THEN AND NOW: Photos of mall food courts show the steady decline of the American mall
Before shopping malls had food courts, visitors could sit and eat in cafe areas like this one in Southdale shopping mall, circa 1957.
Southdale mall is the oldest fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States. It opened in 1956.
The first successful mall food court was opened at Paramus Park shopping mall in Paramus, New Jersey, in March 1974. It was located on the second floor of the shopping mall, which also happened to be the first enclosed shopping plaza in New Jersey.
Today, diners at the Southdale mall food court have plenty of choice.
While a cafe was the main source of food for Southdale shoppers in the 1950s, the mall now offers restaurants such as Cheesecake Factory, Buffalo Wild Wings, and PF Changs, as well as on-the-go options like Qdoba Mexican Eats, Panda Express, Shake Shack, and Smashburger.
Mall food courts as we know them today have been around since the 1970s, but they quickly grew in popularity during the 1980s and 1990s.
As seen in the above picture of Harborplace mall — an $18 million complex of boutiques, cafes, and fast-food stalls in the Baltimore Inner Harbor — mall food courts were once bustling sites for locals and visitors alike.
Today, the Baltimore Inner Harbor looks slightly different — and not quite as crowded.
The mall has managed to remain open, but the main shopping mall is now known as The Gallery at Harborplace.
Malls of yesteryear tended to be over-the-top in their design, and some mall food courts were no different.
The Queens West Shopping Centre food court was inspired by '50s-era diners, from the pink seats to the pink vintage car "crashing" through a wall in the background.
Most mall food courts today have a more practical design, aimed at seating as many people as possible.
Tables filled with diners line the first floor of the Pentagon City Mall in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2018.
Food court staples like McDonald's, shown here inside the Eaton Centre food court in 1996, have been mainstays in many malls over the years.
From Dippin' Dots to Sbarro, Cinnabon, and Orange Julius, mall food courts had everything you could ever dream of. Even now, many malls are stocked with favorites like Auntie Anne's pretzels and Panda Express.
However, the food court at the Eaton Centre is not what it once was.
The Eaton Centre mall in Toronto hasn't had an easy ride over the years. A deadly shooting that occurred in 2012 disrupted the mall and service and the mall has been renovated many times. However, the mall continues to bring in more foot traffic than many of its competitors.
Between visiting stores, shoppers, like these at the Southgate Shopping Mall in Sarasota, Florida, could sit back and relax in the food court.
In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, suburban living was thriving.
As more people left cities and moved out to suburbia, the popularity of shopping malls steadily increased. Between 1956 and 2005, 1,500 malls were built in the US.
Malls like the Southgate Shopping Mall have undergone ownership changes, and today it's the Westfield Siesta Key shopping center.
Westfield Corporation is a large company that owns shopping centers worldwide. In the wake of many mall failings, the company is actually thriving thanks to some very careful choices.
Teens in the 1980s were notorious for spending tons of time in shopping malls, and even came to be referred to as "mall rats."
By the time the '90s rolled around, shopping malls were a full-blown phenomenon for both teens and adults.
At the turn of the century, they continued to spend time in malls.
Whether it was a piece of pizza after ransacking the sales at Abercrombie and Fitch or a swirl of Dairy Queen after stopping by Limited Too, 2000s teens knew how to make the most of their local mall food court.
Even celebrities frequented malls and their food courts.
In August 2000, Raquel Welch was spotted feeding a piece of pizza to her then-husband, Richie Palmer, at the opening of his latest pizza place in the food court of the Flatiron Crossing Mall.
Now malls are much less popular than they once were.
By 2022, analysts estimate that one out of every four malls in the US could be shut down. In 2019 alone, a whopping 9,300 stores were expected to close nationwide.
Now many malls have been left abandoned. Others continue to struggle as they fight against changing retail trends.
Shopping malls weren't just a place to pick up the latest gadgets, records, and fashions — malls were a place to hang out.
Undeniably, the mall food court played a massive role in transforming the shopping mall into a cultural hub and "commercial powerhouse."
Malls like the MainPlace Mall and their food courts and open areas were used for events.
Today some mall food courts, like this one in Steeplegate Mall, are ghost towns.
As more malls and stores close down, mall food courts have also become deserted or shuttered.
According to multiple Yelp reviews, the only food stall still open in the mostly vacant mall is Dunkin'.
Long gone are the days of jam-packed tables and the smell of cinnamon buns wafting through the air — instead, only empty tables and barren food stalls remain.
In years past, it would be difficult to find a seat in a busy mall food court.
However, as much as people enjoyed going to mall food courts, apparel and merchandise was still the main focus. According to CNBC, food retail in 2015 accounted for 11% of all mall leasing deals. In 2018, that percentage doubled to 22%.
Despite shifting the focus to food, mall food courts like the one in Regency Square mall seem to have more empty chairs than ever before.
But why? The "Great Recession" played a part in the downfall of malls. According to Time, mall visits during the holiday season in the years 2010 to 2013 dropped by 50%.
When it comes to keeping a mall afloat, owners now understand that it's important to offer new and exciting stores and food options.
It's apparent now more than ever that malls need to change their strategies when it comes to bringing in customers.
Department stores like Sears, Lord and Taylor, and Macy's used to bring in many visitors to malls and their food courts. However, many of these legacy department stores are struggling.
Sears is currently teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and only a fraction of its previous number of stores will remain open, while Macy's is set to close more stores in the coming year.
Some malls, such as the Flatiron Crossing Mall, have had to find other uses for its department stores.
Saks, an anchor store, left the mall in 2011, while Lord and Taylor exited in 2005. This same pattern is happening in malls nationwide.
Instead of going to malls, some consumers are turning towards Amazon and other online retailers. Harvard business professor Leonard Schlesinger told Time that malls "were built for patterns of social interaction that increasingly don't exist."
Throughout the early 2000s, malls like Flatiron Crossing were holding steady with shoppers of all ages.
Food courts remained popular for mall shoppers looking to grab a quick, cheap bite or meet new people. Rather than swiping right on a dating app, young people could meet each other or hang out in the food court.
Young people are still visiting malls today — as long as there's more than just regular stores and a typical food court.
According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, in a three-month period in 2018, more than 90% of Gen-Z consumers went to the mall at least once. That was a higher percentage than millennials (75%), Gen-X (58%), and baby boomers (53%).
But they're not just interested in browsing clothes anymore — they visit malls with modern options, including Apple stores, movie theaters, virtual reality experiences, and upgraded food courts, according to researchers.
Food courts were previously occupied by a variety of fast-food and quick-service restaurants.
However, as malls attempt to attract more visitors, owners are abandoning the "food court" model and leaning more towards a "food hall" style of restaurant and food offerings.
According to a report by CNBC, malls are attempting to attract younger audiences with amenities like craft breweries and newer food brands like Sweetgreen, Bareburger and Cava Grill, which are seen as healthier and more eclectic.
As malls become less visited year after year, many outdated food stalls have become abandoned in "dead malls."
As malls struggle to survive, brand name recognition is key — and owners are realizing that offering new, exciting food options may be one of the biggest ways to keep malls afloat.
According to CNBC, 40% of consumers today will choose which mall or shopping center to visit based on the restaurants located there.
The only way to save the American mall, it seems, is with new and exciting retail stores and food options that will bring Gen-Z and millennial shoppers through their doors.
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