A Visit to Aroostook Centre Mall

[@jeremyud]

For a mall that was never successful and doesn't look like it had any significant renovations it's still in really good shape.

[@shannonmejia3626]

It looks like a really nice mall. It's sad that so much of it sits vacant 😔

[@Mountainrock70]

Well it never had a chance to get worn down lol The mall nearest me in Southeastern Arizona suffers this same fate…

[@jeremyud]

@@Mountainrock70 Prescott?

[@BoratWanksta]

​@@jeremyudI think the mall that is being referred to, is the one in Sierra Vista, AZ. Retail Archaeology once did a video on that mall.

[@meoooome]

It used to be full of people, people waiting lines that went out the doors to get some food at chopsticks

[@cessnaguy172]

This is Awesome! as a Canadian who grew up just across the border from Fort Fairfield Maine, most of my Childhood and some of My adult has been visiting this mall. So many memories of my parents taking me to this mall. It's definitely sad to see it so vacant.

[@RawRealRetail]

You really knocked it out of the park with this one! The REAL Dead Mall King. Let's see the impostors come as far and wide!

[@jptang1701]

@@misterhat5823 Unsubscribed from him years ago. Over sensitive and whines like a big baby.

[@joshua5684]

The way he says "aroostook" has me laughing I'm from pi and used to work at the Kmart there.

[@benmelman9505]

I was born a couple of towns over from Presque Isle, place called Limestone. I have quite a few early childhood memories from this mall, so this is especially sad to see.

[@LakeHowellDigitalVideo]

Honestly, that particular mall has bounced back pretty well since you filmed it. Several new attractions have opened there including a new Children's museum and a trampoline park. Several new stores opened this year as well as a new Italian restaurant. Granted they are all small businesses, not chains. They have been working hard to get Hobby Lobby or Target to take over the empty remaining anchor store. Considering Presque Isle only has a population of 12,000.... That mall is doing surprisingly well. It was circling the drain when Kohan ran it, but the local developers are doing much better.

[@jacobsdabomb121]

Many props for taking on the trek up to Aroostook. Getting up there is no easy feat. Many great childhood memories in this mall.

[@daniellehunter8408]

I'm proud of you for standing up to the Dead Mall King Doomie!

[@howardburakof4364]

I was stationed at Loring in the late 50's. At that time even with the base there weren't enough population for any large business to survive. The builders in the 90's should have anticipated that the base might close as the Air Force was already closing many bases.

[@AvoidingChores]

When it opened, it was quite the stop along with the movie theatre next door. The lack of appeal for us Canadians was the exchange rate with the CAD dollar and issues at the border when you were crossing back the same day. Buying interests moved to the walmart super centre across the road.

[@Tarvis781]

Thanks for the tour, I moved away and my last visit was November 2009. Blast from the past.

[@jeee1074]

This has to be one of the strangest names for a mall that I have ever heard about. I am impressed by your ability to continue cranking out weekly retail videos. I find it nearly impossible with my schedule to post weekly or even bi-weekly on my blog. At this point I could post weekly for a year and still not clear my backlog of retail posts. Enough rambling, great video as always Doomie!

[@butterboiii9810]

It’s named after the county it’s in.

[@BlueLazeMusic]

Aroostook County maine, Aroostook Centre mall

[@angeliajipson8639]

And he's totally butchering the pronunciation

[@emmafay3255]

pronounce it "Ah-roo-stuhk" like a cross between "stuck and "took" - Aroostook

[@meoooome]

A-roo-stick is how it is supposed to be said

[@autofox1744]

I gotta say, I love those wire mesh seat-and-table combos. Seems like a quintessentially '90s touch.

[@GrnArrow092]

This is sad. I used to attend college in Presque Isle for two years between 1999 and 2001. The Aroostook Center Mall was a much livelier place and I remember the mall having a movie theater nearby. I decided to revisit the area and the mall again in 2015 just to see what's changed. I was greeted with a deserted mall with about half the tenants in the mall left. When I first came to the mall in 1999, there was a Kay Bee Toy Store, a model and craft shop, a record store as well as the anchor stores that were Kmart, Sears and JC Penney. It's just sad to walk into the store nearly 15 years later to see a lot of the stores I remembered that are now gone. This used to be a great place to visit on my weekends off from college when I lived in the area.

[@mmichal]

Holy crap a Ruby Tuesday's! I have not seen one in my state since the early 2000s 😲 great tour man

[@BlueLazeMusic]

There's 3, Brewer, Presque Isle and Waterville

[@notyourcheesecat]

At about 6 minutes, there was another wing of the store which housed Sears and porches that has been closed

[@Edick108]

I remember the Mall as the top three malls of the 90s in Maine behind Bangor Mall and Maine Mall in Portland. But within a few years after it opened, it fell to the wayside.

[@Edick108]

Furthermore, as of 2022, JC Penny andMall. Ruby Tuesday and Body Works are it in the OG mall.

[@bluesky4385]

This Mall looks like it is in good shape and is refusing to die. Its a rather large Mall so I certainly hope something is done to make it useful to the community. As far as I'm concerned all these Malls dying in this country is intentionally being allowed to happen. Notice as they all go into the dying stage, they are allowed to do so when it makes no sense to keep them open. The cost of the Property taxes and utilities in keeping these Malls open, when all the stores have closed makes no sense at all. It makes me wonder what exactly is going on across this entire nation concerning Malls. Things just don't add up these Malls lose all their tenants so the owners of the Mall have no rent coming in. No foot traffic means no shoppers bringing revenue to the Mall. Why would they keep the malls open year after year in these dire situations? By the way this is an excellent caring video and presentation.

[@johnn6701]

We were there in late 90's snowmobiling. Had to wait one hour to get a table at Ruby Tuesdays. The meal was GREAT! We went there many times. Sears was the first store to see coming from Rt. 1. We called the Sears Mall.

[@daniellehunter5057]

Also, there is a little dying mall near the Canadian border in Michigan as well. Birch wood Mall in Fort Gratiot. Used to have a Hollister and so much more!

[@wethecaptainnow8111]

The intro music is amazing for this type of video

[@n3981k]

I miss my hometown, love the video!

[@lamsonions_]

Thank you so much for covering this, I've taped the mall on VHS when I was younger lol

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

Don't suppose you still have that tape somewhere, do you?

[@lamsonions_]

@@DoomieGruntVentures I do. It's a small piece when I was testing out my camcorder, if you want to check it out just check out my page on KZbin.... I have a short video of the mall on VHS and a small video inside the Kmart after it was closed.....

[@MotorHorse]

As someone who grew up with this mall, I'd love to see it too! Any chance you can upload it?

[@BoratWanksta]

Can you find your old tape and upload your VHS footage, PLEASE?!?

[@TheKiss1982]

I would visit my Aunt Betty in Caribou, Maine. One town above Presque Isle. The land is so flat up there. You can almost see the earth curve into Canada. My trips were years after the "closing of the base". Aunt Betty would talk how her downtown and Presque were flooded with military soldiers. It's all connected with Route 1 all the was to Canada. The upper right side of the US corner is magical of quite and honest people. I don't know anything but the mall slipping away every year. Like Aunt betty has and her friends. The economy is not desirable for young and modern folk. After the mall does close someday. The surrounds towns may start to die. I can only hold onto the special times thru Aunt betty with the trip to the mall as one of them in every visit. Much charm surrounds there Where many generations of yesterday , like frozen in time. I miss it up there..

[@ellrick]

i think you are misremembering, its a valley, full of hills and modest mountains, its not flat at all.

[@crazycat4128]

That mall just closed recently intill further notice due to the owners not paying the electric or water bill for months

[@producedrabbit1]

If you’re ever in Piqua Ohio the Miami Valley Centre Mall has a stunning resemblance.

[@butterboiii9810]

Just looked that mall up and it even has the same skylights as Aroostook Centre. It opened in the late 80s though.

[@RetroRanger88]

Aroostook Mall is going to bounce back in a big way. Mainers (and sadly, out of staters) are starting to move to the county due to remote work becoming more commonplace, and the skyrocketing prices of real estate around Portland. I live up there, and the population is getting a transfusion of new blood. Not sure if the flatlanders will stick around after their first winter here, but we'll see.

[@tscs5914]

was in the area a year ago, had a few beers at the ruby tuesdays then forced my wife to let me walk around and marvel at the mall itself lmao, the seating is so cool.

[@fredmyers485]

Good that the food court expanded and increased the mall’s capacity to feed all of the people that aren’t there.

[@mainstreetsaint36]

I remember when they actually built the mall. The Food Court was way better. Everything was. The moment the Loring Air Force Base closed, was the slow death of the mall. The Mall had a Kay-Bee Toys. I worked there until it closed in 2002.

[@mainstreetsaint36]

TJ Max never came.

[@PeridotFan64]

do you by any chance know when sbarro closed?? or dairy queen/orange julius?? i know the both made it until at least september 1995 and february 2003 respectively

[@meoooome]

My dad helped build this mall

[@robertbartlett4674]

I live in the town over and worked ar Sbarros pizza when it first opened. Even more stores have closed. Really not much there. I have no idea how it stays open.

[@PeridotFan64]

do you know what year sbarro’s closed??? or the dairy queen next door??

[@ImaginePayingTaxes]

Its like a 10-20 minute drive from my house They have good Chinese food

[@DashcamRiprock]

If you're ever in this neck of the woods again, may I suggest the Steeplegate Mall in Concord NH? It's been gasping for air for years now.

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

Your wish has been granted

[@DashcamRiprock]

@@DoomieGruntVentures Long live Jambi!

[@danielfife348]

That's 25 minutes from me (I live in Laconia 2 miles from Belknap Mall that's dead too) and no stores are left

[@DashcamRiprock]

@@danielfife348 I saw the other day that the only store left is JC Penney, and it can only be accessed from the outside. And, in case you missed it:, Doomie made it to Steeplgate: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apm6aZ2tfNGGmpI

[@PeridotFan64]

the fact that it’s bigger than the auburn mall always struck me as an overconfidence and i’d say it would’ve been smaller if they waited a couple years, but it’s more accurate to say the aroostook center mall would just straight up not exist if they held off any longer

[@meoooome]

That building a trampoline park and a planet fitness now that there is a new owner. There is lots of construction going on in PI and lots of new businesses are moving up here

[@patricksaxon3983]

I am amazed to see a JC Penny's department store, and ancore store. Seems like department stores are becoming a thing of the past and all retailers are having difficulties staying afloat to Walmart, the largest chain of retailers.

[@NoNameToYou]

Dude CHOPSTICKS is still there?!?!

[@alfredo._.idk7]

If you take video requests, can you take a visit to the Newpark Mall, California ? The mall still has lots of stores that closed (pre-COVID)

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

California is a long drive. Might be awhile before I make it out there.

[@aestrobloome]

i went there this year, really cool place

[@mazzycollins9856]

1:28 Love the Breastfeeding is Welcome Here sticker on the door. I've never seen that before.

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

Hello. Do you take video requests? I would love to see footage of the old art deco G. Fox & Company Department Store in Hartford, Connecticut, although it is a mixed-use commercial complex and community college these days. It had legendary Christmas windows, and people from all over New England would dress up to visit during the holiday seasons. As a kid, my jaw would actually drop to the floor when riding the escalators, as it is so impressive, and one floor has huge columns too. Thank you.

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

I am unsure when I'll be back up that way, but I will keep your suggestion in mind next time I go that way.

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

@@DoomieGruntVentures Thank you again.

[@BlueLazeMusic]

The only mall in maine I'm yet to visit

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

Only need a weekend

[@BlueLazeMusic]

@@DoomieGruntVentures True, I live 3 hours away haha

[@Dismantled95]

This mall looks like it absolutely sucks, I'll have to visit sometime.

[@turnerman7942]

Great video but Aroostook is pronounced Ah-roo-stic

[@rickf7529]

TJ Max never got into this mall. There were talks but never came to be.

[@markstrouse3101]

Great video Doomie Grunt. I thought you were the real Dead Mall King????

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

I'm no King. I'm not tyrannical or authoritarian enough. I see myself more as a wanderer.

[@MrSgm111]

Wow...that is one empty mall.... surely it cannot be viable to open the mall daily and put the lights on ! Where was everyone ?

[@adventureguy4119]

Was just there

[@dustinleonsky4513]

To me, this Mall looks better than Cordova Mall in Pensacola, Florida.

[@hubertrhymer3054]

WOW this mall has a good chance

[@michaelaurban4120]

Why can’t everyone who loves dead malls get along !?!?! I’m dying to know . . .

[@dylanwebb3037]

Why would you wanna visit such a ghost town? That place has been dead now for the least four or so years. The only real money makers are Ruby Tuesdays, Dollar Tree, Chopsticks (not so much currently) and JcPenny. It's nothing like it used to be... I miss KMART and Sears...

[@Lancetherandomgamer]

This mall suffered, shall some people set up shops in the mall

[@PeridotFan64]

store closing date list: lechters housewares: late march 1999 spencer gifts: april 6, 1999 kb toys: december 2002 porteous: late october 2003 hoyts aroostook centre cinema 8: august 18, 2005 b. dalton bookseller: january 2010 fye: march 2010 tim hortons: early september 2012 sears auto center: november 8, 2014 sears: january 18, 2015 staples: february 7, 2015 deb shops: march 2015 claire’s: april 19, 2016 kmart: august 14, 2016 the shoe dept: late 2016 payless shoesource: june 2017 maurices: january 26, 2019 label shopper: september 17, 2019 kay jewelers: january 25, 2020 olympia sports: september 2022 NOTE: as they closed with the chain, it is likely stores like b. dalton, deb shops, and olympia closed on or shortly before the final day of operation chainwide (january 16, 2010, march 30, 2015, and september 30, 2022 respectively)

[@grorihoorl8622]

Aroostook is pronounced "Uh-roo-stuhk." Good attempt though!

[@Riograndechic207]

Ah-roo-stick. Aaahhhh it driving me nuts! When Maine places get pronounced wrong.

[@campermike8879]

With a recent release of a video by someone i think i know who that “dead mall king” is and they have been a jerk to others that do the dead mall thing in the past. I caught a what they were doing at least in the first part of their video of a mall you did recently. Making fun of yours. Well i am here to say they are a jerk and your video is much better than theirs. Your dead mall videos are better in my opinion period.

[@arosenweig]

The Maine Mall in South Portland is the best mall in the entire state of Maine and has the only Apple Store and Macys in the entire state of Maine. You should go there if you want the best shopping mall.

[@PeridotFan64]

bangor had a macy’s from 2006-2017

[@danielfife348]

Olympia is closing

[@julielifejusthappens1232]

it's A- rooh-s-took. But I got a huge kick out of your pronunciation

[@17z483]

Koki: Caribou, Maine 11/27/16

[@divinaloca]

Are-oos-tick

[@danielfife348]

It's worse than Bangor Mall and it opened at a bad time I'm an isolated area

[@christineflejter7242]

Dead mall king? Ace? Dan?

[@sorrowsbeyond]

Ah-roo-stick. Pronounce it correctly please. 😬

[@erihitsuki]

Dead Mall king...... Dan Bell..?

[@jeremyud]

I'm pretty sure it was shade at Ace's Adventures.

[@BoratWanksta]

He was talking about Ace from Buffalo, not Dan Bell of(I think) Baltimore.

[@WhittyPics]

No weapons, no pets, no customers

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

On the flipside, they do permit breastfeeding

[@Mountainrock70]

@@DoomieGruntVentures but no age limit in place!

[@PineyKingsnake]

Dude! Just can't get past your mispronunciation of Aroostook. Destroys your credibility and watchability. 😐

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

Don't need to tell me twice

[@PineyKingsnake]

@@DoomieGruntVentures I guess folks will keep leaving the same comment until you fix it. 🤣

[@xx26killers26xx]

I thought you guys (other youtubers) were buds since yall went to cinci together, i wonder if its just friendly banter when you call out the so called king

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

Those days of friendship are over. And it will probably be permanently. That banter is more or less taunting.

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

@Aimee Webber that I do not have an answer for. Not a short one, at least