Legion of Explorers...do you have the virus and need a 'porscriptcion' for 3 barrels of crabs? Secret New Orleans witchcraft. Let me know if you want me to call up Seafood City to get some for you. Also, the Kmart information I gave is for the location up the street. My source for the intelligence got back to me a day after I uploaded the video like..."oops, I gave you the info for the wrong place". So, oops. Still fascinating stuff about G.E.X stores and stuff, but mea culpa, I'm owning it here. So, if you want to crucify me in the comments, feel free...but then come read this because I already know. Thanks for watching, guys!
Yeah I could tell because the Kmart featured in THIS VIDEO appears to be newer than the 1960s. I'd say this one probably dates to the 1990s at least. There is a similar Kmart (now a Gabe's) where I live that most likely opened up around the same time as this one -- which may have been around 1992/'93.
As an Brit I am quite shocked that some of these great places that never got the chance to evolve but to leave in dire straits and ruin but I love what you do to document and preserve great history of Americana by keeping the memories alive for generations to come.
Clearview Mall - memories of the past. I remember the A&G cafeteria in the back. My grandparents took me shopping in that Maison Blanche many, many times. When it became a Target it was the first Target I had ever seen. It is a two story Target with a escalator for shopping carts - very neat. I don't remember it ever being a Dillards, though; if it was, it was probably for five minutes in 1999. The Ponseti's Shoes has been in the mall since 1970 (almost original tenant!). The SAS Shoes and Hallmark stores have also been there since I was young. Also remember the pet shop in the north wing that you mentioned. Agree that the early 2000s remodels bought the mall a couple of decades. Maybe the best option would have been to just big box the whole thing, but I am glad it survived as long as it has. I will miss the enclosed mall after it is redeveloped. The ownership has been very proactive in keeping this mall viable; I guess that is the good thing about local ownership.
Oschner is close to complete as well as major renovations to Target. The mall interior is closed except the entrance to the AMC Theatre which is apparently a "dine in" AMC now. Bed, Bath, and Beyond is largely unchanged. Lastly, most remaining stores moved elsewhere in Metairie or to the revitalized Elmwood near Harahan which is an outlet
The moment with your father made me tear up. My father would also drag me to aquarium and pet shops. He loved looking at the fish and "saving" all the amphibians my mother would let him get. I grew up in a zoo due to his big heart and love of animals big and small. Unfortunately he passed away too young. I still visit these shops. They hold great memories. I loved having that little surprise in this video.
I grew up in Metairie/Kenner in the 70s/80s and I occasionally went to this mall. I can also remember once going there in the early 1990s to get a book and the place didn't have many customers. Still, a neat little mall. I never went to A&G because my dad said it stood for "Ag and Gag."
@@redstickham6394 Haha, "Agg and Gagg", yeah, my Dad used that one too. Exaggeration though, it was a decent enough place. Mostly we went there because it was really family friendly and the waiters were really nice, knew us and had a good rapport with me and my brothers. To my parents trying to corral a couple of little kids to eat, that was a big draw. Wise's Cafeteria was the real treat, though.
The footage of Aquatic Sealife unlocked memories of a petstore that used to be in my tiny hometown that had a backroom that looked JUST like the one in Aquatic Sealife. Dark, illuminated only by neon-esque aquariums full of of sea creatures from every corner of the imagination. I have dreams about places like that even 20 years later. Having forgotten about the pet store from my early childhood, I just always assumed it only existed in my imagination, especially since every store I'd seen with a fish section was set up like PetSmart/Co. Seeing that places like it exist in the real world is a real trip. I'm very grateful you included that segment. It opened some good memories that had been locked for about 20 years.
I have fond memories of 1970s and 80s Kmart growing up . Friday night blue light specials were fun. 1970s Kmart had a deli with good submarine sandwiches and icee machine . My dad was a Frito Lay route salesman so we would meet him in the Kmart “cafeteria “ on his breaks while servicing the store. Then in the 1990s it’s started to just slowly decline, if you’ve read any info on Kmart you know they just stopped putting much effort into Kmarts and too much time acquiring other chains. The Kmart in this video is one of the nicer ones in later years I’ve seen . Most including the one in my town were sad ran down and not well maintained by the end . I’m also old enough to remember when the auto and garden center were thriving .Those seahorses 😍
Stir fry, the Chinese joint in your footage, was top tier mall Chinese. It crushed the lakeside and esplanade mall Chinese. Obviously just my opinion, but I still miss / crave it to this day. Thanks for this video!
It's nice to see young people entertaining themselves at the mall. I remember being chased out of our mall by security in the late 90s for loitering with a group of friends. That was the beginning of the end. Most of the few stores in my local childhood mall never reopened after covid quarantine and will most likely close permanently in a few weeks.
I always feel an odd sort of peace watching the ExLog series and thinking about the old malls I used to visit in my youth, most of which were still appointed with '70s trappings. They've all been torn down now. BTW perfect vibe from that Dan Mason track at 9:30; I love it.
I worked at our local K-Mart in HS in the late 90s. I graduated in 97. It has since closed, as most did, and the building became a Tractor Supply, a gym, a Dollar Tree and an Arthur Murray dance studio.
Sal! I didn't know you had ties to New Orleans. I'm a local who grew up on the North Shore. North Shore Square was my mall (and I absolutely love the episode you did on that! It broke my heart in the best possible way.) A few things! I actually went to Clearview last week. Not even sure why? I guess to hit up the Target looking for Christmas lights? You'll be pleased to know that Santa and his elves were indeed set up in the mall ready to take photos. I had no idea that the Clearview Mall was so bright and shiny and popular and its heyday. Like, this has always been my least favorite mall easily out of North Shore Square, Esplanade, and Lakeside. No contest. I remember it being a total snoozefest. With all due respect, who wants to shop at Poinseti's Shoes? Sometimes I would hit up Clearview just to visit this really awesome wrap spot in the food court (when there was still a food court.) A hidden gem that one was. This was in the mid-2000s. Target and AMC were both godsends in my opinion. I have to address something with you, a bone to pick if you will. Nicer than a crucifixion! I'm not sure if you're aware of it or not, but you're mispronouncing Esplanade and it's like nails on a chalkboard every time. Esplanade is pronounced locally Esp-la-NAY-de. Like lemonade. (New Orlenians... back me up here??) That's how we say it, just the same as Esplanade Avenue that runs from City Park into the French Quarter. Excited to see your video on the Esplanade Mall, but I implore you to please please *please* pronounce it correctly! After I discovered your videos earlier this year when I sadly learned that North Shore Square in Slidell had finally shuttered, I got inspired to go visit Esplanade Mall. I heard rumblings of how bad it had deteriorated and wanted to see for myself. I remember that mall being so cool back in the day! I visited there a few months back and the Spencers is still open. I bought a tank top with Tina from Bob's Burgers on it. It's been a big hit 😂 I love your work! Probably even more so now that I know you've got NOLA ties. I am grateful that Lakeside at least is still alive and kicking. Hopefully it stays that way! Let me know if you ever want any updates about any of the local shops, malls, Riverfront, Etc. I just went down to the quarter and walked around the river today in fact. Not near the Riverwalk though, closer to the cathedral.
My mom was a store manager for Kmart before I was born in the mid 80s and she spoke fondly of her time there when our local kmarts began to close in the mid 2010s. I remember shopping there for back to school specials in the 90s. We live in NW metro-Detroit right in former Kmart's backyard and I drive by the sorry abandoned Kmart headquarters property alot. That was a cool little detour to experience.
I love the kmart footage. We had 3 or 4 Kmarts in Ft Wayne growing up. One of them had the cafe, and it was awesome. They also had the best cold cut sub sandwiches. I miss Kmart. I also love aquariums. So aquatic sealife made me happy. That seahorse was beautiful.
The K-Mart footage made me so sad that I had to pause the video to wipe my eyes and blow the old snot locker. And it's very rare that I do things like that, but THIS one hit home, and probably for a reason that'll make most readers laugh, but 31 years ago, when my lady and I were first married, we were tricking out the back yard in our brand new home in Sandy Eggo's north county region, and we went to our local K-Mart because they had the best prices on garden items; everything from pots & mulch to grass seed and those scalloped-edged bricks to set in the ground to make a border between lawn and plant beds. We made countless visits there, because I was only a junior officer in the navy, and didn't make much money at the time, and in the process, we got really attached to the place. Now, all these years later, that wonderful old K-Mart is long gone, replaced by a CarMax, and we sometimes wax nostalgic over those many, many visits to a place that was almost a second home to us, when it came to buying things for the house, our dogs, or each other. And, dang it, the keyboard's gone all blurry on me again...
I lived right down the street from Clearview. Loved to go there with my mom to shop at the Masion Blanch. I worked at Lakeside for years at center court doing the holiday pictures of Santa and the Easter Bunny. lol Always fun to see others wander these malls. Glad I found your page.
I didn't get to go to K-Mart stores to often. They were just like an Ames or Jamesway stores. I liked them all, nothing exciting, but something different. We had two in my local area. Still so sad to see all these iconic stories leave us forever. 😔 That's sealife store was really cool ! I could watch a whole video on that stuff !!! Thanks Sal.😊
Your Dad is So CooL . And you are right about the Living Coral and Sea horse . I did not know that the Salt water aquarium world could be that Amazing. Grat Job on the Naration by the way .
We travel a lot for my job and whenever we go to a new town I always get excited to see a mall whether it is dead or a non-dead mall. We never travel to Louisiana though, so I am glad you uploaded this. Because by the time I get out there this mall could be gone.
I remember going here so many times as a kid. BTW, before twin peaks, there was a very good Mexican restaurant called Seranno’s and I remember that is always the only place we went for Mexican food. And right behind there was an indoor mini golf. Went back to clear view a few months ago to see a movie and I noticed how dead the mall became. I hope the renovation revives the mall.
I’ve been to this Kmart when I was little. This place actually used to have long lines at the register. And the Clearview food court is used to be full and after Hurricane Katrina the Social Security office in Kenner was closed and they used the spot were blue Cliff college is in Clearview as their temporary spot and the mall was actually doing pretty well in the 2000s and im hopeful to see where it goes in the future
The K-Mart that was about 1/2 down the road from Century III mall had a cafe/restaurant in the back. Lots of wood paneling and orange textured glass. The cigarette smoke just emanated from that area. It was an original K-mart circa 1964. It survived a massive fire in 1999 and closed 2018.
When my hometown’s Kmart closed last year there was a woman who commented that she and a girlfriend went the previous Black Friday to check things out. They were the only two customers in the store at the time.
Next time I go to Target I'll try to remember to do a lil field reporting for you. From a very undetailed glance at its exterior, I don't think anything major has occurred, good or bad, for Clearview since you made this video. Once I take a walk around there, as well on the inside, that may change. I urgently need to point out, however, that the new apartments they're building are very likely to have a significantly negative impact on the area. "Dirt cheap" 1 bedroom apartments in safe parts of Metairie have generally become 20-30% more expensive than they were just 2 years ago. Hurricane Ida caused an even bigger paradigm shift in the greater New Orleans area's housing market than the pandemic (yes, I'm completely serious.) So we've had a combo of a huge influx of working/middle class tenants from neighboring cities competing with long-time Metairie residents for scarce affordable living as well as wealthy outsiders willing to pay whatever landlords demand for their newly renovated with hurricane Ida insurance payout checks rental units. The new apartments by Clearview tout luxury amenities so I'd likely expect them to cost at least 25% more than an average apartment in this area. I fear that'll also drive up costs for other more modest apartments simply because of their proximity to each other.
Once the palace theatre opened up in early 2000’s clear view was popping for us as teenagers. Can’t say how they did retail wise but I remember being like 16 with a daiguiri from swamp daiquiris little daq shack place before he got big. Even remember watching the first Harry Potter there too.
I have a lot of memories of Kmart. I remember the last time I went to my local store in 2017, months before they closed. There was nothing left for me, a store nearly stocked full but empty of customers. I'd go to Kmart for toys in the late 90s and early 2000s, and in my teens I'd go for electronics (until they removed that department). We had two Kmart stores in the same rural county in NWGA, both closed at the same time. Its funny but I can still close my eyes and take a walk through both stores..and imo they always set up the best Christmas decor and had really nice trees. But I never took the time to travel hours out of my way to another store. I just remember them as they were, and to note, the first time I got hit in the head was inside Kmart in 2001 when I was 6. My mom knocked a huge tote of Lego off the shelf and they landed on my head. It wasn't too pleasant. Anyway both stores recieved a major overhaul and were converted into new outdoor centers and big box chains.
That was a really nice airport you arrived in. Thank you for no constant selfies as you walk. Lakeside Mall in the Det metro area also killed off many of the smaller original malls. I loved empty Kmarts. Damn, I remember that commercial too. I saw most of that aquarium stuff while surfing this morning :-) There's a seahorse farm here too.
I remember it too. It was 1984, the year of the Olympic games in Los Angeles. We made so much good quality stuff compared to now. Now it's all Chinese, it's all expensive, and it's all JUNK!
@@sal Oh, Sal, my dear friend. Your occasional Selfies are far from an ugly mug. You’re an amuse bouche with hair in abundance, a healthy balance of revelry, respect (when it’s due) and a resplendent catalogue of the most quirky and endearing tributes to television’s crazy af video archives that make me so proud to be one of your Patreon Supporters. Please tell the Captain that I hold immense admiration for his capabilities of maintaining the good health of Sea Horses, as these amazing creatures are particularly challenging to keep alive outside of the ocean. I hope that one day I will be able to see his tanks and admire his steadfast dedication to saltwater aquariums. Lassez Le Bontemps rRoulet! i’m catrching up on my Dead Malls "To Do & Review” with you and our amazing ensemble of talented Archivists. I’ve been struggling with my vision recently, as I am waiting for my replacements because my Diplopia and Blepharospasm has suddenly made reading up closely very challenging. Thank you for your hard work and productions! Bravo!!!
The Kmart by me had the cafe. That was in East Stroudsburg PA. When I was a kid I used to eat there once in awhile in the 90’s with my grandmother and mother. And my younger brother. I do have lots of fond memories from Kmart. But you were right to say that it was bland. They just never cared enough to keep up with the times. Anyways, that Kmart closed last year and was knocked down and is now a giant. But it did have the cafe. And it was so 70’s in there lol brown rectangular booths. Brown carpet. Old coffee pots. Cool video. Thanks
Great video! This used to be the Target I'd go to when I lived in Hattiesburg in college (this was before Target opened there). That vacant Sears is going to be a clinic for Ochsner Health System. Just announced last week.
I visited this mall a few times when I lived in Metairie in the late 1990s. I’ve been to the AMC theater in it too. It’s a nice one. I’ve been to the Walk Ons in Slidell with my family. We enjoyed it. The atmosphere is great, and the food is too.
My local mall which was one of the first indoor shopping malls in the area was slowly slipping into death. It got bought and now it will be undergoing changes to become an open air mall. Hope it works for them.
I already feel like I am getting my Christmas presents earlier than expected...and two more episodes to be released soon. Thank you Sal :) You will be replacing Santa Claus 🎅 in these turbulent times!
And the Metarie Tourism Board should hire you immediately. No person ever, and i mean ever, has made Metairie sound that nice. ;) Definitely an interesting lil city. But you made it sound like a world destination city. Well done sir.
Frankly I loved Kmart when I was a kid. But the Kmart of my memories is long gone.. the time I spent shopping with mom. Eating in the Cafeteria. Looking at the new electronics. That was the Kmart of the 1970's so the Kmart I remember really only exists in my memories and the memory of others my age. It was several remodels ago so even though the Kmart I grew up with didn't close until 2018 but the store of my memories disappeared in the early 80's with a remodel.
Yet another great video sal. Your production and narration are spot on. This mall looks to be a survivor. Fingers crossed! Be a good follow up sometime. Be well, happy holidays to you and all. ✌️
It's uncanny but fascinating to see exlogs on the places I actually spent my childhood going to. To give an estimate of how unoccupied this mall has gotten, there's a driving school in one of the buildings near the AMC, and they teach their courses in the giant Sears parking lot next door just because it's always completely desolate.
This is right down the street from me. The only reason I ever go there is for the Target. Honestly though, the Esplanade mall is wayyyyy more dead than Clearview. The upstairs of the Esplanade is completely empty and it’s so creepy to walk around. They had a massive food court upstairs that completely deserted :/
Y’all are going to Lakeside? Lakeside is still thriving. That’s all we really have left. Oakwood is hood, the Plaza was destroyed by Katrina, Gentilly woods mall is now a Walmart and Esplanade is soon to be “aint dere no more”.
One time I ate chicken at a restaurant that was so good, juicy and nutrient dense that I actually sent a letter, via US postal service, to tell my family, at home, about this. The odd thing was I was in high school and living at home at the time. The restaurant was less than 2 miles away from my home. Cool story.
Just to give an update, hurricane Ida severely damaged Clearview and the esplanade, while the Clearview had roof repairs done and the skylight fixed only the remaining open stores are accessible and all else was called off, progress on the ochsner facility is nesting completion currently as well as major renovations to the target, as you can imagine no interior repairs are being done to the main mall not because of funds but because once ochsner is complete they plan to put the plans you mentioned into affect making any repairs to the current building wasted money. The esplanade however seems it will not be reopening and sits closed nearly a year later with the city threatening repossession over unpaid taxes going back years, though the city is using Macy's as a temporary city hall
Great job, that was a sad K Mart. But very well cared for. Loved Aquatic Sealife. You must have had awesome adventures in New Orleans. It’s a fantastic place. But COVID massacred there as well. Adult Disneyland is very sad empty. Stay safe
I worked at that Kmart in 2014 in Loss prevention. Theft was at an all time high! I had to monitor cameras from the back and when I saw customers stealing, I would have to approach them and convince them to put it back 😂😂. I was all 6 months pregnant while working there!
I remember shopping a Kmart quite a bit as a kid. I was even one of those lucky enough to eat at the KCafe from time to time. One time, my mom took my sister and I there to have lunch there with my dad and one of his co-workers. Good times. Sadly, the Kmart closest to me closed soon after Walmart moved in down the street and took over the competition. After the Kmart closed, 3 new tenants took over the space. Smart & Final took over the front part of the store, a Body Xchange fitness center took over the middle section, and Tractor Supply Co. took over the garden section.
Sal I liked the tropical fish detour. It really pointed out where I think retail is going in our current situation. K-Mart not a soul in there. Tropical fish place humming with activity. I think niche stores will do better than the big boxes because they're competing with Amazon. While tropical fish places not as much.
i live in Metairie and it's sad as hell right now how everything going since two of my malls Clearview and Esplanade Mall shut down after Hurricane Ida.
It’s crazy to see the current state of Clearview, Esplanade, and Oakwood. Don’t see them staying open much longer. Lots of memories at all of these malls. Lakeside seems to be doing relatively well. Anytime I pass there’s always a bunch of cars.
The first time I ever went into Clearview Mall was around 1989 at about the age of 16. At that time, it still looked exactly like the black and white photos you showed near the beginning. Most of the stores were empty. My first experience with a dead mall. We went there for one specific store that the girls in our group were looking for...don’t remember what store, but there wasn’t much else there. I don’t think I went back in there again until after the 2001 renovations, when occupancy was high. The last time I went in there, around 3 years ago, was before Sears started announcing the close-out, but I had heard through the grapevine they were pricing things for clearance. I wanted to get a cheap bbq pit. Had to go looking for an employee. I found one, working the one open register, with nobody in line. Exactly one. I’d never seen a Sears so desolate. But that quickly became the standard for Sears and shortly after that, they were gone.
There weren't any real vacancies in '89. By the late nineties it was nearing half-empty. Spent a lot of time there - preferred the lighter crowds vs. Lakeside. And preferred the decor until the renovation - hard to believe that was twenty years ago.
I haven't been to Clearview Mall in years. Maybe only a handful of times after Katrina, tops. It used to be a nice mall, but it was always living in Lakeside's shadow. We used to go to the Target a lot. Another store I loved there was Game Traders, which also had a location in North Shore Square Mall, but they both closed down before Katrina. We used to eat at Semolina and Zea sometimes too. The Palace Theater was also really nice, but we usually went to the Elmwood location instead. When the Yu-Gi-Oh movie came out I remember seeing it there with my mom three times back-to-back and getting a ton of promo cards for it. As for the Kmart on Veterans, it was really nice back in the 90s and 00s. They had always had a great toy department too. But one time I got a Zoids toy there that was haunted and my Honduran grandmother named it Cantinflas. The Elmwood location used to be nice too, but it couldn't compare to the one on Veterans. Edit: I'm thinking about the other Kmart on Veterans, the one by Lakeside. This is the one by Chuck E. Cheese, which was much smaller. I practically forgot this one existed.
F, man. K-Mart was one of the main retailers in my once-small GA hometown of Albany. We had two locations, on Dawson Rd near the Albany Mall, and formerly (after the 1992 flood) a second location on the corner of Oakridge Rd and Radium Springs Rd. So it was actually sad to have completely lost a retail location from the Flint River flooding.
Really a grand old place fallen on hard times. I love the indoor golf place it’s good practice when it rains. A good restaurant on the front side named Zeas rotisserie I wonder if it’s still open. Great work man!
I remember lakeside mall, oakwood mall and the Plaza in New Orleans East was popular in the 90s and very early 2000s as a child. I been to clearview like twice lol.
The Sears auto center at clearview mall has been torn down. I remember going to that Kmart on Black Friday in ‘92 or ‘93, I was the year they gave out a free seasame street cookie tin with cookies inside. The place was packed, I mean you could hardly get down the aisles. They gave out all the cookie tins 5 minutes after they opened. Also in that shopping center, the joann’s crafts has relocated. its moved to a new place on veterans blvd closer to New Orleans.
Kmart, wow. The only one I really remember was the one in Forest Park, OH (Cincinnati suburb). It had a Little Caesars Pizza, as soon as you walked into Kmart. To the left. My father would love to go to Kmart. Like all others, it closed over ten years ago. Memories.
You should film Bel Air Mall (now the Shoppes of Bel Air) and Springdale Plaza in Mobile, AL. They’re across the street from each other and have rich history.
Assuming the K-Mart announcer you had was a meme, whoever you got to do the voice does a dead-on Marrero accent. Also, seeing Clearview like that kinda upsets me. Before Katrina, my mom and I would go there twice a month on weekends, so we could get an early dinner at Zea's, get haircuts (once a month), see a movie, and do our grocery shopping at Target. We went back to New Orleans for about a year (we had leased a house) from 2007-2008 and picked that routine back up while we could. After the lease was up, we didn't renew, so we just went back to Baton Rouge. It just makes me incredibly sad. The fact that my mother is no longer with us doesn't help.
SAL SAL!!! I just went down to the Steamtown Mall in Scranton PA (had to go to Probation, so I stopped off before my appt and walked the Mall, which is an easy bus ride from our apartment!)...and it looks like it is trying to come back to life!!!! There are a few vendors in the food court/marketplace (including a kick-ass sushi place!!!) and there seem to be more shops than when I was there last (more than a few months ago)!!! I am so happy and I thought you would like to know that there may be hope. I also hope that they stop charging for parking...that would help immensely. Still. Good news!
@@salOh yes! There were people going in and getting their pics taken outside of it. It was awesome to see. :) Expensive (probably overly so but everything is out of reach when you are literally penniless) but awesome to see people.
That announcer in the Kmart? She's a genuine New Orleans Yat and her accent is a Yat accent. There is such diversity in Yat accents. Some are like North Jersey accents, some like Brooklyn accents, some are like Bronx accents, some are like Boston accents. The Kmart announcer reminded me of the famous drag queen Miss Coco Peru who hails from the Bronx. My partner heard a local French Quarter tour guide call out, "And get a load of all this Noo Awlins AAH-chitectcha!" and he thought she came from the Roslindale neighbourhood of Boston!
You call that the saddest Kmart, but check out those lights flush with the drop ceiling! Here I thought Kmarts only had the corrugated roof with hanging lights.
I went to New Orleans for Wrestlemania 34 which was April 2018. It was my first time there so I drove around. I was shocked to see functioning K-Mart that I turn the rental car around and took a picture of it. it was past 11 PM and closed for the day. Sad to see it no longer running.
The Clearview Center fared far better than the Greendale Mall redevelopment that was supposed to happen, but "The Covids" took away the mixed-use of retail, office, and apartment space, and will become just a couple warehouses. So at least this place has it good.....enough.
I was in there today; they now have only one entrance open, half the mall closed and the anchor stores cut off. The PJs Coffee there is closed and they left their cups and stock behind like they got shut down in the middle of a shift.
I watched your video it made my nostalgic just remember walking around the mall, while I lived in Kenner, but unfortunately Katrina hit and we had to move away wanted to move back lots of times but I was scared to go through it again, I do miss it so much I almost cried watching your video it’s sad to see this beautiful malls dying slowly with everything is going on
So if you ever get down to Myrtle Beach can you do a ExLog on the Waccamaw Mall? Half of the second part of it is a church now but the first wing, the food court, and the strip mall and Waccamaw pottery are still there
F. I used to really love Super Kmart in particular. I lived in Orange County CA. I forget where it was exactly, but it was super cool. I distinctly remember reading a magazine there talking about some upcoming game called Halo.
Legion of Explorers...do you have the virus and need a 'porscriptcion' for 3 barrels of crabs? Secret New Orleans witchcraft. Let me know if you want me to call up Seafood City to get some for you. Also, the Kmart information I gave is for the location up the street. My source for the intelligence got back to me a day after I uploaded the video like..."oops, I gave you the info for the wrong place". So, oops. Still fascinating stuff about G.E.X stores and stuff, but mea culpa, I'm owning it here. So, if you want to crucify me in the comments, feel free...but then come read this because I already know. Thanks for watching, guys!
@Sal Only in Louisiana is it a GOOD thing to go on a date and get crabs.
Yeah I could tell because the Kmart featured in THIS VIDEO appears to be newer than the 1960s. I'd say this one probably dates to the 1990s at least. There is a similar Kmart (now a Gabe's) where I live that most likely opened up around the same time as this one -- which may have been around 1992/'93.
As an Brit I am quite shocked that some of these great places that never got the chance to evolve but to leave in dire straits and ruin but I love what you do to document and preserve great history of Americana by keeping the memories alive for generations to come.
This man just thanked the K-Mart employees for doing a good job setting up the 2 year old Black Friday displays
Wholesome af
Credit was due. These people cared.
Clearview Mall - memories of the past. I remember the A&G cafeteria in the back. My grandparents took me shopping in that Maison Blanche many, many times. When it became a Target it was the first Target I had ever seen. It is a two story Target with a escalator for shopping carts - very neat. I don't remember it ever being a Dillards, though; if it was, it was probably for five minutes in 1999. The Ponseti's Shoes has been in the mall since 1970 (almost original tenant!). The SAS Shoes and Hallmark stores have also been there since I was young. Also remember the pet shop in the north wing that you mentioned. Agree that the early 2000s remodels bought the mall a couple of decades. Maybe the best option would have been to just big box the whole thing, but I am glad it survived as long as it has. I will miss the enclosed mall after it is redeveloped. The ownership has been very proactive in keeping this mall viable; I guess that is the good thing about local ownership.
Oschner is close to complete as well as major renovations to Target. The mall interior is closed except the entrance to the AMC Theatre which is apparently a "dine in" AMC now. Bed, Bath, and Beyond is largely unchanged. Lastly, most remaining stores moved elsewhere in Metairie or to the revitalized Elmwood near Harahan which is an outlet
The moment with your father made me tear up. My father would also drag me to aquarium and pet shops. He loved looking at the fish and "saving" all the amphibians my mother would let him get. I grew up in a zoo due to his big heart and love of animals big and small.
Unfortunately he passed away too young. I still visit these shops. They hold great memories. I loved having that little surprise in this video.
As a kid, my family would go eat at the A&G on Sunday after church. I clearly remember the mall in the 70s. It was a neat little mall.
I grew up in Metairie/Kenner in the 70s/80s and I occasionally went to this mall. I can also remember once going there in the early 1990s to get a book and the place didn't have many customers. Still, a neat little mall. I never went to A&G because my dad said it stood for "Ag and Gag."
@@redstickham6394 Haha, "Agg and Gagg", yeah, my Dad used that one too. Exaggeration though, it was a decent enough place. Mostly we went there because it was really family friendly and the waiters were really nice, knew us and had a good rapport with me and my brothers. To my parents trying to corral a couple of little kids to eat, that was a big draw. Wise's Cafeteria was the real treat, though.
The footage of Aquatic Sealife unlocked memories of a petstore that used to be in my tiny hometown that had a backroom that looked JUST like the one in Aquatic Sealife. Dark, illuminated only by neon-esque aquariums full of of sea creatures from every corner of the imagination. I have dreams about places like that even 20 years later. Having forgotten about the pet store from my early childhood, I just always assumed it only existed in my imagination, especially since every store I'd seen with a fish section was set up like PetSmart/Co. Seeing that places like it exist in the real world is a real trip. I'm very grateful you included that segment. It opened some good memories that had been locked for about 20 years.
I have fond memories of 1970s and 80s Kmart growing up . Friday night blue light specials were fun. 1970s Kmart had a deli with good submarine sandwiches and icee machine . My dad was a Frito Lay route salesman so we would meet him in the Kmart “cafeteria “ on his breaks while servicing the store. Then in the 1990s it’s started to just slowly decline, if you’ve read any info on Kmart you know they just stopped putting much effort into Kmarts and too much time acquiring other chains. The Kmart in this video is one of the nicer ones in later years I’ve seen . Most including the one in my town were sad ran down and not well maintained by the end . I’m also old enough to remember when the auto and garden center were thriving .Those seahorses 😍
A perfect Sunday evening. A fantastic gin and tonic enjoyed whilst watching ExLog 77. Perhaps it doesn't get better than this. Merry Christmas Sal!
Stir fry, the Chinese joint in your footage, was top tier mall Chinese. It crushed the lakeside and esplanade mall Chinese. Obviously just my opinion, but I still miss / crave it to this day. Thanks for this video!
It's nice to see young people entertaining themselves at the mall. I remember being chased out of our mall by security in the late 90s for loitering with a group of friends. That was the beginning of the end.
Most of the few stores in my local childhood mall never reopened after covid quarantine and will most likely close permanently in a few weeks.
I always feel an odd sort of peace watching the ExLog series and thinking about the old malls I used to visit in my youth, most of which were still appointed with '70s trappings. They've all been torn down now. BTW perfect vibe from that Dan Mason track at 9:30; I love it.
I’m so glad I can bring this peace to you ❤️
I worked at our local K-Mart in HS in the late 90s. I graduated in 97. It has since closed, as most did, and the building became a Tractor Supply, a gym, a Dollar Tree and an Arthur Murray dance studio.
Sal! I didn't know you had ties to New Orleans. I'm a local who grew up on the North Shore. North Shore Square was my mall (and I absolutely love the episode you did on that! It broke my heart in the best possible way.)
A few things! I actually went to Clearview last week. Not even sure why? I guess to hit up the Target looking for Christmas lights? You'll be pleased to know that Santa and his elves were indeed set up in the mall ready to take photos.
I had no idea that the Clearview Mall was so bright and shiny and popular and its heyday. Like, this has always been my least favorite mall easily out of North Shore Square, Esplanade, and Lakeside. No contest. I remember it being a total snoozefest. With all due respect, who wants to shop at Poinseti's Shoes? Sometimes I would hit up Clearview just to visit this really awesome wrap spot in the food court (when there was still a food court.) A hidden gem that one was. This was in the mid-2000s. Target and AMC were both godsends in my opinion.
I have to address something with you, a bone to pick if you will. Nicer than a crucifixion! I'm not sure if you're aware of it or not, but you're mispronouncing Esplanade and it's like nails on a chalkboard every time. Esplanade is pronounced locally Esp-la-NAY-de. Like lemonade. (New Orlenians... back me up here??) That's how we say it, just the same as Esplanade Avenue that runs from City Park into the French Quarter. Excited to see your video on the Esplanade Mall, but I implore you to please please *please* pronounce it correctly!
After I discovered your videos earlier this year when I sadly learned that North Shore Square in Slidell had finally shuttered, I got inspired to go visit Esplanade Mall. I heard rumblings of how bad it had deteriorated and wanted to see for myself. I remember that mall being so cool back in the day! I visited there a few months back and the Spencers is still open. I bought a tank top with Tina from Bob's Burgers on it. It's been a big hit 😂
I love your work! Probably even more so now that I know you've got NOLA ties. I am grateful that Lakeside at least is still alive and kicking. Hopefully it stays that way! Let me know if you ever want any updates about any of the local shops, malls, Riverfront, Etc. I just went down to the quarter and walked around the river today in fact. Not near the Riverwalk though, closer to the cathedral.
I'm here to leave an F in the chat for that incredibly well-kept K-Mart.
*Why bother, the mall is dead.*
F
Ah, so sad seeing a Black Friday from 2 years ago almost like how Black Friday was this year. Also, that Blue Light Special has me DEAD. 🤣
My mom was a store manager for Kmart before I was born in the mid 80s and she spoke fondly of her time there when our local kmarts began to close in the mid 2010s. I remember shopping there for back to school specials in the 90s. We live in NW metro-Detroit right in former Kmart's backyard and I drive by the sorry abandoned Kmart headquarters property alot. That was a cool little detour to experience.
Sorry my thumb slipped on the dislike button. My sincerest apologies.🌅
I love the kmart footage. We had 3 or 4 Kmarts in Ft Wayne growing up. One of them had the cafe, and it was awesome. They also had the best cold cut sub sandwiches. I miss Kmart. I also love aquariums. So aquatic sealife made me happy. That seahorse was beautiful.
Did my Christmas shopping there 1979.
The K-Mart footage made me so sad that I had to pause the video to wipe my eyes and blow the old snot locker. And it's very rare that I do things like that, but THIS one hit home, and probably for a reason that'll make most readers laugh, but 31 years ago, when my lady and I were first married, we were tricking out the back yard in our brand new home in Sandy Eggo's north county region, and we went to our local K-Mart because they had the best prices on garden items; everything from pots & mulch to grass seed and those scalloped-edged bricks to set in the ground to make a border between lawn and plant beds. We made countless visits there, because I was only a junior officer in the navy, and didn't make much money at the time, and in the process, we got really attached to the place. Now, all these years later, that wonderful old K-Mart is long gone, replaced by a CarMax, and we sometimes wax nostalgic over those many, many visits to a place that was almost a second home to us, when it came to buying things for the house, our dogs, or each other. And, dang it, the keyboard's gone all blurry on me again...
Thanks for this Sal, awesome as always- but, even better with the Kmart & aquarium detour this time 🙂
What's funny, is that I remember Kmart having fish near the garden center, and I can remember always wanting to look at them.
I lived right down the street from Clearview. Loved to go there with my mom to shop at the Masion Blanch. I worked at Lakeside for years at center court doing the holiday pictures of Santa and the Easter Bunny. lol Always fun to see others wander these malls. Glad I found your page.
I don't get why people would not subscribe to your channel. I'm always super excited when I get the notification
Hey thanks!!
I didn't get to go to K-Mart stores to often. They were just like an Ames or Jamesway stores. I liked them all, nothing exciting, but something different. We had two in my local area. Still so sad to see all these iconic stories leave us forever. 😔
That's sealife store was really cool ! I could watch a whole video on that stuff !!! Thanks Sal.😊
Your Dad is So CooL . And you are right about the Living Coral and Sea horse . I did not know that the Salt water aquarium world could be that Amazing. Grat Job on the Naration by the way .
How cool was that seahorse???
@@sal I loved the fish. 🐟 I loved the seahorse. I want some living coral.🌅
Excellent as always. We've been visiting NOLA since the 70s. I love the area.
We travel a lot for my job and whenever we go to a new town I always get excited to see a mall whether it is dead or a non-dead mall. We never travel to Louisiana though, so I am glad you uploaded this. Because by the time I get out there this mall could be gone.
Well you better hall ass if you want to catch this mall open.🌅
I learned more about Louisiana in this video than I did in 7th grade Louisiana history. Well done my friend! Can't wait for your other LA videos!
I remember going here so many times as a kid. BTW, before twin peaks, there was a very good Mexican restaurant called Seranno’s and I remember that is always the only place we went for Mexican food. And right behind there was an indoor mini golf. Went back to clear view a few months ago to see a movie and I noticed how dead the mall became. I hope the renovation revives the mall.
I love the breakaway to Kmart, and the added announcements were very funny! This is one of your best works… I look forward to more.
Dang that Kmart looked good. There was so much stock and everything was so neat and clean.
I’ve been to this Kmart when I was little. This place actually used to have long lines at the register. And the Clearview food court is used to be full and after Hurricane Katrina the Social Security office in Kenner was closed and they used the spot were blue Cliff college is in Clearview as their temporary spot and the mall was actually doing pretty well in the 2000s and im hopeful to see where it goes in the future
The K-Mart that was about 1/2 down the road from Century III mall had a cafe/restaurant in the back. Lots of wood paneling and orange textured glass. The cigarette smoke just emanated from that area. It was an original K-mart circa 1964. It survived a massive fire in 1999 and closed 2018.
I never went to Clearview much. I mostly mostly went to Lakeside when in that area.
I always tried to support other malls in the area because lakeside will be okay
When my hometown’s Kmart closed last year there was a woman who commented that she and a girlfriend went the previous Black Friday to check things out. They were the only two customers in the store at the time.
Next time I go to Target I'll try to remember to do a lil field reporting for you. From a very undetailed glance at its exterior, I don't think anything major has occurred, good or bad, for Clearview since you made this video. Once I take a walk around there, as well on the inside, that may change.
I urgently need to point out, however, that the new apartments they're building are very likely to have a significantly negative impact on the area. "Dirt cheap" 1 bedroom apartments in safe parts of Metairie have generally become 20-30% more expensive than they were just 2 years ago. Hurricane Ida caused an even bigger paradigm shift in the greater New Orleans area's housing market than the pandemic (yes, I'm completely serious.) So we've had a combo of a huge influx of working/middle class tenants from neighboring cities competing with long-time Metairie residents for scarce affordable living as well as wealthy outsiders willing to pay whatever landlords demand for their newly renovated with hurricane Ida insurance payout checks rental units.
The new apartments by Clearview tout luxury amenities so I'd likely expect them to cost at least 25% more than an average apartment in this area. I fear that'll also drive up costs for other more modest apartments simply because of their proximity to each other.
Once the palace theatre opened up in early 2000’s clear view was popping for us as teenagers. Can’t say how they did retail wise but I remember being like 16 with a daiguiri from swamp daiquiris little daq shack place before he got big. Even remember watching the first Harry Potter there too.
I have a lot of memories of Kmart. I remember the last time I went to my local store in 2017, months before they closed. There was nothing left for me, a store nearly stocked full but empty of customers. I'd go to Kmart for toys in the late 90s and early 2000s, and in my teens I'd go for electronics (until they removed that department). We had two Kmart stores in the same rural county in NWGA, both closed at the same time. Its funny but I can still close my eyes and take a walk through both stores..and imo they always set up the best Christmas decor and had really nice trees. But I never took the time to travel hours out of my way to another store. I just remember them as they were, and to note, the first time I got hit in the head was inside Kmart in 2001 when I was 6. My mom knocked a huge tote of Lego off the shelf and they landed on my head. It wasn't too pleasant. Anyway both stores recieved a major overhaul and were converted into new outdoor centers and big box chains.
That was a really nice airport you arrived in. Thank you for no constant selfies as you walk. Lakeside Mall in the Det metro area also killed off many of the smaller original malls. I loved empty Kmarts. Damn, I remember that commercial too. I saw most of that aquarium stuff while surfing this morning :-) There's a seahorse farm here too.
Hey I’m not a constant selfie guy, I’d rather show you all the sites rather than my ugly mug.
I remember it too. It was 1984, the year of the Olympic games in Los Angeles. We made so much good quality stuff compared to now. Now it's all Chinese, it's all expensive, and it's all JUNK!
@@sal Same here. I might show myself on occasion just for scale. B roll stuff.
@@sal Oh, Sal, my dear friend. Your occasional Selfies are far from an ugly mug. You’re an amuse bouche with hair in abundance, a healthy balance of revelry, respect (when it’s due) and a resplendent catalogue of the most quirky and endearing tributes to television’s crazy af video archives that make me so proud to be one of your Patreon Supporters. Please tell the Captain that I hold immense admiration for his capabilities of maintaining the good health of Sea Horses, as these amazing creatures are particularly challenging to keep alive outside of the ocean. I hope that one day I will be able to see his tanks and admire his steadfast dedication to saltwater aquariums. Lassez Le Bontemps rRoulet!
i’m catrching up on my Dead Malls "To Do & Review” with you and our amazing ensemble of talented Archivists. I’ve been struggling with my vision recently, as I am waiting for my replacements because my Diplopia and Blepharospasm has suddenly made reading up closely very challenging. Thank you for your hard work and productions! Bravo!!!
That airport was just built. A new revamp of the old one. New Orleans native here
Thank you for your precise description of Twin Peaks. 👍
The Kmart by me had the cafe. That was in East Stroudsburg PA. When I was a kid I used to eat there once in awhile in the 90’s with my grandmother and mother. And my younger brother. I do have lots of fond memories from Kmart. But you were right to say that it was bland. They just never cared enough to keep up with the times. Anyways, that Kmart closed last year and was knocked down and is now a giant. But it did have the cafe. And it was so 70’s in there lol brown rectangular booths. Brown carpet. Old coffee pots. Cool video. Thanks
Great video! This used to be the Target I'd go to when I lived in Hattiesburg in college (this was before Target opened there). That vacant Sears is going to be a clinic for Ochsner Health System. Just announced last week.
I visited this mall a few times when I lived in Metairie in the late 1990s. I’ve been to the AMC theater in it too. It’s a nice one. I’ve been to the Walk Ons in Slidell with my family. We enjoyed it. The atmosphere is great, and the food is too.
My local mall which was one of the first indoor shopping malls in the area was slowly slipping into death. It got bought and now it will be undergoing changes to become an open air mall. Hope it works for them.
I already feel like I am getting my Christmas presents earlier than expected...and two more episodes to be released soon. Thank you Sal :) You will be replacing Santa Claus 🎅 in these turbulent times!
Merry (early) Christmas!!
@@sal Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 Stay safe buddy!
The KMart blue light special announcement about the Donald Trump chia pet being available until January 20th. Pure genius. As usual, you're awesome.
Lmao I couldn’t help myself. But come on, even for his supporters, it’s funny.
Lol. Exactly. If they don't think it's funny, they at least have to come to the realization that he's made himself a comedians target.
It was the $700+ price that really put me into the stoner giggles
Exactly $750 lol
And the Metarie Tourism Board should hire you immediately. No person ever, and i mean ever, has made Metairie sound that nice. ;) Definitely an interesting lil city. But you made it sound like a world destination city. Well done sir.
Thanks Sal 👏👏 These videos are so relaxing.
Thanks so much for watching!!!
Frankly I loved Kmart when I was a kid. But the Kmart of my memories is long gone.. the time I spent shopping with mom. Eating in the Cafeteria. Looking at the new electronics. That was the Kmart of the 1970's so the Kmart I remember really only exists in my memories and the memory of others my age. It was several remodels ago so even though the Kmart I grew up with didn't close until 2018 but the store of my memories disappeared in the early 80's with a remodel.
Thanks for the journey!
Yet another great video sal. Your production and narration are spot on. This mall looks to be a survivor. Fingers crossed! Be a good follow up sometime. Be well, happy holidays to you and all. ✌️
It's uncanny but fascinating to see exlogs on the places I actually spent my childhood going to.
To give an estimate of how unoccupied this mall has gotten, there's a driving school in one of the buildings near the AMC, and they teach their courses in the giant Sears parking lot next door just because it's always completely desolate.
This is right down the street from me. The only reason I ever go there is for the Target. Honestly though, the Esplanade mall is wayyyyy more dead than Clearview. The upstairs of the Esplanade is completely empty and it’s so creepy to walk around. They had a massive food court upstairs that completely deserted :/
The Kmart in Sioux City Iowa still had the café in it prior to closing it's doors (sad day)
Y’all are going to Lakeside? Lakeside is still thriving. That’s all we really have left. Oakwood is hood, the Plaza was destroyed by Katrina, Gentilly woods mall is now a Walmart and Esplanade is soon to be “aint dere no more”.
Who said I’m not allowed to produce videos on thriving malls? Did I miss some weird set of rules ?
Lol I thought you only covered dead malls
Hell no!!
@@sal 🤣🤣🤣
Lolol
That store in Metairie was actually busy the day we went
One time I ate chicken at a restaurant that was so good, juicy and nutrient dense that I actually sent a letter, via US postal service, to tell my family, at home, about this.
The odd thing was I was in high school and living at home at the time. The restaurant was less than 2 miles away from my home.
Cool story.
Very visually smooth transition on the video clips, I especially liked that, Good Up! Liked, Staysafe
Sullen yet heartwarming episode with a soothing musical journey and Sal's voice...blood pressure drops good one for me.😺😺😺✌
Id honestly love if you did an aside episode of Aquatic Sealife as a full episode.
It would take me days. I love that place.
Just to give an update, hurricane Ida severely damaged Clearview and the esplanade, while the Clearview had roof repairs done and the skylight fixed only the remaining open stores are accessible and all else was called off, progress on the ochsner facility is nesting completion currently as well as major renovations to the target, as you can imagine no interior repairs are being done to the main mall not because of funds but because once ochsner is complete they plan to put the plans you mentioned into affect making any repairs to the current building wasted money. The esplanade however seems it will not be reopening and sits closed nearly a year later with the city threatening repossession over unpaid taxes going back years, though the city is using Macy's as a temporary city hall
Great job, that was a sad K Mart. But very well cared for. Loved Aquatic Sealife. You must have had awesome adventures in New Orleans. It’s a fantastic place. But COVID massacred there as well. Adult Disneyland is very sad empty. Stay safe
I worked at that Kmart in 2014 in Loss prevention. Theft was at an all time high! I had to monitor cameras from the back and when I saw customers stealing, I would have to approach them and convince them to put it back 😂😂. I was all 6 months pregnant while working there!
I remember shopping a Kmart quite a bit as a kid. I was even one of those lucky enough to eat at the KCafe from time to time. One time, my mom took my sister and I there to have lunch there with my dad and one of his co-workers. Good times.
Sadly, the Kmart closest to me closed soon after Walmart moved in down the street and took over the competition. After the Kmart closed, 3 new tenants took over the space. Smart & Final took over the front part of the store, a Body Xchange fitness center took over the middle section, and Tractor Supply Co. took over the garden section.
20:45 No,No,No I want the Richard Simmons chia pet
Sal I liked the tropical fish detour. It really pointed out where I think retail is going in our current situation. K-Mart not a soul in there. Tropical fish place humming with activity. I think niche stores will do better than the big boxes because they're competing with Amazon. While tropical fish places not as much.
How amazing were the fish??? I couldn’t not show you this stuff!!
cool, I liked the poetic stuff you did in past episodes! sets this apart
i live in Metairie and it's sad as hell right now how everything going since two of my malls Clearview and Esplanade Mall shut down after Hurricane Ida.
It’s crazy to see the current state of Clearview, Esplanade, and Oakwood. Don’t see them staying open much longer. Lots of memories at all of these malls. Lakeside seems to be doing relatively well. Anytime I pass there’s always a bunch of cars.
The first time I ever went into Clearview Mall was around 1989 at about the age of 16. At that time, it still looked exactly like the black and white photos you showed near the beginning. Most of the stores were empty. My first experience with a dead mall. We went there for one specific store that the girls in our group were looking for...don’t remember what store, but there wasn’t much else there. I don’t think I went back in there again until after the 2001 renovations, when occupancy was high. The last time I went in there, around 3 years ago, was before Sears started announcing the close-out, but I had heard through the grapevine they were pricing things for clearance. I wanted to get a cheap bbq pit. Had to go looking for an employee. I found one, working the one open register, with nobody in line. Exactly one. I’d never seen a Sears so desolate. But that quickly became the standard for Sears and shortly after that, they were gone.
There weren't any real vacancies in '89. By the late nineties it was nearing half-empty. Spent a lot of time there - preferred the lighter crowds vs. Lakeside. And preferred the decor until the renovation - hard to believe that was twenty years ago.
I haven't been to Clearview Mall in years. Maybe only a handful of times after Katrina, tops. It used to be a nice mall, but it was always living in Lakeside's shadow.
We used to go to the Target a lot. Another store I loved there was Game Traders, which also had a location in North Shore Square Mall, but they both closed down before Katrina. We used to eat at Semolina and Zea sometimes too.
The Palace Theater was also really nice, but we usually went to the Elmwood location instead. When the Yu-Gi-Oh movie came out I remember seeing it there with my mom three times back-to-back and getting a ton of promo cards for it.
As for the Kmart on Veterans, it was really nice back in the 90s and 00s. They had always had a great toy department too. But one time I got a Zoids toy there that was haunted and my Honduran grandmother named it Cantinflas. The Elmwood location used to be nice too, but it couldn't compare to the one on Veterans.
Edit: I'm thinking about the other Kmart on Veterans, the one by Lakeside. This is the one by Chuck E. Cheese, which was much smaller. I practically forgot this one existed.
There are a lot of EPCOT Maestrom references here
F, man. K-Mart was one of the main retailers in my once-small GA hometown of Albany. We had two locations, on Dawson Rd near the Albany Mall, and formerly (after the 1992 flood) a second location on the corner of Oakridge Rd and Radium Springs Rd. So it was actually sad to have completely lost a retail location from the Flint River flooding.
This Kmart looks fabulous compared to the last couple of years....
Really a grand old place fallen on hard times. I love the indoor golf place it’s good practice when it rains. A good restaurant on the front side named Zeas rotisserie I wonder if it’s still open. Great work man!
I remember lakeside mall, oakwood mall and the Plaza in New Orleans East was popular in the 90s and very early 2000s as a child. I been to clearview like twice lol.
The Sears auto center at clearview mall has been torn down.
I remember going to that Kmart on Black Friday in ‘92 or ‘93, I was the year they gave out a free seasame street cookie tin with cookies inside. The place was packed, I mean you could hardly get down the aisles. They gave out all the cookie tins 5 minutes after they opened. Also in that shopping center, the joann’s crafts has relocated. its moved to a new place on veterans blvd closer to New Orleans.
Kmart, wow. The only one I really remember was the one in Forest Park, OH (Cincinnati suburb). It had a Little Caesars Pizza, as soon as you walked into Kmart. To the left. My father would love to go to Kmart. Like all others, it closed over ten years ago. Memories.
Love the aquatic store, thanks for sharing. We lost our nice one years ago.
You should film Bel Air Mall (now the Shoppes of Bel Air) and Springdale Plaza in Mobile, AL. They’re across the street from each other and have rich history.
That old K-Mart commercial hit me in the feels and made me bawl 🥺🥺🥺
this kmart is like going back in time to the 70s i love the announcement lady with the new york accent
Assuming the K-Mart announcer you had was a meme, whoever you got to do the voice does a dead-on Marrero accent.
Also, seeing Clearview like that kinda upsets me. Before Katrina, my mom and I would go there twice a month on weekends, so we could get an early dinner at Zea's, get haircuts (once a month), see a movie, and do our grocery shopping at Target. We went back to New Orleans for about a year (we had leased a house) from 2007-2008 and picked that routine back up while we could. After the lease was up, we didn't renew, so we just went back to Baton Rouge.
It just makes me incredibly sad. The fact that my mother is no longer with us doesn't help.
SAL SAL!!! I just went down to the Steamtown Mall in Scranton PA (had to go to Probation, so I stopped off before my appt and walked the Mall, which is an easy bus ride from our apartment!)...and it looks like it is trying to come back to life!!!! There are a few vendors in the food court/marketplace (including a kick-ass sushi place!!!) and there seem to be more shops than when I was there last (more than a few months ago)!!! I am so happy and I thought you would like to know that there may be hope. I also hope that they stop charging for parking...that would help immensely. Still. Good news!
Is the aquarium open??
@@salOh yes! There were people going in and getting their pics taken outside of it. It was awesome to see. :) Expensive (probably overly so but everything is out of reach when you are literally penniless) but awesome to see people.
That announcer in the Kmart? She's a genuine New Orleans Yat and her accent is a Yat accent. There is such diversity in Yat accents. Some are like North Jersey accents, some like Brooklyn accents, some are like Bronx accents, some are like Boston accents. The Kmart announcer reminded me of the famous drag queen Miss Coco Peru who hails from the Bronx. My partner heard a local French Quarter tour guide call out, "And get a load of all this Noo Awlins AAH-chitectcha!" and he thought she came from the Roslindale neighbourhood of Boston!
Spoiler: that announcer was me.
Great episode! Got to say: Aquatic Sealife ... A-Mazing!!!
You call that the saddest Kmart, but check out those lights flush with the drop ceiling! Here I thought Kmarts only had the corrugated roof with hanging lights.
I went to New Orleans for Wrestlemania 34 which was April 2018. It was my first time there so I drove around. I was shocked to see functioning K-Mart that I turn the rental car around and took a picture of it. it was past 11 PM and closed for the day. Sad to see it no longer running.
The Clearview Center fared far better than the Greendale Mall redevelopment that was supposed to happen, but "The Covids" took away the mixed-use of retail, office, and apartment space, and will become just a couple warehouses. So at least this place has it good.....enough.
I was in there today; they now have only one entrance open, half the mall closed and the anchor stores cut off. The PJs Coffee there is closed and they left their cups and stock behind like they got shut down in the middle of a shift.
I watched your video it made my nostalgic just remember walking around the mall, while I lived in Kenner, but unfortunately Katrina hit and we had to move away wanted to move back lots of times but I was scared to go through it again, I do miss it so much I almost cried watching your video it’s sad to see this beautiful malls dying slowly with everything is going on
*Amazon is gutting all of these dinosaur malls.* 😷😷😷
The ambiance of Walk-Ons is great if you like hundreds of TVs with sports games on. The food is just decent.
Honestly my experience at Walk~ons is fantastic
Aaaaand for October 2024, a portion of the mall is being used for a Spirit Halloween. Not even joking on that one.
So if you ever get down to Myrtle Beach can you do a ExLog on the Waccamaw Mall?
Half of the second part of it is a church now but the first wing, the food court, and the strip mall and Waccamaw pottery are still there
We have a Walk Ons here in Edinburg,Tx. It's some what.its like a Hooters and Twin Picks,admoshere.
F.
I used to really love Super Kmart in particular. I lived in Orange County CA. I forget where it was exactly, but it was super cool. I distinctly remember reading a magazine there talking about some upcoming game called Halo.
McKenzie's Bakery had good Cherry 🍒 Cream Cheese King Cake. I remember getting my daughter a Mr. Bingle at Maison Blanche!
Sad that K-Mart is almost gone. I worked for K-Mart in the early 90s. I worked with the Super K-Mart
F! I used to go to Kmart as a really young kid. Oh the memories!