South Mall
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The South Mall is an enclosed
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
located on Lehigh Street south of
Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...
exit 57 near
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...
's southern border with Salisbury Township and
Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...
in the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
region of eastern
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.


History


1970s and 1980s

Hess's South, an early satellite location of the Hess's downtown
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...
department store, opened at the site of the mall in 1971. Hess's built a modest enclosed mall on the north side of the department store in 1975, adding a
Weis Markets Weis Markets, Inc. ( doing business as Weis and stylized as weis) is a Mid-Atlantic food retailer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It currently operates 199 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jer ...
location and several specialty shops. In 1979,
Hess's Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company started in 1897 with one store, originally known as Hess Brothers, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its peak in the late 1980s. The chain's stores were closed or sol ...
, which developed and owned South Mall and operated its largest tenant, was bought by
Crown American Crown American is a privately held American company that manages and develops commercial real estate. The corporate headquarters is in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a building designed by architect Michael Graves. History The company wa ...
, a Johnstown-based commercial real estate company, and the transaction included South Mall. Crown American doubled the size of South Mall in a 1986-1987 expansion that added a new section of enclosed mall on the southern side of Hess's South. In November 1986, discount retailer Jamesway opened its 100th store at the South Mall to anchor the new expansion, and celebrated the milestone with skydivers landing in the South Mall parking lot. In 1991, the mall expanded yet again, adding discount drugstore
Phar-Mor Phar-Mor (stylized as PHA℞-MOR) was a United States chain of discount drug stores, based in Youngstown, Ohio, and founded by Michael "Mickey" Monus and David Shapira in 1982. Some of its stores used the names Pharmhouse and Rx Place (purchas ...
as its third major anchor in the newer portion of the mall.


1990s

In 1991, the older portion of the mall on the north side of Hess's was deactivated following closure of Rea & Derick, a drugstore that was acquired by
CVS Pharmacy CVS Pharmacy, Inc. is an American retail corporation. A subsidiary of CVS Health, it is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was also known as, and originally named, the Consumer Value Store and was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in ...
. In late 1995, Jamesway closed its South Mall location when the chain filed bankruptcy. A year later, Stein Mart leased a majority of the space previously occupied by Jamesway. Stein Mart's South Mall location represented its first store in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The remainder of the former Jamesway was subdivided between
Gold's Gym Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an American chain of international co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as gyms) originally started by Joe Gold in Venice Beach, California. Each gym offers a variety of cardio and strength training equi ...
and Home & Gifts, before being replaced by
Ross Stores Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California. It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of 2018, Ross operates 1,483 sto ...
in 2012. In 1996, five years after deactivating the north side of Hess's following the departure of Rea & Derick, the north side of the mall again opened, replaced by
Staples Inc. Staples Inc. is an American retail company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, that offers products and services designed to support working and learning. The company opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts on May 1, 1986. By ...
and
Petco Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is an American pet retailer with corporate offices in San Diego and San Antonio. Petco sells pet food, products, and services, as well as certain types of live small animals. Founded in 1965 as a mail-ord ...
. In 1999,
Weis Markets Weis Markets, Inc. ( doing business as Weis and stylized as weis) is a Mid-Atlantic food retailer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It currently operates 199 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jer ...
closed its South Mall store amid poor sales. The space once occupied by Weis Markets has since been subdivided into space for three newer South Mall stores,
Mattress Firm Mattress Firm Inc. is an American mattress store chain founded on July 4, 1986. The headquarters of the company is located in Houston, Texas. Business Before its bankruptcy in 2018, the company operated over 3,600 locations in 48 U.S. states. M ...
, Blick Art Materials, and a Pennsylvania wine and spirits store.


2000s

In 2002,
Phar-Mor Phar-Mor (stylized as PHA℞-MOR) was a United States chain of discount drug stores, based in Youngstown, Ohio, and founded by Michael "Mickey" Monus and David Shapira in 1982. Some of its stores used the names Pharmhouse and Rx Place (purchas ...
closed its anchor store at South Mall as part of the chain's national acquisition by CVS. This was replaced by Steve & Barry's, a retail clothing chain. In 2003, mall owner
Crown American Crown American is a privately held American company that manages and develops commercial real estate. The corporate headquarters is in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a building designed by architect Michael Graves. History The company wa ...
was purchased by
PREIT Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states. History The company was founded by Sylvan M. Cohen in 1960 as one of the first equi ...
, a
real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...
, in a $1.2 billion acquisition. In 2008, Steve & Barry's, another South Mall tenant, declared bankruptcy and closed its South Mall and other locations. The anchor space Steve & Barry's occupied at South Mall was leased the following year, in 2009, to Black Rose Antiques and Collectibles, an antique mini-mall with over 100 individual dealers.


2010s

In June 2014,
PREIT Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states. History The company was founded by Sylvan M. Cohen in 1960 as one of the first equi ...
sold South Mall for $23.6 million to Nicholas Park Mall LLC, a company formed by seven New York area investors led by former
Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
executive Richard Krantz, after South Mall was deemed two years earlier to be one of over a dozen underperforming PREIT-owned malls. In 2016, Yocco's Hot Dogs, a regionally famous
Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...
-headquartered hot dog and cheesesteak restaurant chain with four
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
locations, opened a restaurant in South Mall. In January 2017, Black Rose Antiques relocated its South Mall location to
Phillipsburg Mall Phillipsburg Mall was an indoor shopping mall located along U.S. Route 22 in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. Despite its name, the mall was actually located on the border of Lopatcong Township and Pohatcong Township, just east of Phi ...
in nearby
Phillipsburg, New Jersey Phillipsburg is a town located along the Delaware River in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located across the river directly east from Easton, Pennsylvania. Phillipsburg is the most populous municipality in Warren County ...
. In early 2017, the anchor space Black Rose Antiques previously occupied at South Mall was subdivided with Limerick Furniture occupying most of it. The remainder of the space was revamped to accommodate Full Circle Training, a gymnasium that opened in early 2018. In 2018,
The Bon-Ton Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded in 1898. After rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company had financial troubles, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2018 ...
, which had acquired Hess's in the 1990s and represented the oldest and largest South Mall anchor, closed all of its national store locations, including its South Mall location. In 2019, Limerick Furniture also closed, leaving South Mall with Stein Mart as its sole remaining major anchor tenant.


2020s

Throughout the early 2020s, South Mall has sponsored and hosted community events, including periodic flea markets and weekly summer food truck events. Nontraditional tenants, such as Cave Brewing Co., a full-service craft beer bar with live entertainment, and South Mall Mercantile antiques dealer, have been brought in to fill the voids left by tenants that have departed. In 2020, the last anchor of South Mall, Stein Mart announced it would be closing all of its store locations including its South Mall location. On February 10, 2021, Amazon Lockers and Salisbury Youth Association opened South Mall stores, replacing the former
Foot Locker Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries. Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in 1988, Foo ...
that had departed. In April 2021, the franchised
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobil ...
store near the mall entrance closed permanently. The corporate-owned store across from it (which was a Sprint store until its merger with T-Mobile in 2020) and
Metro by T-Mobile Metro by T-Mobile (formerly known as MetroPCS and also known simply as Metro) is an American prepaid wireless service provider and brand owned by T-Mobile US. It previously operated the fifth largest mobile telecommunications network in the U ...
store, however, remain open. Another store, called Uniquely Lo. Co., has opened a South Mall store. In May 2021,
Claire’s Claire's (formerly known as Claire's Boutiques, Claire's Boutique and Claire's Accessories) is an American retailer of accessories, jewelry, and toys primarily aimed toward tween and teen girls. It was founded in 1961 and is based in Hoffman ...
closed its South Mall location.


Anchors


Major tenants

*A1 Japanese Steakhouse * Blick Art Materials *
Mattress Firm Mattress Firm Inc. is an American mattress store chain founded on July 4, 1986. The headquarters of the company is located in Houston, Texas. Business Before its bankruptcy in 2018, the company operated over 3,600 locations in 48 U.S. states. M ...
(2016–present) *
Petco Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is an American pet retailer with corporate offices in San Diego and San Antonio. Petco sells pet food, products, and services, as well as certain types of live small animals. Founded in 1965 as a mail-ord ...
(1996–present) *
Ross Stores Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California. It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of 2018, Ross operates 1,483 sto ...
(2012–present) * Staples (1993–present) * Habitat For Humanity ReStore (2022-Present) *SuperSets Gym (2022- Present)


Former anchors


Main

*Full Circle Training (2018–2020, replaced by SuperSets Gym) * Stein Mart (1996–2020, currently vacant) *Limerick Furniture & Mattress (2017-2019, replaced by Habitat for Humanity) *
The Bon-Ton Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded in 1898. After rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company had financial troubles, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2018 ...
(1994-2018, currently vacant) *Black Rose Antiques & Collectibles (2009-2016, replaced by Full Circle Training and Limerick Furniture) * Steve & Barry's (2003-2009, replaced by Black Rose Antiques & Collectibles) *
Phar-Mor Phar-Mor (stylized as PHA℞-MOR) was a United States chain of discount drug stores, based in Youngstown, Ohio, and founded by Michael "Mickey" Monus and David Shapira in 1982. Some of its stores used the names Pharmhouse and Rx Place (purchas ...
(1991-2002, replaced by Steve & Barry's) * Jamesway (1986-1995, replaced by Stein Mart,
Gold's Gym Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an American chain of international co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as gyms) originally started by Joe Gold in Venice Beach, California. Each gym offers a variety of cardio and strength training equi ...
, and Home & Gifts) *
Hess's Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company started in 1897 with one store, originally known as Hess Brothers, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its peak in the late 1980s. The chain's stores were closed or sol ...
South (1971-1994, replaced by
The Bon-Ton Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded in 1898. After rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company had financial troubles, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2018 ...
*
Weis Markets Weis Markets, Inc. ( doing business as Weis and stylized as weis) is a Mid-Atlantic food retailer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It currently operates 199 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jer ...
(1975-1999, divided between
Sleepy's Sleepy's was a retail mattress chain with over 1,000 stores, primarily situated in the northeastern United States. The company was founded in New York City in 1931. Sleepy's was acquired by Mattress Firm in December 2015 and all stores were re ...
, Blick Art Materials, and A1 Japanese Steakhouse) File:South Mall, Allentown PA 02.JPG, Former
Bon-Ton Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded in 1898. After rapid expansion in the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company had financial troubles, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2018 ...
File:South Mall, Allentown PA 03.JPG, Former Black Rose File:South Mall, Allentown PA 04.JPG, Former Stein Mart


Major tenants

*Rea & Derick (1975-1991, became part of
Petco Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is an American pet retailer with corporate offices in San Diego and San Antonio. Petco sells pet food, products, and services, as well as certain types of live small animals. Founded in 1965 as a mail-ord ...
) *
Sleepy's Sleepy's was a retail mattress chain with over 1,000 stores, primarily situated in the northeastern United States. The company was founded in New York City in 1931. Sleepy's was acquired by Mattress Firm in December 2015 and all stores were re ...
(became
Mattress Firm Mattress Firm Inc. is an American mattress store chain founded on July 4, 1986. The headquarters of the company is located in Houston, Texas. Business Before its bankruptcy in 2018, the company operated over 3,600 locations in 48 U.S. states. M ...
)


References


External links


Official website
{{Lehigh Valley Buildings and structures in Allentown, Pennsylvania Shopping malls established in 1975 Shopping malls in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania