I think that just about everyone knows that malls aren't what they used to be. West County Center, the mall within walking distance from our house, has multiple empty storefronts and a couple of unused food court spaces.
The mall's parent company, CBL Properties (which owns 45 malls throughout the country, including West County Center and three other locations in the metropolitan St. Louis area) seems to be trying out some creative solutions to get people to come in. The latest is to convert one of the vacant food court stands into a pop-up eatery.
The concept opened this week with Yogi Donuts, which normally fries its mini-donuts to order from a food truck. You can get a 6, 9, or 13-pack of freshly prepared donuts-plain, tossed in cinnamon or powdered sugar, or drizzled with one of several sauces (some of which include sprinkles).
Of course we had to try some. Hubby Tony got his with cinnamon sugar. I chose chocolate sauce and sprinkles.
If the pop-up eatery concept is successful it may be expanded to other malls. I wonder what will be at this one next?
Five years ago: Cheap! Cheap!
Similar problem in Toronto area, interesting about pop ups-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI hope it works and all the malls start doing that! It's really sad malls so empty these days.
ReplyDeleteI do think the empty stores bring down the entire property.
DeleteI haven't heard of pop-ups before. I looked them up and found this...
ReplyDeleteHow can I make my home a pop-up restaurant?
Here are a few items you'll need to plan for to make your pop-up launch a success.
1. Apply for Insurance, Permits, and Licenses. Licenses and permits are required for restaurants to legally operate, and the same is true for pop-ups. ...
2. Nail Down Your Menu and Concept. ...
3. Outfit Your Kitchen. ...
4. Advertise.
...
Pop-up in your home? Not going to happen around here. Item #1 will bring it to a screeching halt.
I can't imagine jumping through all the hoops just to cook commercially in your own kitchen. I know some people rent space in a commercial kitchen, and others (like the donut place we visited) operate out of a food truck.
DeleteI've encountered pop-up's, both retail clothing and eateries. The metropolitan area and population density probably support the attempts. On the other hand, non seem to have become an established business.
ReplyDelete