Now that we know
GK Development is
planning to renovate the old
Target space at
Columbia Mall and turn it into multiple stores and restaurants, I've been thinking about what could go in all of those spaces. What would you like to see in Columbia Mall? Are there any shopping or dining chains you would like to see in these spaces? Please share your wish lists!
Sephora.
ReplyDeleteFrederick's of Hollywood
ReplyDeleteAnthropologie, Restoration Hardware, and a really good Indian restaurant. Ooh, and an Amoeba Records!
ReplyDeleteeducational toy store
ReplyDeleteVirgin Records & a decent shoe store for men.
ReplyDeletea discoteque
ReplyDeletekeep in mind some of the bigger chains wont come because our market size is to small. But if they were to come an apple store would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wish list... Market size doesn't matter :)
ReplyDeleteI second Sephora, Anthropologie, and Restoration Hardware...
And add Pottery Barn, Ethan Allen, Ballard Designs, Trader Joe's, a men's clothing store, maternity clothing store and a baby boutique.
Yes, I'm dreaming...
How about a little touch of Europe - an Amsterdam-style coffee shop and a massive beer hall.
ReplyDeletemmm beer hall
ReplyDeleteBarbara, all women know size matters..
ReplyDeleteOh! Cinnabon! How could I have forgotten THAT?
ReplyDeleteI'm wishing for any of the following: Ann Taylor Loft, Men's Wearhouse, Lucy, Trader Joe's, Breadsmith, White House/Black Market, PF Changs...
ReplyDeleteO
ReplyDeletel
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Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dolce, Be-Be...oh wait this is Grand Forks we are talking about...Ok, then Im sure we will just get some hunting store, some random store selling tupper-ware, perhaps an Avon store and other places of the WT variety.
ReplyDeletemini-putt!!!
ReplyDeleteIMAX theatre
ReplyDeletelaser tag
ReplyDelete@anonymous 1:02 - You are right
ReplyDeleteConsidering the difficulties people have paying their bills and property taxes around here, those stores would have to be foolish as all hell to come here.
Who goes to the mall? I do not think I have been there more than twice in the last year. tear it down and make a park or something.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see a real Barnes and Noble, Steve and Barry's, H&M, and a nice paninni place.
ReplyDeleteI third... or maybe it's fourth by now... a Sephora. I would love a specialty kitchen store like Williams Sonoma or even a Creative Kitchen. We really do need a nice maternity store in this town as well.
ReplyDeleteI 2nd the Amsterdam-style coffee shop
ReplyDeletecompleat with an open arium, ancient mossy trees, cobblestone benches on the curbside banks of a mini Prinsengracht as young Grand Forks lovers float by in the canal boats
ahhhh
and a red light district paired with a chocolate shop would kick too ... oh wait we already have that downtown
To the person who said tear down the mall and make a park because no one goes there..
ReplyDeleteCanadians are a huge part of Grand Forks economy. They contribute to our sales taxes. According to the Grand Forks CVB the number one reason Canadians come to GF is to SHOP. I hardly doubt they come to GF just to go to Target and Wal-Mart. So without the Columbia Mall in town, I doubt as many Canadians would stay here and boast our economy.
Ha - I was going to add a red light district to my wish list, but I thought that might be going just a little too far for this town. But your suggestion and mine make a point - America is a homogenized, boring place. When I travel around the country visiting developed, non-natural areas (malls, shopping districts, housing developments, etc.) I usually get the feeling like I have seen it all too often before. Texas looks like Illinois looks like Oregon looks like Massachusetts looks like Arizona. Mediocrity rules. So bring it on to Grand Forks so we too can look like any other American craphole.
ReplyDeleteHooter's, Outback, White Castle, Frederick's, Men's Warehouse,
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what we need, a bunch of upscale boutique stores. I'd love an anthropologie, but even I don't think GF could keep it afloat long.
ReplyDeleteAnd Amoeba Records? As in world famous Amoeba Music store in Hollywood, SF, and Berkeley?
I'm dying here!
Here's what I suspect: every store that's in West Acres that isn't here.
It's strange to see how the seemingly innocuous request for suggestions on the Columbia Mall's new wing has turned into a near drunken street side speech on how Grand Forks, and America at large, is supposedly full of uncultured white trash.
ReplyDeleteThis is a flawed, elitist point of view stemming from political frustrations.
War = Bush/Cheney = The public that voted them in.
The Bush administration is nearly over. Give your countrymen a break, will you?
I think the Mall will have plenty of things to cater to a diverse population. Complaining about the addition of stores you don't like would be like me, as a man, condemning the mall as Feminist for daring to include a Victoria's Secret store.
Now, as for votes...
I'd love to see a Disney store and a Teavana go in up there.
I have to bring my favorite tea with me whenever I come up for Rocky Horror every October, and having a Teavana already up there would be a great relief.
A Disney store would be great as well, because it could fill in the gap left by KB Toys a few years ago and provide Canadian shoppers a little bit of "Ooooo, Ahhhhh" to bring home with them.
Just my 3 cents.
I second the Steve and Barry's! It would be huge here, as nothing costs more than like $20.
ReplyDeleteSt. Vital Mall in Winnipeg already has a Disney store, so I don't think they would be too "Oooo, Ahhh"'d by one...
ReplyDeletekelly,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure who's "near drunk" here. However you get from the comments to an attack on "your countryman" is pretty amazing. Have another beer.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI don't know how there is even a connection but if their is. . . . . .Maybe it's frustration of watching the ' messiah' candidate that thinks the USA has 59 states?
IMAX.
ReplyDeleteC.Y.,
ReplyDeleteHa, ha! Amen to that!
You know I'm a Republican, right?
I'm throwing in a third for steve and barry's. They're awesome, and finally somewhere I can go for men's clothes.
ReplyDeleteIndoor mini-putts are cool too.
Steve and Berry's is awesome, and I shop there all the time, but now that the mall has broken up the square footage that Target had, I'm not sure there would be enough room for one anymore.
ReplyDeleteHere's to hoping, though. A store like that would go over BIG in Grand Forks.
Speaking of mini-putt...I think it would be cool to have a mini-putt/indoor recreation area (sort of like Dave & Buster's, maybe?) that is open to families/all ages up until say, 9:00 or 10:00 p.m., then it's 18+ or 21+ after that time.
ReplyDeleteThere is a mini-putt course in Cozumel that hands out walkie-talkies to its customers. When you get ready for a beer or a frozen beverage, you just get on the walkie-talkie and place your order, and they bring it right out to you on the course.
They could do something like that here, pipe in a mixture of good music, and it would be another source of something fun to do in the evenings for adults, since we all complain that there is nothing.
Oh, and as for the mall ideas, I would like to see an Urban Outfitters, Williams-Sonoma, Sephora (which is now affiliated with JCPenney, by the way, so maybe there is a chance!), and a Panera Bread Co.
"St. Vital Mall in Winnipeg already has a Disney store"
ReplyDeleteOh, I wasn't aware of that. It would still be cool to have one in GF anyway! They are pretty neat stores to shopping in around Christmastime.
Maybe a hooters in there?? liek the one in the mega mall
ReplyDeleteor any other bar... we need a coupel more good ones in GF anyways, ones aht acutally card people.
"I have to bring my favorite tea with me whenever I come up for Rocky Horror every October, and having a Teavana already up there would be a great relief."
ReplyDeleteOr you could visit Amazing Grains, which is not a boring old same same same franchise like Teavana, and get your choice from a few dozen loose leaf teas.
I would love a Sonic Burger to come in and a Dress Barn.
ReplyDeleteKelly,
ReplyDeleteSensitive much? Some of us can have opinions not linked to politics.
You're right, You're always right. Shopping and dining are NOT becoming homogenized. Grand Forks is full of relevant one-of-a-kind creative new shops and restaurants.
Wow!
A dinosaur playground! Like in West Acres, but in the middle, by some great kids store that could soak up all that business. And hand sanitizers, everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe people of Grand Forks are, for the most part, uncultured white trash!
ReplyDeleteThere are two words that prove my point:
Olive Garden!
Anonymous @ 8:41,
ReplyDeleteI guess I AM a little sensitive about the subject.
I am constantly defending North Dakota against people who have never been up there. People find out I'm from ND, and they treat me like a cancer survivor, saying things like "Jeez, I'm sorry. That must've sucked growing up like that."
Sometimes I'm treated like a myth come to life, as if by revealing that I was from ND was akin to stepping out of the wardrobe straight from Narnia.
The point is, I ALWAYS defend ND to those who would pull it down for no reason, and then I get on here and see the very people who live there tearing it down just as badly.
Sometimes I just want to say "Fine, North Dakota is a cold, backwards, uncultured, desolate wasteland. Anyone who still lives up there is either too old to move, or doesn't have the brains or sophistication to survive anywhere else."
But I don't say that. Because that would be lying.
Hearing North Dakotans talk about their own state is like listening to that pretty girl at the party talk about how "fat" and "ugly" she supposedly is.
There's nothing wrong with North Dakota, other than it's self-image.
I like North Dakota. Its quiet, peaceful, inexpensive to live in(in my opinion), and the cold keeps out the riff raff during the winter.
ReplyDeleteI agree Kelly...
ReplyDeleteAlways interesting to see some of these posts...hard to tell if they are real ideas or what. But having lived in many different areas Grand Forks is a fine town with no more or no less shopping, entertainment than any other town it's size. We should not aspire to be Fargo because we are not, we are Grand Forks.
As for some of these stores mentioned, I have never heard of most of them...but I am not a big shopper. I myself prefer the chain stores and status quo of smaller towns.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI don't think GF is any worse than most towns its size. But I've also visited college towns smaller than GF with an active artist population and creative business community who have rejected the homogeneity of chain stores and restaurants. Those are the places we remember and that make us want to return.
--anonymous 8:41
One more thing,
ReplyDeleteFor me, at least, when I make the criticisms I do, I do it in a spirit of helpfulness and only to other residents of GF (this blog). When I speak of GF to those I meet outside the community, I tend to paint a much rosier-and just as true-picture.
--anonymous 8:41
"you could visit Amazing Grains, which is not a boring old same same same franchise like Teavana, and get your choice from a few dozen loose leaf teas"
ReplyDeleteDoes Amazing Grains have Silver Needle? I'd go for that, as long as it was good quality and under $10 an ounce. I'm sure I'd still have to go to Teavana for my Pistachio Apple Rooibos, though. THAT stuff brews up a PHENOMENAL cup of tea!
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ReplyDeletegee thanks Dale.
ReplyDeleteDear anon, your comments about uncultured white trash ! Did you mean uncultured white trailer trash like Mike Mack refers to on his radio show ? Say it loud and clear the boys from the 4 trailer courts will be out this weekend loking for you ! greenglass4
ReplyDeleteDale,
ReplyDeleteSeems like the kind of thing GK is looking at for the redevelopment of the old Target space...less the housing element. I agree, these "town centers" are definitely the way to go.
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ReplyDeleteI love all the requests for incredibly over-priced stores, this isn't vegas!
ReplyDeleteSteve & Barry's, H & M, Sephora, Forever 21 - I'd like some stores that actually have VARIETY and yet are not trying to sell me $300 dollar jeans or $180 dollar t-shirts.
This IS Grand Forks, ND after all - how much money do you think I make?
@Plum
ReplyDeleteDon't you realize that America is only for the rich anymore (those who have money and those who pretend they do)? If it ain't upscale in this day and age, it apparently isn't worth shyte.
Plum,
ReplyDeleteAt steve and barry's most items are priced around $8.98. If you cant afford $8.98, maybe you should stop spending so much money on crack. Just kidding..., but seriously S&B's is sooooo cheap what are you talking about?
H&M is pretty inexpensive, as well. I just never bought anything there b/c I don't have the body of a 12 year old boy.
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck are you people talking about? First saying Steve and Berry's is expensive? Now H&M? The entire marketing strategy behind H&M is that the clothes are stylish and affordable! Unless your on welfare (in which case you shouldnt even be going to the mall to buy clothes), or unless you are seriously, seriously, poor, then anyone can afford H&M! Talk about cheapsters and penny pinchers!
ReplyDeleteOops! Sorry Coffeeguy! I thought you said Expensive, not Inexpensive. My apologies! ;)
ReplyDeleteThe mall is so adult-oriented. It needs a touch of some youth-oriented places such as Toys R Us (toys, games, etc. for children and adults alike). I miss KB Toys. It may have been a nationwide chain, but it had that small town feeling that makes North Dakota such a wonderful place to live. The staff didn't seem to mind kids trying toys out before their parents bought them either.
ReplyDeleteGrand Forks needs an amusement park type place too such as the old Lucy's Amusement Park in Minot. I'm not sure if that exists anymore, but it was a fun place to go. Since we seem to be attempting to become a major tourist town in the state with CanadInn, Splashers, the Alerus and Englestad Arena's, etc. why not put an amusement park in or near the mall similar to that in the Mall of America????? It doesn't have to be excessive, but a few fun activities would be nice.
Oh yes. . .regarding the comment about GF residents being '. . .white trash. . .' Have you noticed just how low the unemployment rate in ND is???? We have the third lowest unemployment rate in the nation. This hardly reflects "white trash" or lazy people. North Dakota residents are very hard workers who are given nothing and who work for everything -- we have earned everything we have. I've heard it said that a North Dakotan can move to anyplace in the country and be hired on the spot because of the reputation we have here of being such dedicated workers.
I may not be from North Dakota originally, but I have been here most of my life and also support and defend my home state without question.
It's nothing but ignorance to compare human beings to trash, not to mention very judgemental. Unless you have walked in a person's shoes, you will never know their situation, what they have gone through, what they might be faced with at any given time, or what they might be struggling with emotionally. If nothing else, we need to pray for people who seem to be in a sad state in their lives.
Being a manager here in town, I can tell you the Work Ethic of people are pathetic. Hiring somewhere else on the spot would be considered luck. I can't even get someone to give a two weeks notice. They will have their mom call in sick or their husband call in sick for them. What the hell is going on. Why can't people take account for their own actions. wow
ReplyDeleteHollister?
ReplyDeleteAbercrombie & Fitch?
"real" Barnes and Noble?
Louis Vuitton?
Trader Joe's?
QUOTING ANONYMOUS FROM 12:37 AM ON 6/27/08 -- "Being a manager here in town, I can tell you the Work Ethic of people are pathetic. Hiring somewhere else on the spot would be considered luck. I can't even get someone to give a two weeks notice. They will have their mom call in sick or their husband call in sick for them. What the hell is going on. Why can't people take account for their own actions. wow"
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why you are having such bad luck with staff. I think that when staff are late, don't show up from work, over use their PTO, and don't give a notice of resignation of some kind that they are taking advantage of their employer. They certainly don't appreciate that the employer took the time to interview them and selected them from amongst the candidates and even worse they don't appreciate having a job to pay their bills.
Having worked on many temp assignments, in several part-time and full-time permanent positions as well as owned my own businesses over the past 13 years, I have to say that I personally have known very few co-workers who have acted in such a manner as you see as a manager. Most of the individuals I have worked with have appreciated the jobs they have been provided and the income that is an added blessing.
I think that those workers are are dedicated, appreciative, and respectful are mostly individuals who had good parents who taught them well. That's not to say that every poor worker had parents who did not have boundaries and/or taught them well, but I think it is reflective of the type of childhood they may have had.
Training begins at home. I have conversations with my children about the reasons why parents have rules and guidelines. One of the reasons I give is because it will teach them to be responsible and appreciative individuals as they grow up to be adults. Though they may not like the rules at the time and completely dislike the consequences, they understand them and learn to appreciate their parents even better. In turn, they learn to respect all authority and end up being respectable adults, parents, workers, etc.
you should have hollister and abercrombie and fitch stores! and maybe chanel
ReplyDeleteH&M,Sephora,MAC,Hollister,Abercrombie&Fitch,Forever 21,Victoria Secret,Nordstrom,
ReplyDelete