Willowbrook Mall; Wayne, New Jersey
No trip to New Jersey would be complete without at least a few stops in the jungle of freeways and dense suburbia that forms Northern New Jersey. A sprawling, faux-city stretching 50 miles east to west and twice as long north to south, the area is one of the most massive swaths of American suburbia, complete with many large, vintage shopping malls.
We’ve discussed a few of the malls in Paramus–New Jersey’s undisputed shopping hub–before. Not far to the west, however, lies Wayne, a major retail center of its own. Wayne is home to three enclosed shopping centers, the largest of which is the super-regional Willowbrook Mall, a General Growth Property located at the intersection of US 46, route 23, and interstate 80, just west of Paterson. The mall is the lynchpin of a major retail district that includes, among other things, a lawn ornament store made famous when a power-pop band–Fountains of Wayne–decided to name themselves after it. The 1.5 million square-foot Willowbrook, which is the second-largest mall in New Jersey, is so large that it even spawned its own mini-me in the Wayne Towne Center, a smaller enclosed mall located in its parking lot. Weird!
Willowbrook opened as a smaller mall anchored by Ohrbach’s and Sears in 1969, and was renovated and expanded in 1970 and 1988. The massive, grand Macy’s store seen here–which was originally constructed as a Bamberger’s–is an especially fine example of 1970s mall architecture, with its dramatic stone-walled facade (it’s too bad I had to photograph it at night). The 200+ store mall is a “T”-shaped, primarily one-level center, but one wing of the “T” (stretching between the center court and Bloomingdale’s) is two levels, and the mall’s grand center court, expansive fountain, and outdoor plazas are gorgeous remnants of another era. For some photos of what the Willowbrook Mall used to look like, check out these great shots (especially this one) at Malls of America.
The Willowbrook Mall today is anchored by Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Sears, and Lord & Taylor. Some of the mall’s extreme success hinges off of blue laws in neighboring Bergen County (home of Paramus) that prohibit retail stores from opening on Sundays.
We’ll post about Wayne Towne Center, Willowbrook’s struggling mini-me, shortly Sunday, December 3. These photos were all taken last Monday.
on November 29th, 2006 at 4:53 am
After looking at that original picture from 1973, it’s clear that 30+ years later, the mall has faced sterilization to dull, all-white interior; a typical result to modernized malls who opened in the colorful mallcentric 60s and 70s. Still, while the mall has gotten up with the times (that enterior entrance), there’s plenty of 70’s flare from the archways to the wooden railings to the Bloomingdales interior facade.
on November 29th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Yeah, they definitely went all-white and removed a lot of the planters, plus it’s a shame the way they covered up the tall walls of the cavernous center court with those blasted advertisements (these weren’t even there on my last visit in 2000; I hope they’re temporary). Still, this mall retains a lot of its older flair than most (I think it’s even Victor Gruen-designed? It looks like his style.)
on November 29th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
Willowbrook is and always has been my favorite mall. We lived about the same distance from there and Rockaway, and my mom hated Willowbrook, so we only really went there on special occasions. That Macy’s always had so much more to choose from than Rockaway; while Rockaway’s no slouch in terms of square footage, the stores were always smaller and carried less, and the mall as a whole felt like Willowbrook’s kid sister.
A lot of the reason why Willowbrook remodeled and lost so much of its charm is because of its location. It is located right next to the Passaic River, which floods regularly. When I was in grade school, the river flooded so badly that the news stations were reporting from boats in the parking lot, which turned into a giant lake. My dad worked in Wayne at the time, about a mile from the mall; it took him 4 hours to get home because most of the roads, at some point or another, were underwater. Not sure how much damage was done to the mall, but considering how far inland the floodwaters came and how high they rose, and considering that much of the mall is one huge level (or was, anyway) it couldn’t have gone unscathed. Still, it says a lot abour the mall that it’s monolithic enough to not only survive but become even bigger and stronger. A couple years later, the food court opened, and it looks like a lot more has been added since I left NJ about 11 years ago. Not sure what will happen in the event of another flood, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
on November 29th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
Also, any word on the state of Wayne Hills Mall these days? As tiny as it was, I liked that mall. Meyer Brothers, the original anchor, used such a prehistoric merch-tagging scheme and mistagged stuff so often that some of the deals I got there bordered on five-finger discounts. I know that was replaced by a Marshall’s or something similar, but that’s all I know.
on November 29th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
Comment the third:
Bloomie’s used to be Stern’s. It was changed over with the mass rebranding several years ago.
L&T used to be Ohrbach’s, then became Steinbach. I think the final changeover happened in the mid- to late 90s.
on November 29th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
I live in Wayne, although I don’t like to go to Willowbrook that much. First, the Wayne Hills Mall has a Burlington Coat Factory, which replaced the Meyer Brothers store in 1996.
I remember Bloomingdale’s as Stern’s, and Lord and Taylor as Steinbach. Where are the pictures of the Lord and Taylor here? Anyways, it looks like the Lord and Taylor at the Garden State Plaza, no difference, just a bit smaller.
Willowbrook, is a great mall, no doubt about it. With a strong anchor lineup of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Lord and Taylor, and Sears, it is always very crowded and all of these stores do good business. The mall is always infested with teenagers hanging out there, so I choose Rockaway to go to most of the time.
Wayne Town Center has a J.C. Penney, Fortunoff, Loehmann’s, and Daffy’s as its anchors. It also has a Border’s Books. Other than that, the mall is dead, but these stores are big hits. In my opinion, they should de-mall the Wayne Town Center.
I have pics of Willowbrook. I will be glad to post them
on November 29th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
Here is the Bloomingdale’s as Stern’s.
[IMG]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a96/KyleRF/BloomingdalesasSterns.jpg[/IMG]
on November 29th, 2006 at 8:59 pm
Sorry, wrong link. Here are pics of the mall, courtesy of Siteride.com, in 2001.
http://www.siteride.com/srpl/p_snapshot.pl?lm=listing&resbox=1164833753&subNum=40208000004
on November 30th, 2006 at 3:27 am
There’s SiteRide coming through with a completely amazing picture set of just about every tenant in the mall. I wish they had some backlogs for some of my Connecticut malls…
on November 30th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
DayGlo:
You’re in for a treat… A post about Wayne Hills Mall is coming soon. I don’t know much about its history so if you care to fill me in beforehand, email me at the address listed on the “About” page. Thanks!
on December 2nd, 2006 at 5:50 am
Caldor, good to hear about an upcoming post on the Wayne Hills Mall. I moved in to Wayne earlier this year, and while I have known the area quite well, I was in for a big treat going to the Wayne Hills Mall. Dead, except for the one side with the Quiznos and Burlington Coat Factory .
When I lived in Bergen County as a kid, Willowbrook was always the Sunday mall trip. Another interesting thing is the that besides Willowbrook and the Wayne Towne Center, you will find many other smaller strip malls on the outskirts of the ring road. In one place you will find a former Wiz location. Wayne Hills is also surrounded by many smaller strip malls, that seem to do pretty well, including a small Macy*s.
I think the problem with Wayne Hills is that it is not enough of a destination to work as an enclosed mall. Not enough stores. It would work much better as an outside strip mall.
on December 3rd, 2006 at 12:33 am
It feels absolutely surreal (and I mean that in a good way) the first time I see labelscar.com profile a mall that I have visited often.
Willowbrook is indeed a wonderful mall. However, I am very surprised that it is the second largest mall in New Jersey. In my opinion, both the Rockaway Mall and the Bridgewater Mall (the later of which has three floors), seem bigger than the Willowbrook Mall.
on December 4th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Max,
To be honest I was somewhat surprised myself, but I didn’t have time to root through the ICSC records to verify the claim. I had always assumed it was Cherry Hill, though in retrospect I guess that Willowbrook is a bit bigger than Cherry Hill.
Here in Massachusetts, we have some similar situations. Northshore Mall, which is a very old, one-level mall, is technically the largest mall in square footage in all of New England. However, the majority of the mall is just one floor and it only houses around 120 stores, which is not terribly impressive. Most of the square footage is socked away in anchor stores (one of which is nearly 400,000 square feet–and currently vacant), and I’ve found this to be the case with many older malls. They have large anchors but less interior space.
On the flip side, the three-level Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro is only 1 million square feet, about 600,000 sqft smaller than Northshore Mall, and it holds about 50 more stores. Similarly, the seven-level Providence Place Mall–New England’s newest mall and probably the most impressive one overall–only has about 1.2 or 1.3 million square feet of floorspace for similar reasons.
on December 10th, 2006 at 5:09 am
Concerning the sizes of malls in NJ, it really depends in some cases what metric your compare, and what swath of area you use. I would imagine those that say Willowbrook is large because they probably count the West Belt (excuse me, Wayne Towne Centre Lifestyle Center) in the total calculation. Rockaway is known to be big, and Bridgewater is pretty large, and very neatly organized. However, I think Woodbridge and the Garden State Plaza are in the top two.
Although I used to do it as a kid taking the bus to the mall, Willowbrook and Wayne TC are not really connectible, unless you eliminated the inner ring road, which is not practical.
Another tidbit. At one point, in the space between Lord & Taylor and Bloomies there used to be a very small parking garage, but I would barely classify it as that, since it was really only one level if I remember correctly.
And to throw in one more old time tidbit. Office space for Grand Union was located in the building along the ring road near the current Park & Ride.
And, the current Ruby Tuesdays used to be a Casey O’Toole’s, a local restaurant. Which actually moved from a smaller location down one of the wings of the mall, losing most of its former character in the transition.
on December 11th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Max –
I’m pretty sure that the shopping center and other outparcels adjacent to Rockaway are counted in the mall’s gross leasable area, which conveys the impression that it’s bigger (as does the fact that the mall is two full floors instead of that Cherry Hill-esque floor-and-a-half design). Having grown up equidistant from the two, and having spent a great deal of time at both, I can say with some certainty that Rockaway is smaller than Willowbrook. It has about as many stores, but they tend to be smaller than their counterparts in Wayne. (When I was a kid, we always went to Willowbrook for the “big” shopping, like Christmas, my birthday, and back-to-school, because Rockaway never had as much to choose from.) Whether because of its size, which is thoroughly average in a state known for its leviathan malls, or because it’s in the hinterlands of New Jersey suburbia and draws far more from points north and west than anywhere else, Rockaway was always pretty far down the food chain in terms of store merchandising and upgrades. Even Livingston, which is definitely smaller and serves a smaller radius with far more bipolar demographics, seemed to get a better selection of merchandise than Rockaway.
on December 12th, 2006 at 4:46 am
Well, let’s take a look at all the malls in my area
Willowbrook:Macy’s, Sears, Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdale’s
Rockaway (30 mins away from Wayne): Macy’s, Sears, Lord and Taylor (much larger), J.C. Penney
Livingston (25 mins away from Wayne): Macy’s, Sears, Lord and Taylor
Short Hills (30 mins away from Wayne): Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue
Garden State Plaza (25 mins away from Wayne): Macy’s, Lord and Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney
Paramus Park (30 mins from Wayne): Macy’s, Sears, Fortunoff
Fashion Center (30 mins from Wayne): Lord and Taylor (155,000 square feet with restaurant, 3 floors), Bed Bath and Beyond, TJ Maxx
Bergen Mall (30 mins from Wayne): Century 21, Marshalls, Off 5th, Future Target
Riverside Square (30 mins from Wayne): Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue
Bridgewater Commons (45 mins from Wayne): Macy’s, Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdale’s
All the malls in Northern New Jersey are very similar. As you can see, many of these malls have the same anchor stores. Some, like Short Hills, are very upscale, while others, like the Bergen Mall, are discount oriented. This goes to show you how the malls in New Jersey cater to all social classes (wealth).
on December 12th, 2006 at 5:51 am
Can’t forget Menlo Park and Woodbridge Center, which are probably an even better example than GSP and Paramus Park in demonstrating what’s right about mall development in NJ. In each case, two large malls manage to not only coexist but complement each other despite being a few minutes apart and pulling from the same thoroughly retail-saturated trade area. I have yet to see a similar example of that in MD, where countywide government (instead of municipal) has resulted in less control over what is built where. White Marsh and the late Golden Ring probably came the closest. For about 20 years, they had a similarly symbiotic relationship, but traveling the 5 or so miles between them involved crossing an invisible and not quite definable yet distinctly felt socioeconomic class line. White Marsh is in a sought-after, thoroughly middle class area whose fortunes are improving, and it’s surrounded by office buildings, condos, a lifestyle center, and a seemingly limitless array of big boxes. Golden Ring, which is now a big-box center, is in a declining neighborhood whose blue-collar population base has been eroded by several major plant closures and the demolition of a large public housing compex, and the stretch of US 40 it calls home is dotted with sleazy motels and “gentlemen’s clubs.” People who went to one mall generally didn’t frequent the other, and now only one is left.
on January 13th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
The SiteRide map shows a big empty spot where Old Navy is now. What did Old Navy replace?
on February 1st, 2007 at 6:45 am
The Old Navy downstairs near Bloomingdales used to be a Woolworth. Willowbrook is a great NJ mall and while the renovations did take away some of its unique architectural aspects (the huge center court fountain, tunnels on the 2nd floor, lowered seating area in center court and midcourt areas on each wing), it has greatly improved…they even attracted the Cheesecake Factory there.
on February 16th, 2007 at 8:47 am
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/abrahambamster/
join this group if you love the defunct chains such as A&S ,Bamberger’s,Ohrbach’s and many others even if you worked at these chains post your expirience
on March 12th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
[…] Fountains of Wayne, who are named for a Wayne, New Jersey lawn ornament store near the Willowbrook Mall, have made a career out of documenting in minute detail the lives and tribulations of the ordinary people–carpet layers, office workers, salesmen, hippie burnouts–who occupy the between spaces within the the tangled mass of freeways and suburbs that sprawl for hundreds of miles around New York City. Each song is laid out in painstaking detail, delivered with distinct East Coast cynicism, and layered over a seemingly endless array of effortlessly melodic radio-friendly soundscapes. Fountains of Wayne’s sense of place–and that place, as mentioned in one of their songs, “The Valley of Malls,”–is so keenly defined that listening to a Fountains of Wayne record is like zipping up the Garden State Parkway and flipping through every station on the dial, hearing nothing but the good stuff. […]
on May 10th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
so cool to find this post about willowbrook mall. a couple of things i remember from the 70’s there…there was a store called Smuggler’s Attic that was for all intents and purposes a head shop. they sold all sorts of bongs, pipes, rollling papers, etc. they also stocked candles, incense, groovy plastic decor…it was a teenager’s dream! the theater in the mall (in one of the great pics at mallofamerica blog it’s called Little Theater) showed X-rated (real porn) movies in the mid-to-late 70’s. i feel very nostalgic looking back on the days when you could get drug paraphernelia and porn at the mall
on May 27th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I–along with other people who I have talked to–am actually very surprised that Bloomingdale’s decided to occupy the former Stern’s location, given the fact that this mall is really not an upscale mall (nor is it located in a very upscale area). In fact, the Bloomingdale’s has relatively few people in the store whenever I go in there. The situation at the Willowbrook Mall is in stark contrast to that found at Bridgewater Commons (which had the other Stern’s location that was converted to Bloomingdale’s): Bridgewater has always been an upscale mall which would be a great place to open up a Bloomingdale’s.
Another thing that I am surprised about is the mall’s former Steinbach store. Specifically, I am surprised that Steinbach decided to close their Willowbrook location–along with their store at Woodbridge Center–a couple of years before the chain went out of business. One would think that the Steinbach stores at Willowbrook and Woodbridge would be among the most successful stores of the chain; therefore, the only reason that makes sense to me (regarding the reason as to why these two locations were closed before the rest of the chain) was that Steinbach simply couldn’t afford the rent at these two successful malls.
According to Wikipedia, the size of each anchor at Willowbrook Mall is as follows:
*Macy’s: 369,000 sq. ft.
*Sears: 279,000 sq. ft.
*Bloomingdale’s: 278,000 sq. ft.
*Lord & Taylor: 98,300 sq. ft.
on May 27th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
On the contrary, Max, the location of Willowbrook Mall is a fairly affluent one. Wayne itself has some very nice areas and the mall is just over the river from the “West Essex” towns and also the nearest mall to Montclair, Montville and Pompton Plains.
You are right that Willowbrook has not always had a history of being an upscale mall and in the mid 1990s, Willowbrook was not one of the safest malls in NJ. Growing up, I’ve always liked Willowbrook and am glad for its rebound. As the late 90s came, they tried to attract some small store space after the opening of Lord and Taylor and did get a few stores that one would think would opt for Short Hills instead of Willowbrook. I was surprised at first that Blooomingdales chose Willowbrook, but then fell into the school of thinking it was a good idea. In addition to the area and the upscale trend of the mall, the Willowbrook Bloomingdales would also get many of the Bergen County clientele who can’t go to the Riverside location on Sunday (Blue Laws in Bergen County), as well as those who choose to not deal with the traffic of 4 & 17…I-80 leads directly to Willowbrook. Willowbrook is also 2nd in NJ in terms of economic volume (the 1st being Garden State Plaza, which is closed on Sundays as a result of Blue Laws). When Bloomingdales opened, it allowed for the upscale trend at Willowbrook to continue and eventally helped to attract California Pizza Kitchen and Cheesecake Factory to the mall.
It has been a great addition to the mall and while I am disappointed that the decor of Willowbrook is becoming bland (removal of one of the fountains, removal of the floor lights and decorative archways in the mall), I’m glad to see Willowbrook doing so well.
While I don’t see it happening anytime soon as the mall is doing well enough, I would like to see the 2nd floor of the mall expanded to the rest of the mall….the mall currently has 180 stores and that probably would bring the mall up to having about 230-250 stores.
on June 27th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
2things i don’t like about willowbrook, first the whitewash look. It is to antiseptic-give us some color& those plastic blue benches oi vey!, second when you take the bus as i do the bus stop is in the middle of the lot outside the food court you better watch out for cars coming from all directions, drivers don’t watch were they are going. It can get dicey out there.
on July 4th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I must add the cheese cake factorywhen added to a mall always makes that property a lotstronger longterm
on August 6th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Public areas of the mall, specifically in the Macy’s Court and midcourt area were blocked off for construction…does anyone know what is going on there?
on August 30th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
….i damn near grew up in that mall….my dad ran the radio shack through most of the 80’s. the mall was like a big playground. i just had to leave the store, go out the side entrance, across the small open area and i was in roy rogers. i think the open are was the bus stop if i’m not mistaken….went there again a few years ago, that wing was being remodeled, the radio shack had been moved, but the cookie factory that was on the corner still had it’s brown pipes up on the wall….fun times
on August 31st, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Like i sead before they must update willobrook. The white wash look is so unapealing to me, give us collor & i don’t mean blue benches
on September 2nd, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Better yet AMC should close most of the older Loews theatres & replace them with theatres that have stadium seating like they did at GSP IN Paramus nj. Mind you that the 2 Loews theatres in Secacus are being replaced for that very reason.
on October 13th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Apprarently they’re doing a lot of exterior renovation of the mall and most of it is tying in with the Spaghetti Bowl/46-23-80 renovation.
The midcourt area between Macy’s and Center Court still looks to be under construction…tiles were stripped and it looks like they’re doing something with utilities. With the upscale turn Willowbrook has been making in recent years, I would not be surpised to see those steel blue and white seat-benches replaced by soft seating areas (they actually took a lot of those benches out when they pulled up the floor lights) like has been done in Menlo Park and Garden State Plaza (Rockaway Townsquare and Livingston Mall are also adding them along with other cosmetic features).
I still would love to see the 2nd floor expand to the rest of the mall. As I stated above, it could happen, but I don’t believe it will.
on October 15th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
It’s about time.
on October 15th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Yes! Somebody agrees with me regarding a Willowbrook expansion. Thanks Sean! Unlike making Monmouth or Cherry Hill a full two level mall, no lower level floors have to be redone as a result of the fact that Willowbrook does not split like those two do. As a result, this would probably be a less expensive venture. The entrace on the 46 side of Macy’s/Sears could be made into a “2 Level Grand Entrance/Valet area” (and it’s straight ahead from the 46 east entrance) and the number of stores would very much increase. As I had stated in the Wayne Town Center section, Wayne Town Center needs to focus on entertainment anchors and both malls should work cooperatively to build a lifestyle Promenade between Macy’s and Fortunoff. With this setup, both malls would proper (and make Garden State Plaza and Palisades Center very, very nervous).
on October 22nd, 2007 at 11:17 am
Mallguuy; what about the Loews theatre? What is the point of having a cinema on Willowbrook Boulevard when you “can’t get there from here.” I’m sure you know what i’m getting at.
Sounds like Menlo Park when i braught it up on the Freehold Raceway page with it’s cineplex issues.
Should they move the theatre to Willowbrook or Wayne Town Center?
As far as expantion of the 2nd level to the rest of the mall goes; i thaught this mall was owned by General Growth. There is no real growth to speak of. Lets get moving on this asap.
on October 22nd, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Sean,
I had previously commented on this a little bit under the Wayne Town Center area and the Loews should go over to Wayne Town Center to revive it. That theater on Willowbrook Blvd is a mess and definitely needs to be replaced. As I had said in that post, keep Fortunoff, Borders and JCPenney there (that is actually a pretty large JCPenney), but focus it on entertainment anchors and tennants. Have a lifestyle promenade between Macy’s and Fortunoff and keep Willowbrook focused on fashion. If they wanted to, there is still room to build out Willowbrook in the rear the mall, going out from the Bloomingdale’s midcourt area. Will they? I don’t think so, but it wouldn’t hurt. It can further cash in on its location and the fact that it’s the closest mall still in NJ to Bergen County that is not closed on Sundays as a result of Blue Laws.
on October 22nd, 2007 at 8:24 pm
If you did the expantion the way you wanted to between Willowbrook & Wayne town center what retailers would you add.
Here is my list;
1. Borders 2. P F Changs 3. Fox Sports grill 4. Best buy or another big box that fits
Your thaughts.
on October 22nd, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Forget about borders, sub in Smith & Hawken instead.
I sould have doubled checked your last post.
OOPS!
on October 23rd, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Sean,
I could see Smith and Hawken…closest one is Westfield, I believe. I agree with your restaurant choices. Gotta also go with Champp’s, Maggiano’s, Apple, Crate and Barrel, Panera, Anthropolgie, to name a few…in a re-vamped Wayne Town Center, add Dave and Busters, Lucky Strike Lanes, Dicks, a new Loews with IMAX…again, WTC entertainment oriented, Willowbrook fashion oriented and the lifestyle promenade in between to connect…this setup will give both Garden State Plaza AND Palisades Center a run for their money.
on October 23rd, 2007 at 8:46 pm
How about adding circuit city by moving it from rt 46.
I like your choices of retail aditions, lets focus on lifestyle elements.
Please we must do something about the parking & roadwayn circulation, it doesn’t work the way it is now. Structures aren’t enough as you already know.. The whole setup must be overhalled.
on October 23rd, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Mallguy,
you are making me hungry.
on October 24th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Electronics Expo is adjacent to Willowbrook and Wayne Town Center in the adjacent power center with Costco and Sports Authority. That EE is a 2 level location (the old Wiz) and I don’t see them leaving that location anytime soon, but who knows.
on October 25th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Was electronics expo on Old Country Road in Westbury at one time? If so i had no idea that EE was stil in business. The Westbury location was close to were Best Buy is now, if not just behind that, were TARGET stands on Corporate Drive.
I think
on October 25th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Never mind i went to their site, it’s not the same store i was thinking of.
What was that mega store that had a location in Westbury? It was owned by radio shack & only lasted a few years. I think they had one also outside Seattle.
on November 9th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I grew up in the area south of Willowbrook Mall. I have been there numerous times in my life and I was just there today. I must say that after looking at the mall again today, Willowbrook is a very nice mall. Compared with the GSP, its holds up against that competition. But I would recommend that Willowbrook add a second level onto the Macy’s wing. There they can put stores that GSP has, such as Lacoste and Apple. They can add at least 35 more stores. Also, they should connect Macy’s to Fortunoff’s- this would help bring more business to the Wayne Towne Center. And the Wayne Towne Center should also put better stores or restaurants into it, such as Legal Seafoods, the Grand Luxe Cafe, and a steakhouse. This would put Willowbrook Mall at the top.
on November 11th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I wonder…does the fact that Willowbrook & Wayne TC are in a flood zone-the reason why the 2 malls are not joining forces like they should?
on November 17th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
They are owned by different owners and the owners unfortunately don’t want to pool their resources to benefit the malls, the area community and the area economy.
on November 28th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Does anyone remember a teen/juniors clothing store that was on the second floor of the Willowbrook Mall in the late 70s. It was separated in a way between casual, hip clothes and psuedo professional. It was my favorite store when I was a teen and I now have a minor obsession with remembering the stores name. help, please
on November 29th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Willowbrook had all the 80s type stores (Merry Go Round, Chess King, Rogers Clothes, Sids Pants, etc), but I’m not sure about the store you’re takling about, Mary.
On another note, the Holiday decorations at Willowbrook this year look great! Not exactly what they were in the 1990s, but much better than they’ve been this decade. Large poinsetta tree on the fountain, lights in center court, new Santa area with a large Christmas tree in the Bloomingdale’s midcourt and new hanging poinsettias with lights hanging off.
on December 5th, 2007 at 12:57 am
lol i cant believe i found this online..i worked in willowbrook food court while in high school now i work in another retail store while in college, lol i love the mall, its much better than garden state and have really good stores
on December 7th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Mary ~ Was that store Marianne’s or Stuart’s?
on December 7th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Or maybe Joyce Leslie or Easy Pickins?
on December 23rd, 2007 at 2:57 am
Macy’s in Willowbrook is one of the stores that has been selected by its parent company to be open continuously until Christmas Eve. If anyone reading has gone, feel free to report back on how the late night shopping expereince went.
on January 6th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Does anyone remember the organ store that was located originally upstairs in the willowbrook mall near (then) sterns? I believe it was gene hale organ and piano co. They then relocated in the later 80’s downstairs before going out of that mall and moving to rockaway mall in dover mall NJ.
on January 7th, 2008 at 12:22 am
I think it was Hale…they were also in Woodbridge Center back in the 1980s and I always remember that someone who worked there would always be playing on one of the organs (and playing well) at the front of the store…you’d be able to hear it through the entire wing.
on January 24th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I remember the organ store vaguely. I also remember there was a music store that carried an assortment of instruments but I don’t recall if it was the same store or not. I remember going there in the mid 90’s and asking to try out a guitar and the guy there snubbed me and said no cause I was 15 at the time. Jerk.
on February 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I think I remember the music store, possibly on the other side of the mall. I believe hale organs only sold organs and mabye a few pianos with some sheet music. Although I played sax at the time I did not have much interest in the music store.
on February 4th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Plans for the Wayne Towne Center seem very promising… but how does it fit in with Willowbrook?
http://www.rkf.com/cgi-bin/Go.cgi?x_action=propertySearch&d_id=67&submitted=1&p_region=6
on February 27th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I totally remember the Organ store it was right near where friendlys’ used to be. LIke 10 years ago when I used to “mallrat” around , I used to talk to those folks at that store, and always wondered what happened to that place.
Anyone Remember the store “Screem” , it used to have live dj and sometimes bands during the late 90’s?
on March 5th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
i love the willowbrook mall, it has always been my favorite. i went the other day to discover that they removed native art! it was located upstairs by bloomingdales. i was so upset, i loved that store. also, they moved claire’s and took out FYE. i wish the mall still looked like it did in the 70’s. wish i was alive back then to see that..
on March 29th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Quote “i wish the mall still looked like it did in the 70’s. wish i was alive back then to see that” Although I was alive during those times, I wish the mall and its stores stayed the way it was in the 80’s.. Such great memories
on April 6th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
The other day, I was noticing there are a lot of empty store fronts at Willowbrook. I don’t think that’s necessarily a sign of bad things to come, but I am surpised that those spaces haven’t yet been leased. It will be interesting to see what goes in there and also if Willowbrook continues on its upscale trend.
on April 6th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I saw the same thing at Garden State Plaza yesturday, this store turnover cycle is going to be more noticeable than in past years. I read something on this not to long ago. If they can atract Short Hills/GSP type stores things may turn out OK, but it will take more time than usual to fill those spaces.
Mallguy, since we’re on that subject, what is going on With Forever XXI at GSP? Borders has been open for a year, on the construction wall it still says comeing soon & the phone number is on the directory.
on April 6th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Sean,
I was up there not too long ago and I saw that it’s still vacant…too bad they didn’t convert that space into Dave and Busters.
I was actually having a discussion about Willowbrook with a friend of mine not too long ago. Willowbrook in the late 80s-early 90s had gone through some very hard times…not attracting great stores and having a lot of problems with crime/safety issues. The mall began to turn around in the late 1990s with Lord and Taylor and eventually was able to attract stores like Bloomingdale’s, The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen and JCrew. It’s now at that crossroads again with the slower pace to replace the vacant stores, as well as the fact there is now a tattoo shop in the mall (that replaced Lindt…on the Bloomingdale’s wing, no doubt) where you can stand by the window and watch people get inked. Hopefully Willowbrook will be able to get back to strength and attract some more great stores.
on April 7th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Mallguy,
did i hear that right? A tattoo shop? Who are the marketing director & manager over there. I would like to know who is making the executive dessisions, because bringing in a tattoo place is not the way to atract higher income shoppers.
I can just see it now, a family from Montclair with a shopping list.
1. lunch at Cheesecake Factory
2. sale at Bloomingdales
3. 14-year old,mom can i get tattooed?
What is wrong with that picture.
on April 7th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Sean,
The name of the store is Tattoo Nation. Personally, I think the maketing director/manager is psycho and even though they may think tattoos have mainstreamed, it’s still a really, really bad idea to put a place like this in a mall that likes to think of itself as trending upscale. And when I’ve gone past the place, most people I see getting inked aren’t your stereotypical bikers, but instead look like they could live in any one of Willowbrook’s surrounding wealthy communities.
I think that GGP needs to replace Willowbrook’s Marketing Manager. The mall is definitely at a crossroads again and we’ll see which way it goes. Hopefully, they’ll be able to attract some big names like Apple, Armani Exchange and Ruehl into the vacant spaces.
on April 7th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
The fact that you don’t have Apple, A F & a few of the upscale basic retailers, but you do have Tattoo Nation, near Bloomingdale’s no less shows that they don’t have any clue what stores an upscale mall should contain.
It’s time to clean house & bring some better people in who will evict those stores that will dammage Willowbrooks reputation of being a mall on the same level as GSP OR Menlo Park. Otherwise dollars will travel to the east & south across the Pasaic River.
on April 7th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I heard Gilly Hicks is coming downstairs. As well as Ruehl.
on April 7th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I dunno, Sean. I kind of like malls that trend from really downscale to really upscale. The right kind of downscale stores are kind of cool for a cheapskate like me, selling cheap clothes and unique stuff for a mall.
on April 8th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I didn’t mean getting rid of the H & M’s of the world, just those stores that don’t mesh in the right way. TattooNation pared with Bloomingdale’s is a good example of this. Although a good mall could have a cheep store that fits in bnicely, that sell a wide veriety of products, candy & drinks.
on April 8th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I didn’t mean H&M when I said “cheap clothing”. We’re talking untrendy clothing, something like solid-colored shirts from Fruit of the Loom, the random discount stores you wish to avoid. Furthermore, the “cheep store” that you say fits in is more than just a Target (though Target is pretty handy) I am referring more to unique gift stores. If done correctly, “mom and pop” stores can be great for a mall. In my mall, there are a number of decent local stores including a smoothie store (been there since forever!), a Christian bookstore (sells other stuff too!), a rug store, and the obligatory Texas gift store (selling books and spices). In the past, it had a Build-a-Bear knockoff, a wrestling goods store, a store selling exclusively flags, and other stuff. In this sense, the mall will be better than a flea market for offering a vast selection of goods. Remember when malls weren’t exclusively jewelry and clothing stores? I don’t.
on April 10th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Mallguy,
Too funny that I made the same observation too about all the vacant stores at Willowbrook when I was there a few weeks ago. I thought Willowbrook was over the hump when it added Cheesecake Factory, CPK, J. Crew, and most recently BCBG. Why aren’t there coming soon signs up? They need Apple, Armani Exchange, Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, Z Gallerie, Ruehl. I’ve emailed the manager and filled out suggestion cards and the manager basically says to check the website for upcoming stores. I hope these vacancies are worth the wait…if anyone know anything about new stores opening there post it please! Willowbrook is the state’s 2nd busiest mall, behind Garden State Plaza and can handle more upscale stores. Start complementing Bloomingdale’s hallway with better stores already! Old Navy needs to move down by Sears too.
on April 13th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Jacquie:
I’m with you! I totally thought that Bloomindale’s would help Willowbrook more firmly cross the upscale threshold, but they may not be there yet. That’s great you’ve made your voice heard through the emails and such. I’ve also noticed the Bloomingdales wing is having a lot of problems getting upscale stores and it’s a little strange to me since Bloomie’s and Lord and Taylor are in the same wing…go figure. Old Navy could defintely fit in where the Sears wing FYE and other stores used to be since a block of them are still vacant. So much potential there and the fact that it’s open on Sundays (as opposed to all the nearby Paramus/Bergen County malls) tells me that it’s no surpise Willowbrook is the 2nd busiest mall in NJ.
Garden State Plaza actually perfects the act of putting upscale stores in a certain zone of the mall and more midpriced stores in another area. For example, Juicy Coture, Michael Kors, Ruehl and Louis Vuitton are all near Neiman Marcus and the more midpriced stores are near Macy’s and JCPenney.
on April 13th, 2008 at 9:30 am
The big difference is that GSP is well ballenced with stores at all price points, but Willowbrook is trying to go upscale with an inballence of stores in the middle, Bloomingdales just is not enough to bring in high income shoppers.
Besides if you want upscale stores & you live in that area it is very easy to drive to The Mall @ Short Hills & not have to deal with the roads around Willowbrook.
on April 13th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I was thinking, how does Xanadu play against both Paramus & Wayne? Xanadu is closer to Willowbrook Than Paramus wich may partially insolate it from the full effect of the impact of Xanadu’s draw.
The effect on Paramus won’t be zero, but it will be lesser than what Willowbrook is going to feal. I think we left that part out of the equasion& the signs of stress ar beginning to show.
We brought this up on the Nanuet thred with Palisades Center & the Paramus malls in the picture, but it bears repeating because what happend to Nanuet could happen to Willowbrook as well. Willowbrook maybe second in sales vollume, but it may become first in perscriptions for valium. LOL,
thoughts?
on April 13th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Sean:
Interesting thoughts, but I do not feel that Xanadu will have a very large effect on Willowbrook Mall. When you look at trade areas of the two (Garden State Plaza and Willowbrook), Xanadu is more clearly in GSP’s trade area and also the same county. Willowbrook actually gets many shoppers from northwest and eastern Morris County, southeast Sussex (these three areas also go to Rockaway Townsquare, but Willowbrook has some stores Rockaway does not) and northern Passaic County in addition to Essex, Bergen and southern Passaic. The Paramus malls are all trying to compenstate now, or have already done so, for the upcoming opening of Xanadu.
Willowbrook has a couple of problems right now; one being its marketing team having trouble finding Willowbrook’s true identity (the additional ‘whitewash’ that the mall got two years ago really didn’t help), two being the area roadways. Route 46 is constantly under construction and within the year when the 46/23/80 interchange will be complete, as well as the 46/Union Blvd, that problem may be solved (NJ still forgot to put the missing link into it when they did not give 23/46 west access from 80 east). If Willowbrook really wants to solve the first problem, they should consider making the entire mall 2 floors…the mall is pretty massive as is and this will make it even bigger, attracting more big names. It will be these two things more so than Xanadu that will hurt Willowbrook Mall in the future.
on April 13th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Mallguy,
Everything you said in your last post is true, but without the Cheesecake Factory & California Pizza Kitchen Willowbrook just isn’t the regional draw that Garden State Plaza is & what Xanadu is projected to be. Although sales volumes are second to GSP, will that remain the case after Xanadu opens? I won’t venture a guess yet, but we’ll all find out shortly.
What is the vacancy rate, is it over 15%?
on April 13th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
The Cheesecake Factory there is like a pickle out of place. It’s just an odd out of the mall. It looks so different than the mall. They need a Ruehl, Gilly Hicks, H&M, Lucky Brand Jeans, Chico’s, Soma, Metropark, Illuminations, Diesel, Fossil, Aerie, and more to draw more shoppers, even though they have alot.They rlly should expand level 2!
on April 13th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Also Apple.
on April 13th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Maybe even American Apparel, and Urban Outfitters
on April 14th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Email your suggestions to: nancy.barbary@ggp.com She’s the manager of Willowbrook. I think I’ve requested all those to her already, maybe if we inundate them with enough emails, eventually they’ll listen to us! Heck, tell your friends to do it to! I’m really hopeful that these vacancies will be filled by stores that we want and not another tattoo shop! I’d hate to see Willowbrook lose stores to Xanadu, I only live 5 minutes away! The suspense as to what will fill these slots is killing me!
on April 14th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Guys, I think it’s important to note that I’m sure Willowbrook would love to have those stores, but many retailers (including many of the ones you’ve identified) are not necessarily in a full-on expansion mode right now given the economy, and may or may not even be interested in Willowbrook if they were. If every mall could be successful as a result of a leasing manager who is aware of new retailers in the marketplace (and I’m positive she’s heard of Ruehl, et. al) then we wouldn’t have dead malls in the first place.
This is a far more complex situation than you seem to think; if it was as easy as saying “you should call Ruehl and ask them to open” then I’m sure it would’ve been done a long time ago.
on April 14th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Caldor,
What you said about the econemy is spot on,but there is another issue that’s being raised here by menny that you misunderstand. Some of us believe one way or another that there may be a problem at Willowbrook. To what extent that problem exists with retailers or with managements ability to atract good stores is an”unknowable unknowable” right now.
The examination in the posts above is not just a recognission & reflection of this problem, but a means of trying to solve it. Who stays, who goes, what stores move around from one location to another & what new stores are added is just part of this evaluation. You cant just assume that the management team knows what they are doing. I have sene this first hand, so i know what i’m talking about.
on May 7th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Apple is opening up at Willowbrook for the 2008 Holiday season.
http://theilife.com/
on May 7th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
They finally got something right for a change.
on May 7th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
About time! Let’s hope this is the start of the vacancy rate fall at Willowbrook.
on May 12th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Apple is excellent news! If only we knew what were filling in the other 10 or so slots at the mall! Kepp posting if you hear anything. Hopefully all of this waiting means they are really trying to get a good lineup, I really can’t recall a time when Willowbrook had so much available space. A closing store is usually covered with drywall and a coming soon sign within a couple days of closing.
on May 13th, 2008 at 2:37 am
ruehl isn’t opening any more stores until the end of 2008, when abercrombie and fitch will either decide A) shut the brand down altogether and invest more in expanding gilly hicks, or B) continue to open more ruehl stores….it depends on how they do, because company wide, ruehl stores don’t do a lot of business and they cost A LOT to build.
on May 14th, 2008 at 11:37 am
According to several websites - this is what is scheduled to open at Willowbrook in 2008/2009.
Forever 21 (to open next to Hallmark)
Ruehl No.925 (to open next to Champs Sports)
Urban Outfitters (to open next to J.Crew)
Gloria Jeans (to open next to J. Crew, former Burger King spot)
and last but not least, Apple which the location is unknown as of yet.
on May 15th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Add another one to the list: H&M…next to Bloomingdale’s upstairs. Seems like a small space for H&M, but there was an small occupancy listing on the storefront.
on May 25th, 2008 at 11:52 am
does anyone know where the fun and games arcade that was once a willowbrook reopened, or if it really did reopen at wayne hills mall
on May 25th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
It never reopened =/
on May 25th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
H&M, and Ruehl are opening! REALLY?
on May 25th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
http://www.northjersey.com/business/industrysectors/19037264.html
H&M is defff opening! We also find out where Apple is going!
on May 27th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
These are great developments for Willowbrook and will hopefully attract even more retailers. Ruehl is also examining the prospect of Menlo Park and Newport Centre…Willowbrook is also a great choice! Maybe now they have turned the path from “Tattoo Nation.” Now they need some more stores to close in the vacancies in the Bloomingdale’s wing, Willowbrook is also getting a Shrimp Market in the food court.
on May 27th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
So is Ruehl coming or not?
on June 2nd, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I went to Willowbrook yesterday…..
Bloomie’s has a GREAT sale, so does A&F.
H&M looks huge, it takes up a lot of space. They’re pry gonna get rid of the storage in the space.
Apple, I didn’t check. I actually didn’t go past A&F in the Macy*s wing.
XXI & the new Limited Too are still being worked on.
PET POURRI closed!
The new Payless is nice.
That’s it.
on June 3rd, 2008 at 9:09 am
As I said many posts back, it will just take some time to work things out. Now how about evicting the tatoo shop near Bloomingdales.
on June 4th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Was looking for a new job and saw that Metropark is hiring for new stores opening at Willowbrook and Garden State Plaza. Another good addition to the mall. Hopefully Armani Exchange, Anthropologie, and Diesel are no far behind!
on June 4th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I visited Willowbrook on June 2nd for the first time since February or so, and already I can see great changes taking place. I live in Manhattan but have parents/family in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne. Whenever I’m tired of walking SoHo to do shopping I’ll take a bus to Willowbrook Mall (usually takes no longer than 20 minutes from Port Authority) and shop there. Glad to see all these new stores finally.
on June 11th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Soo basically besides XXI, H&M, Apple, and LToo, new stores are………
Metropark
on June 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Yes, I was there on Saturday, the old Delia’s, Eddie Bauer, Pawsenclaws, and the space between Bloomingdale’s and American Eagle Outfitters are sheetrocked over but nothing is labeled as to what stores are opening there. The only space marked is in the Sears wing where Fye, KB, Hallmark, and old Claire’s were…that says coming soon XXI Forever and Limited Too. The Bath & Bodyworks by Macys is empty, and Quails has set up again in the old Bombay location. The Basket store next to Bloomingdales is empty and they are now where Signature Shoes/Chocolate Blu was. And of course the Willowbrook website says nothing. I don’t get it.
on June 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Yes, I was there on Saturday, the old Delia’s, Eddie Bauer, Pawsenclaws, and the space between Bloomingdale’s and American Eagle Outfitters are sheetrocked over but nothing is labeled as to what stores are opening there. The only space marked is in the Sears wing where Fye, KB, Hallmark, and old Claire’s were…that says coming soon XXI Forever and Limited Too. The Bath & Bodyworks by Macys is empty, and Quails has set up again in the old Bombay location. The Basket store next to Bloomingdales is empty and they are now where Signature Shoes/Chocolate Blu was. And of course the Willowbrook website says nothing. I don’t get it.
on July 11th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Willowbrook website has been updated, a new store that I’ve never heard of called Love Culture is apparently opening also.
on July 17th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
The lease plan was updated with Metropark, Apple, XXI Forever, and H&M.
on July 21st, 2008 at 11:49 am
**Although new stores are opening in the willowbrook mall, many stores that currently have leases are struggling. A number of stores cannot afford the rent and not resigning the leases. Because of this many empty spaces are available around the mall. Stores are trying to take on a new look, and relocated to higher traffic locations in the mall taking on the empty locations. This is why stores seem to be swapping around. Delia’s is now located upstairs because mid January Wet seal did not resign there lease because of lack profit. One company kept their location but changed the name of the store. The old G & G is now called Parallel, which is located next to BEBE SPORT. A few other stores will be leaving the mall, and in lue Apple, Forever 21,H &M and a few others stores will be opening.
on July 22nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Abercrombie & Fitch is opening at Newport Centre this winter, but idk about Ruehl. Maybe they’ll switch to Willowbrook?