Retail Watchers

They are planning to do a food court reality show in Kelso, Washington's dying Three Rivers Mall:

http://tdn.com/news/local/chef-ramsay-l ... l#comments

What is interesting is the fact that the food court now has only one single tenant left, and the mall has two empty anchor spaces, and a good portion of the rest of the mall is emptying out. The grand prize is a free year of rent in the food court...I am not sure who would be dumb enough to take a gamble in this poorly managed, dying mall. It will be interesting to see what happens with this.

I went into the Safeway and Target but not the mall itself. Not so sure that Target has much of a life left but the Safeway looked healthy. Former Haggen/Top obviously. That blocks Wal Mart out from a good highway side location, or does it? I wonder if the Safeway and Target parcels are owned by the mall...

Safeway was originally a TOP location, which closed around 2001-2002. They moved from the space across I-5 which is now a Wilco Farm Store, and have operated in Kelso for many years.

Target, when it first opened in 1990, did quite well. At that time there was no Walmart in Longview-Kelso, and the only comparable store was Fred Meyer. Today, there are TWO Walmart Supercenters in Longview, plus a heavily remodeled Fred Meyer, which has probably impacted this store. I have commented about a few oddities about this Target location in another thread, and question the store's future myself.

Regal Cinemas is supposedly moving from their parcel into the former Sears space in the not too distant future. I think this is too little, too late.

Ramsey recently did another reality show in Longview's Monticello Hotel restaurant this past summer, and they made some changes as a result. Most people that I know have said the restaurant is worse off now than it was before, which does not bode well for the mall..