing better than Burnsville Center) and that was built in the 90's. I think COVID and online shopping just accelerated what was already in motion. There's some positive signs, though. There's plans to partially redevelop sections of the mall to mixed space use, and the former Gordmann's anchor is being turned into an Asian grocery store, so I don't think it will be totally demolished in the future. But it'll never really be the same again, which is why I've gone back in the past few months to document it in its current state and to hopefully keep as a memento for keepsake. Great video!
As of now, this whole mall has been sold to a Chinese business man and a bunch of partners. They will convert the space to Asian food and a BIG Asian supermarket. The goal I believe is to have it ready by Summer of 2024.
It wasn't until the 70s that color TVs became more popular than B&W TVs. And even after that, for 20 more years, newspapers were still a major form of information and most of their pages were B&W. So, B&W is associated with things that are old.
One more comment. This is still an attractive mall, however the pics from the 80s show how much more beautiful it was back then. Things should not be changed just for the sake of change. I’ve never been to the mall of America but from what I’ve seen in videos it’s ugly. Especially that warehouse looking ceiling. It’s just a giant warehouse with stores and a county fair inside. I much prefer how Burnsville was in the 80s before the remodel.
Just subbed ya pal. It's a Rome thing Everyday channel. Comments channel. It's been since 1989 since u last set foot in this mall. There was a white castle restaurant somewhere near this mall I used to stop at every time we made a run to mpls
I grew up going to this mall. We would ride our bikes 6 miles to spend the day here. Foot traffic was so strong that security guards would have to direct the flow. Across from the Chuck E Cheese was one of the best arcades ever and every quarter I could earn went into it. They also had one of the best movie theaters in the metro. Thanks for doing this.
The store with neons was an FYE until it “moved” to Maplewood in 2021! Behind the giant pillar was a subway for many years! Great video!
Thank you for sharing! And thank you for watching, glad you enjoyed!
+Jack Livingston
Do you remember the Sbarro, or the frozen yogurt shop in the food court, from way back when?
Indeed! Especially sbarro
@@JackLivingston97 Awesome! I remember both, but that frozen yogurt place was the bomb. When I was a kid, I'd always get the chocolate-flavored frozen yogurt. I thought it tasted exactly like ice cream.
Also, that place NorthCdogg22 pointed out down in the food-court area was definitely an electronic/video game store, like an Electronics Boutique, or something. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I remember going there several times. 👍
If I remember right this store had a bunch of cds you could scan and sample. It was the first time I listened to slipknot on their self titled album. I was too young to listen and parents wouldnt let me buy explicit CDs. Soo I spent most of my time jamming to the devils music 😂
These videos are a total blast from the past. Thank you. However, I am saddened as well. They're also like a testament to the dying of americana. The spirit of American prosperity. T.T
I’m glad you enjoy them thank you for watching! And it is sad, I just wanna make sure I get all these malls and they’re history on video record so people can remember what once was
@@NorthCdogg22 we lived like kings and didn't even know it. 🤧 😅
For those that are to young, this mall had 4 theaters in it. I saw a lot of movies there in the late 70s through the 80s. This mall has changed a lot since then.
Saw so many movies there. I saw Back to the Future on Oct 26th 1985, the date in the movie. I thought the place would be packed, but it was just a regular crowd for a movie a little past its peak.
14:30 that food stall was a Subway. It was there for a very long time. I grew up in the 80s and 90s in a city next to there and this mall had alot of fun memories in my life. Down by that golf course there was a place called Electronics Boutique. It was like Xmas being in there looking at Gameboy games. Also loved Kaybee Toys on the upper level. There was a arcade for quite awhile by the lower level north entrance. There was something magical about going to a mall and finding stores and things you love while seeing friends and crushes there also. Nowadays that magic is gone. You click a button and the item shows up on your doorstep. Great work BTW. Thanks. The old Music, photos ect well done
That chuck e cheese was where I had my 3rd grade birthday party. Brings tears to my eyes watching this video I remember meeting Santa there every year.
Growing up just a few towns over, I went to Burnsville center frequently, and I still do. I remember getting cotton candy ice cream with my mom at the kemp’s, watching Santa on his big little stage, and Christmas shopping at all the little pop up shops that appeared in November and December. I had several birthday parties at the Chuck e Cheese’s in elementary school. In high school, my friends and I would wander the slowly-decaying mall, browsing accessories at hot topic, laughing at merchandise at Spencer’s, and buying d&d supplies at Games by James. Now, I still swing by every once in a while. My mom and I get soap at the eternal bath n body works, hiking materials at the Eddie Bauer, and clothes at the department stores, but when we’re there, we comment on the gross, splotchy carpet as well. I find myself standing in front of the empty lots where Games by James and FYE once sat, and all I can think is, “they’re gone.” Walking through Burnsville Center’s liminal spaces, I can’t help but feel what they represent to me. It’s like a physical manifestation of my childhood as it decays before my eyes. I’ll miss it.
I want to add more about the Chuck E Cheese’s. At this time, in this memory, I was about seven, and December had arrived. My birthday came around early in the month, and I wanted to celebrate at that Chuck E Cheese’s, so we invited a couple close friends. I remember being in the car with my mom and dad, driving through the dark, then-populated parking lot as snow drifted under the yellow streetlights. The Chuck E’ Cheese’s sign glowed through the flurry. That clear image sticks in my head, but the rest becomes a blur since it happened over a decade ago. I remember eating pizza, crawling through the playground, playing games, and watching the animatronics. I remember my friends and family singing happy birthday. I remember opening presents. Aside from that, though, I remember nothing.
Chucky cheese was a sight to behold if you ever got to have a b day there. I remember the animatronics looked like sparks would shoot from their mouths as they twitched and writhed doing their songs. There was nothing safe about play time in the 80s@@Sarahhud
I remember seeing Santa here too. What great memories thanks for sharing.
Wow, thank you for doing this video. It was great to watch. So many good memories growing up at this mall. The space with the neon lights closed last yr and was an FYE music store for many years. The food court spot with the false wall was a subway since the early 80s and you went inside that space to order so they had to block it off to keep people from going in there. Closed in 2020 during Covid. The New Mexican Italian pizza place was a sbarro pizza from 2000 to 2021. The space next to the mini golf used to be a big arcade from 2008 to 2020. Prior to that I remember it being small stores. Voice stream was down there for awhile in the late 90s and also mall security was there for years before they got to cheap and hired the knock off mall cops they have now. The space with the glass next to mini golf was a store that sold snacks pop candy etc for awhile. the Carlson’s turned into Mervyns California for many years then changed to dicks and Steve and Barry’s after bankruptcy. In the last 2 months the mall has now lost American Eagle, Rue 21, Games by James, Buckle, and Old Navy is about to close and move across the road to a strip mall. Sadly, this mall only had a handful of name brand stores left and will be lucky to last another 1 or 2 years.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I’m glad you have so many memories with this Mall and thank you for clarifying where everything was.. it would’ve been incredible to see this place when it still had all this inside
Wow man, I just absolutely love your editing and this video series. Thanks for spending the time making these! Hope to see more soon
Thank you very much! Subscribe so you don’t miss out, new videos every Saturday night
That little shop under the elevators at 13:00 was a place called Famous Snacks, and it was basically a mini mart inside of a mall. Last time I went through there a couple years ago, the owner moved from that location under the elevator to the third floor above the food court. That mini golf place right across from it was an arcade called Tilt, and it was a coin toss as to which machines were actually working on any given day. I remember the Initial D machine’s manual transmission never worked and the steering wheel made your hands smell like blood for some reason.
I’m still mourning the loss of the Sbarros to this day.
I remember all of that too, and I also remember that the restaurant in the food court that was obscured by a pillar was a Subway.
Hello!! I've been going to this mall since 2009. It has been near and dear to my heart since I started going. I have watched it change quite a lot and it makes me sad to see how awful it is now. I would like to answer some of your questions. 1. the store with the neon lights was FYE, I used to love going for CD's and video games. 2. I have a whole lot of memories of the chuck e cheeses there. Unfortunately they had remodeled it so its a lot different from when I grew up. It had a single animatronic but it was quite advanced. It also had these very unique green screen type thing for the kids to play with as well as these computers next to his stage. 3. the stall behind the pillar used to be a subway lol.
Thanks for commenting and answering all those questions! I’m glad you enjoyed the video and had so many good memories at this mall, I wish I could’ve seen what it used to look like in its heyday.
you know this video gives me a really weird vibe because this place is nostalgic to me and i had never seen realized it was going down as i was growing up. i remember going into the gordman’s to go see my brother while he was working when i was 9 years old and to just see not only gordman’s , but almost every other store gone, is just baffling to me. and as the video goes on, it’s interesting to me as i try to recall which closed store is which and what it used to look like.
its a damn shame isnt it.
Quality dead mall content! Enjoyed the flashbacks to how an area in the mall used to look. Also, loved the vintage tunes!
I’m glad you enjoyed!
I work at Burnsville Mall, and have for 27 years! I like working here. Your video is great! The best of the many dead mall videos. Oh, the large space next to 2nd floor was a martial arts studio and taught martial
That’s a awesome! Thank you for watching I’m glad you liked it!
Continued: martial arts and exercise- mainly for kids. The studio was next to Macy’s.
This is genuinely surprising to me, because Burnsville Center was always considered a classy mall. My mom lives in Rosemount, and has for decades, so when my sister and I were kids, she'd always bring my sister and I there on weekends. I loved the aesthetic of that mall, even way back then. What a bummer. I need to go there again before they demolish the poor thing.
It’s definitely a must! Especially since there have been so many talks to demolish the mall
@@NorthCdogg22 Well, brother, I'm heading there tomorrow. A co-worker wants to go to the Eagan Outlet Mall, and I told him I'd go with, and even drive us down there, IF we can swing inot Burnsville Center. He asked why, and I told him about your YT channel. He was so dumbfounded by the fact I want to go there, not realizing how special it'll be to me to see this place, maybe for the last time in my life.
Just drove there last weekend with my brother to say our farewells. Our mother passed last summer and she would bring us to that mall often. Was great nostalgia for us both. Pretty sad to see what meant so much to us back then, now means nothing to the new generations. The new generation would like not to have any human interaction if they can avoid it. Rather stare at a tablet or a video game for interactions with others. God help us when these disconnected kids are in charge of taking care of us when we are too old to do it ourselves. @@Fluoride_Jones
I always thought it would be cool if there was a small mall, just 80’s themed. With old styles like the old Burger King. Would be kinda cool.
I came to this mall the day the Guns N’ Roses “Use Your Illusions” albums came out in 1991. Bought the cassettes at the Music Land and had a slice of pepperoni at sbaros.
I worked at Midland Records when that came out. I remember shopping there in the late 70s, when they haf a Woolworths! They had counter seating where you could order grill items, soda, milkshakes, etc. Sometime around 1985 it became a Stuart's clothing store.
Grew up in Burnsville. My favorite store as a kid was "Now and Then". Bought my lip glosses that came in a tin there, as well as pom pom pens and the shoelaces that had designs on them. On the second level near the entrance there was a wonderful, cozy restaurant called "The Brothers." It's logo was a sketch of 2 brothers from around 1850s.
I also worked at the mall in 1991.❤
I think the restaurant you mention was Brothers Deli. The drawing was of Sam and Leonard Burstein, the former owners. One of their sons has a Brothers Deli downtown Minneapolis that’s still in operation. Their mazzo ball soup truly is the best!
@@wdbreezy YES !!!!!!!!!!!
I worked for 1 Potato 2 in the 90's as a DM and worked at this location, in the food court, quite a bit. Food court used to be filled with restaurants. Then the late 90s-2001 I worked for Cinnabon and managed this location when it was where the Old Navy is now. They moved it up the escalator near Sears but it's gone now.
Loved 1 Potato 2 while visiting the mall back in the day
That under the elevator space used to be a convenience store. I worked above the food court with Sleep Number, and there was a Best Buy mobile, H&M was just opening, then closed 2 years later, and Sears was still going.
It was tragic to see what happened from 2014 to 2016. Once Sears closed, 1/3 to 1/2 of the square footage closed in rapid succession.
It surprises me how fast this mall closed after Sears left and it’s really sad..
Indeed. A bellwether test to determine when a Vegas casino was going to close was when they shut down the buffet. If no one stayed long enough to eat, they weren't staying long enough to gamble.
With malls, if you don't have destination dining, it's no longer a destination because 75% of shopping is Christmas related. Now that a sizeable portion of holiday shopping is online, no reason to have a store.
Hey, I circled back to the episode that got me started watching this series! It's cool coming back around to it now that I've seen your other episodes and know what to look for. I remember the first time I watched this thinking that it was so weird that the food court would close up. When I was a kid, you'd avoid eating there because it's more expensive, but walking around for an hour and a half, it was like a candy bar by the register in that it's not what you came there for, it's more money than you want to spend, but the impulse to eat was there. That's how the teriyaki chicken places always got my money.
The mini golf area in the food court used to be the arcade. That was there until I believe mid-2020. It's sad to see this mall die so fast in the last two years. Before I moved out of MN in 2020, the mall still had life. When I went o college in 2002 - 2003, this mall was always busy.
As someone who lives in a very close neighboring town to the mall, I’d say that it’s an incredibly underrated dead mall. Seeing old commercials and photos of the mall, with all its bustling customers, and comparing it to the mall today, honestly leaves a hole in my heart. It seemed that it was going to have a good run, but malls like the Eden Prairie center or the Mall of America really brought attendance levels down as both those stores seem to have a pretty considerable amount of customers today, especially the Mall of America. And it’s not like the establishments around the mall have low attendance rates either, they all seem to be running well. Although from what I’ve experienced, the Chuck E. Cheese and the Dick’s sporting goods seem to be running better than the other stores. Sorry for the rant! It’s just great to see more content for this place, as its honestly deserved.
My mom used to bring me here all the time. I remember when I used to beg her for an extra few dollars in the Claire’s you walked past earlier lol. I especially remember playing with the recently bought toys while eating at the food court. I always wanted to stop by the neon area, I can’t remember what it was supposed to be though. You videos make me remember so much. ❤
This was a real nice mall. Worked at the junior dept. at Dayton's from 79 to 92. Over the years worked with some great family's.
Question how was the Dayton's in Burnsville compared to Ridgedale or Southdale ?
Thank you for including a clip from Mallrats, my favorite movie. Great video
ya only its the wrong mall... Eden prairie center vs Burnsville center.
Store with the neon had been a FYE Music store. They had new & used CD's DVD's and other entertainment related items.
I used to work at the theater by this mall back in late ‘09! That place you’re talking about at the 12 minute mark was an FYE store. I always wondered if it was still there because it was the last time I went there. Even I saw the writings on the wall!
They moved to Maplewood Mall. There's one at Miller Hill Mall in Duluth
I remember going here in the early '80's and it was so packed you couldn't move. Those were the days.
Wow is that Mall really Dead. You're videos are the greatest. The true Dead Mall King. Keep up the great work.
Thank you very much for watching!
It's been dead for 5 years
Thank you for making this video! I lived down the street from this mall while going to college in 2018. I come from a small northern town close to Duluth, so during my first visit to this mall I was excited to see it, because it would have been the only other mall I’ve visited other than Miller Hill in Duluth and MOA. Unfortunately during my time living in Burnsville, the mall had a very bad reputation for sex trafficking and other crimes. I visited by myself only once, and couldn’t explore the places I wanted to see since I felt unsafe, so I get to live nostalgically vicariously through your video! Also A tier song choices for this vid, makes it even that much better 👍
lol sex trafficking in the Burnsville mall? wow, I dont believe that was ever a thing sorry to disappoint you.
Chuck E Cheese space originally was a Ponderosa steakhouse. Ground floor area close to Sears (where the stairs end) was the Woolworth’s.
I remember both, I also remember the Sears office area. It seemed strange, but there were offices where insurance agents worked so you could get a policy while you were shopping. I think it was Allstate.
The store with all of the neon at 12:02 was called FYE and it was essentially a pop culture store. They had Japanese sodas, trendy clothes, stuff like fidget spinners when they were goin crazy. They also had giant movie character statues, super detailed ones for sale. I remember going in there everytime I went.Weird store. There was also a biggish un used stage in the back left. Though im not sure it was ever used. Im too young to have seen it. I grew up going there and still live next to it. Been sad to see it fall over the past ten years.
Looks like it was a beautiful happy place at one time ♥️
The whole idea of tearing down indoor malls to be outdoor malls in a state where it's covered in snow and ice and super cold for almost six months out of the year seems idiotic. I know I don't like going from store to store outside when it's -10 outside.
In all honesty, if they could somehow convert these malls into office spaces or something rather than tearing everything down like they tend to do...
Are you covering any of the Minnesota malls in the north like Northtown Mall? That mall has been slowly getting chunks of it cut out for other businesses as time went on.
I’m thinking about heading up there soon and also checking out westgate mall in fergus falls
I don’t get the outdoor malls either in Minnesota: there’s one in Maple Grove that is struggling and a near clone on the opposite end of the metro in Woodbury. Cold. Parking is a pain.
It's funny the song playing "staying Alive" with the mall is dying😂
Where the beam is in the food court was a subway that closed in mid 2019
The red neon lit shop at about 12:00 reminds me of the Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores of the '90s. Could it have been one of those before it became an FYE?
The chuck e cheese used to be the one I went to a ton! It gives me a lot of good memories, it was a very nice place.
I live on the East side of the metro. Went in here a year or two ago for one particular store. Wow I didnt think it could get more. Dead.
What really BAFFLES me about the death of (most) malls, especially in MinneSnowta, is that the malls are surrounded by a good square mile of successful retail stores and restaurants that you have to drive to, park, get out of your vehicle in the snow, rain, cold, heat, walk into the store, do your shopping, leave, drive to another store, rinse and repeat 😞 AND, many of these stores and restaurants used to be located inside the climate-controlled malls, where you parked your vehicle once -- maybe in an parking ramp -- then spend your hours walking and shopping within a pleasant environment (subjective, yes). Why did the malls fail, but the drive-up individual stores succeed? Are we midwesterner's so dumb that we actually like to battle traffic (and in the Burnsville Center square mile surroundings, traffic is snarled and gnarled with turn lanes, side upon side streets, bad parking lots, and so on). Do we enjoy getting out in the 4-season elements? Like I said, baffling and quite illogical. Especially since Victor Gruen, the father of enclosed malls (Southdale) thought it would be nice to offer Minnesotan's a climate controlled indoor shopping experience to replace all the hassles in driving up... well, 'nuff said.
well it has to do with the 80 million dollar price tag that was put on the mall when it was purchased in 1992 from the original owners. They purchased the building for way too much money. This caused the owners to be so much in a hurry to recoup that cost. So the rent for space was astronomical. However the strip malls near by. Rent is much less. So ya you can connect the dots from there. Has very little to do with mid westerners being stupid.
@marcussmith4913 Yes, that makes sense for the demise of B'vlle Center (sale of mall + greed=tenant loss), but my argument applies to many of the enclosed malls (of which you are an expert in portraying their deaths - well done, btw), even the granddaddy of them all, Southdale, which is a ghost town inside, but it's surrounded by a good square mile of successful strip malls (as I described above). I dunno, perhaps the cost per sq ft in the enclosed malls can't compete with the cost of a solo brick and mortar storefront, and the consumer/shopper has no choice but to drive up to the storefront in whatever weather elements exist at the time. There must of been a time where the balance between shopping inside a mall vs. storefront was teetering precariously - malls didn't see the occasional loss of a retailer here and there as a threat until one or more of the major anchors went belly-up (Sears, Bloomingdales, Herberger's in the midwest). Anyhow, I've not researched any studies, I'm not educated with a business degree of any sort -- I'm just shooting from the hip in my observations and thoughts. Maybe I'm the Rodney Dangerfield of Business Basics ;-)
SO many memories of that Chuck E. Cheese. It had a Star Wars arcade game that I was obsessed with.
Very cool video 😊
Have you been to the Peru mall in Peru, IL ? Verrry dead mall
Not yet but I’m actually planning on it
That floor with the playground area has been taken out, along with the flooring/carpet, also it has been taped off from the public with no lights for that area
Your dead mall videos are so awesome! Burnsville center is sad case because I believe there is still time to save this mall but, in the hands of Kohan. This mall is screwed! This mall is going to be the next century III in the next couple of years.
Amazing video man!
Thank you!
Shame this mall went downhill. Back in the later 80's I used to manage a Burger King that was located on the main level Northeast side there was an Applebee's across the hall from me.
The mini golf area was also a full arcade called time out
I grew up going to this mall as a kid at echo park. I got my first cell phone here, my parents used to take me to the buffet in the mall right by the entrance…. Wow really sad to see it look so depressing
I watch these videos because I was a teenage mall rat in the 1980's and malls used to be so full of life and commercial activity back then so it's sad that most are now dying today. They were also a place for families but not so much anymore given the increase in criminal activity at many malls. They had to close the food court at the formerly nice mall near where I live due to "teens" fighting all the time.
This mall has new owners as of late 2023. Will be interesting to see if they change its fate.
I Renner being in the sears when they had their final closing sale.
Grew up just south of the center. Walking there took 10 minutes. Went opening day and did maintenance in the 80's. Movie theatrers, Aladdins castle( arcade) and chicks. JC Penney original and still there 2024. 1/3 of one end of the mall is going to be turned into a sports complex this year. Its not dead yet.
In 1988 The Chuck E Cheese used to be names Circus Pizza, And all around Minnesota and Wisconsin had Circus Pizza Locations, But until 1999 They all had to convert to Chuck E Cheese
did not know this... I thought Chuckie was the OG
Hard to believe a mall could house that number of stores vs now. Bet 75% or more of those “big name” businesses don’t exist anymore. Kinda sad in a way.
14:30 yes it used to be a subway actually 😆
I don’t understand why security guards are so concerned about people just filming in a mall. Why?
boredom
where can I find that map at 4:27?
I live 15 minutes or so away from this mall, and have been shocked to see how far it's fallen in just a few short years. This was one of the malls I frequented in my childhood, and recent events certainly haven't been kind to it, but I think this mall was between a rock and a hard place even before then. The massive Mall of America in Bloomington kind of swamped other malls in the area (except for the Eden Prairie Mall which is doing better than Burnsville Center) and that was built in the 90's. I think COVID and online shopping just accelerated what was already in motion. There's some positive signs, though. There's plans to partially redevelop sections of the mall to mixed space use, and the former Gordmann's anchor is being turned into an Asian grocery store, so I don't think it will be totally demolished in the future. But it'll never really be the same again, which is why I've gone back in the past few months to document it in its current state and to hopefully keep as a memento for keepsake. Great video!
As of now, this whole mall has been sold to a Chinese business man and a bunch of partners. They will convert the space to Asian food and a BIG Asian supermarket. The goal I believe is to have it ready by Summer of 2024.
Why do people use B&W to try to make things look older?
It wasn't until the 70s that color TVs became more popular than B&W TVs. And even after that, for 20 more years, newspapers were still a major form of information and most of their pages were B&W. So, B&W is associated with things that are old.
wait? Mallrats made the popularity of malls go down?
and it wasnt filmed here but a few towns away in eden prairie
It’s too bad security in any mall don’t like the dead mall discord server
I enjoy seeing other dead malls around the country
It probably won't survive the next recession
The past is gone.. only sadness remains. The future looks like Shit.
One more comment. This is still an attractive mall, however the pics from the 80s show how much more beautiful it was back then. Things should not be changed just for the sake of change. I’ve never been to the mall of America but from what I’ve seen in videos it’s ugly. Especially that warehouse looking ceiling. It’s just a giant warehouse with stores and a county fair inside. I much prefer how Burnsville was in the 80s before the remodel.
ya the dark brown floors and plants all over the place. Made it feel cozy.
Just subbed ya pal. It's a Rome thing Everyday channel. Comments channel. It's been since 1989 since u last set foot in this mall. There was a white castle restaurant somewhere near this mall I used to stop at every time we made a run to mpls
Thank you!
I worked here years ago. Once vibrant mall, always packed. Now just a place for gangbangers and ne'er do wells!
The place reflects The Politics in Mn ... Worthless and needs to be torn down
Another sad .mall in decline.
Pat Paulson, when comedians were actually funny not mo-r0ns.
Whoa, Pat Paulsen for their promo!