LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Alderwood Mall is one of the first in the region to re-open after the stay at home order forced the closure of malls and retail stores.
Only 30 of the mall’s 160 shops and restaurants opened to the public Tuesday, leaving some eager shoppers disappointed.
“This is a horrible thing, to me it’s horrible,” said Lana Bondar, as she looked at Nordstrom’s boarded up doors and windows.
The store boarded up last week after rumors were circulating that looters might target the mall.
“I like Nordstrom, so I came, and the door is still closed. So, I’m kind of like upset about it,” Bondar said, just like many who came to Alderwood Mall expecting free rein of their favorite stores.
“I would love to be able to just flip a switch and have everybody open at once, but you know, it’s just going to take a little bit of time,” explained Alderwood Mall Senior General Manager, Jerry Irwin.
He said they have worked hard to make changes to provide a safe and healthy shopping experience for customers, including providing hand sanitizer stations, increasing cleaning routines, closing water fountains, and limiting seating in the food court and leisure sections of the mall.
While the mall itself was ready to open, not all of the stores were, according to Irwin.
“We want to do it right. Every retailer wants to make sure that they don’t open before they’re ready and the same goes for the department stores too. They want to make sure that they’ve got the environment that they want to have, and they want to open up with a presentation that is safe, that is fun, and that is doing the right thing that they need to do,” he said.
Even though the opening is very limited, Irwin said it’s a welcome sight after being closed for more than two months. “The interest and the amount of customers we’ve seen has just been great,” he said.
The closure caused significant revenue losses, but Irwin said this will not hinder the growth of the mall.
“The great thing about the property is that there’s a lot going on here. We’ve got a major development underway right now, we’re adding residential. So, I think Alderwood will be around for a very long time,” he said.
Even with only a small number of stores open, customers packed parking lots and stores all day.
“At the end of the day we all want to gather, we all want to have a place where we can come and eat and shop and fellowship and just kind of be with each other. The great thing is, the mall has always provided that. I think people just want to get back to that again,” Irwin said.
Officials with the City of Lynnwood said the mall amounts for a large portion of the city’s sales tax revenue. They do not have official numbers back from the two-month period that the mall was closed, but they are anticipating the lost tax revenue will put a big dent in their yearly budget.
Alderwood Mall has posted a list of the stores and restaurants that are open.