A Visit to The Mall of Monroe (MI)

Welcome to the Mall of Monroe. Originally known as the Frenchtown Square Mall, this Cafaro original has certainly seen some better days. Let's step inside & discuss the mall's situation.
Facebook - / doomiegrunt
Minds - www.minds.com/...
Ko-fi - ko-fi.com/doom...
Bitchute - www.bitchute.c...

[@MichaelFischer-ro2rk]

So, I worked at the former f.y.e. store for many years at the French Town Square Mall and later the Mall of Monroe. A major factor in this malls demise was management and the corporate office of Cafaro. I know of several instances of my corporate office having difficulty with Cafaro's corporate office. For instance, initially water bills were included in the stores rent. One day I got a notice that our water was going to cut off due to non payment on our account. I called our corporate office who informed me that the water bill was Cafaro's responsibility per the lease as the executive I talked to said she just pulled our lease to confirm. So I contacted the mall office who informed that several months ago they decided to ammendment that portion of stores leases and we were now responsible. No notice, nothing. So I called my corporate back and let the two offices argue it out. Several years later I get a letter hand delivered from the mall office that the sprinkler heads used in our stores sprinkler system were recalled and we needed to have them replaced by a certain date and if not replaced the mall would do the replacement for roughly $30,000.00. I called my corporate office who once again pulled our lease. It was noted in the lease that prior to our occupancy Cafaro informed our office that there were recalled sprinkler heads which had been replaced. So my corporate said just ignore them. A year went by and the mall manager comes down to talk to me one day asking why we hadn't replaced the sprinkler heads. I informed of what my corporate office informed me of. He said no not replaced I guess we'll do it and bill you. I called corporate. They called the manufacturer of he defective heads and were informed the replacement coverage cost program had ended as the recall was over 5 years ago. My corporate went back and forth with Cafaro. Cafaro eventually agreed it was their responsibility but they wanted us to pay out of pocket and then they would reimburse us through ceasing to collect lease fees for our space until the project was paid for. This meant I took a $27,000.00 to my stores profit and loss statement which meant I didn't bonus during those years while that was equalling out. Our rent was only about $1,200.00 per month, so it was pennies and it took years to recover that cost. Thanks Cafaro for messing with my pay check. They had a jerk manager at one point too who would walk through the mall and even enter stores to berate customers. He did this several times in my store and I had to tell him to never speak to anyone shopping inside my store again and if he had a problem with anyone in my store to speak only to me. They were horrible mall managers and I am not alone as I talked to many other store managers c which similar experiences

[@MultiCreditKIng]

It was the last closest FYE in 2016 by Toledo Ohio too. The rest closed in 2005 after they merged in Ohio. It could've been better if it was laid out like the one in Lima or Pima Ohio instead of just two racks. However it was much better managed then as opposed to selling overpriced toys now in Franklin Park Mall and other revamped stores.

[@vickiroberts7947]

I still go to the Mall of Monroe once every several months. I go into the entrance by the theater, go around the corner to shop at Bath & Body works, and then back out. Nothing else to look at, nothing else to see. I'm wondering how long Bath & Body Works will last. I do occasionally use the restroom on my way out LOL . I remember the days of elder-beerman, target, a really nice Hallmark store, Olga's Sears, and Pat catan's. It's a very depressing place to go now.

[@Schneewittchen3663]

Hoyts Cinema was actually there before Regal and Phoenix.

[@hardheadmarioplush]

Beautiful tour

[@NancyGroom]

Came in 1989 to Monroe with a family of 3 kids who were teenagers who spent a lot of time here !! Daughter worked at the movie theather when it was Regal , kids worked at Pharmmor also !!! I loved Sears and JC Penney's !!!

[@R32R38]

Of course Bath & Body Works is still hanging on.

[@TearsPlays]

even just in around 2013 it was still very popular and had a ton of stores still. It wasnt until Target left that it really died off. It used to have a MASSIVE food cafeteria until they used that space to make the theatre bigger. As of now, all the restaurants in the mall are gone

[@supersanic1254]

This isn't true. There is a mexican restaurant, a new sit down restaurant, and 2 others coming to the mall.

[@circleinforthecube5170]

eh, that mexican resturaunt is overpriced for small portions, rather just go to el maguey, its got cool 80s architecture and i learned to steer in the parking lot@@supersanic1254

[@landmarkbaseball2092]

That’s how I thought it felt as well. Target still brought a lot of people in but when that left it was game over for everything but the theater.

[@theericfreeze1493]

I came here as a kid around 2017 and it hasn't changed a bit. Im a 2000s kid so this place is a amazing example of nolstiga.

[@gswafford2199]

I remember I was security there form 96 to 97 and it was a huge place , food court , tons of stores , Amazon and the current internet technology made malls obsolete, record den , disc jockey, the arcade , Hoyt’s theater lol memories

[@supersanic1254]

Except this mall is not dead. At all. Sitting at about 80% occupancy right now, with only 1 empty anchor. Since this video, they have added an outdoor store in Elder Beerman, multiple family fun centers, an amazing pinball arcade, a flea market, a computer store, multiple new restaurants, along with about a dozen more new stores slated to open this year. Doomie should come back here and document the resurgence of the mall, as it really is a great comeback story.

[@gheeg5858]

They kept raising the rent so places decided to leave

[@supersanic1254]

Yet they have now come back. 80% occupancy.

[@ERA_Productions]

Great video Doomie!

[@morninmichigan1824]

Monroe Mall is basically an abandoned building nowadays, I remember when there was actual lines at some stores and the food court. Now you're lucky to see more than 3 other people walking around the halls.

[@savingprivatet8o356]

I remember coming here every Friday and sometimes Saturday night hanging out with your group of friends getting some Chinese food or Taco Bell walking around the mall and then target as the mall closed. Waiting for your parents to come pick you up. One of my favorite memories a buddy of mine got some nachos from Taco Bell and decided to step into the old hurricane machine. They used to have getting covered at 70 miles an hour was funny.

[@dedlunch]

Used to live there as a teenager

[@landmarkbaseball2092]

I grew up in Monroe County in the 2000’s/2010’s. Lots of great memories but yeah it’s mostly just the theater now. You’re pretty spot on with the reasons it declined, crime isn’t a factor in the area surrounding the mall itself but there has definitely been a mass exodus from the area. Very little economic opportunity, seems monroe county people end up in Toledo or they leave the immediate area entirely. Personally I went to Pittsburgh, but will definitely always have fond memories for the place I grew up.

[@dawnyofthelight]

So sad to see it that way when I left Michigan over 20 years ago that mall was so popular so sad to see it so dead

[@supersanic1254]

It isn't dead anymore. At all. Sitting at about 80% occupancy with 1 empty anchor.

[@dvferyance]

I remember Phar Mor that was a nice store but they are all gone.

[@ashleymeadows3410]

Just found your channel! Love it!

[@cecuniversity]

I've researched this mall plenty of times. I always get kinda sad when I look at the pictures. :(

[@markbajek2541]

I remember that mall when it first opened , I visited the first evening or the second evening. For such a small market it was a decent little mall.

[@haywoodjablowmi3918]

Spent many a Friday night there as a teen. Back in the late 2000's/ Early 2010's When skinny jeans and straightened hair was still a thing lol.

[@flywrightdrones]

Another great video, keep up the fantastic work as always!

[@njb973]

Wow this brings back memories growing up there. The area became over shopped in the 90's (addition of Meijer and Walmart less than a block away); and close proximity to Detroit and Toledo was always an issue (Franklin Park Mall was the best option). It was still kicking in the late 90's when I grew up there. The renovation really sensitized it, I remember it being dark and totally 80's. Food court was just a crazy design with fake plants, sectioned off tables with columns, florescent lights to mimic natural light, etc. There was also a bank branch near a side entrance. Also the Elder Beerman had two anchor spaces that were split; the "home-store" was an interesting L floor-plan. The original Sears anchor replaced their downtown location and had a drive-up delivery area. If I remember correctly, Target had a separate parcel and might still be owned by a Target RE holding entity. Phoenix Theaters is probably a main reason it is still breathing (they put a ton of leasehold improvements). Monroe is a sad place. It lost most of its industry / jobs in the late 90's and early 00's (Ford factory is still abandoned there). Doesn't look any better with a main employer being a coal power plant and an aging hospital that's about to close and get replaced with a band-aid center. Guess it still has Lazboy.

[@lexiefournier]

Our mall “died” years ago, but it’s still hopping oddly enough. Somewhere between the kids Funland and Phoenix theaters, it hangs on for dear life as small businesses come and go. I hope and pray it revives soon!

[@supersanic1254]

Sitting at 80% occupancy with 1 empty anchor now. I would say it is more than revived.

[@lexiefournier]

As of recent days! It happened all of a sudden

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

This mall only gets a 3.2 score on Google reviews.

[@andysorensen1737]

I’ll give this mall this: They’re certainly hanging in there. Plenty of malls have closed over less than all this. I’d definitely agree the Michigan economy tanking and Detroit proximity hasn’t helped either.

[@WhittyPics]

It doesn't look like much is left?

[@sirekumasutra7022]

OK Doomie I apologize in advance for the long post and lots of posts lol but I've been to this mall more than any other. I call it my happy place because I feel relaxed when I visit it and been going since 2005. On a personal bias this might be my fave mall tied with Fairlane Mall. 1:28 on the right was a former Air Force recruiting center and ATM machine 1:45 former Olgas 1:58 was a Rue 21 and before that a Dunham's Sports and the right is a local company called Leviathan and used to be a Payless Shoes and next to it was a music store. Straight ahead the anchor was a Target that kept the 90s look until it closed in 2014. 2:32 straight ahead was an AT&T store 2:54 this hallway never had a store as I recall but on the left is a storage area and the right has a conference room. The anchor ahead originally a JC Penney and then a Steve and Barrys, then an art gallery and recently a Pat Catan's which was a crafts store acquired by Michael's in 2019. 3:38 I think was a Christopher and Banks 3:54 on the left was a Champ's Sports and this past winter opened a new clothing store. 4:01 I believe on the right or the store next to it was an FYE 4:05 on the left was a Waldenbooks then Books A Million 4:47 on the right was a GameStop 5:10 on the right was President Tuxedo and the Eyebrow place there for a few years was the only open place in the dead part in the all after Pat Catans closed. 5:25 On the left was a DEB and Pac Sun IIRC 6:02 was a GNC and a barber shop was next to it 6:11 was a Claire's and the anchor at the end was Sears 7:16 in between Mrs Fields and B&BW was a Pretzelmaker that closed in 2020. 7:56 The owner of the Claw Kicker actually has a YT channel. Seems like a humble cool dude too. He has another arcade in another mall. I think all the anchors leaving didn't help too. Less than a mile away on Telegraph has a bustling shopping center with a Hobby Lobby, WalMart, Dunhams, Lowes, Ollies, GameStop, Five Below, Kohls, and Pet Smart. Also the food court that was there was so nice. There was this place that made these killer Calzones that were bigger than my abdomen and it would be the only meal I had for the day it was so filling. Also you didn't show it but across from the theatre was formerly a Taco Bell that was there since nearly day 1 but will soon be a Mexican restaurant and maybe the nicest bathrooms I ever seen in a mall. Thanks for letting me ramble but this mall brings me so much joy over the last 17 years and I'm glad you finally seen and didn't roast it lol.

[@kblake4670]

Thank you for the info. We were talking about what used to be there at the mall and you helped fill in the blanks.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Pinball Classic Arcade! YES! 🏆

[@MysticSilvermoon]

This is so bizarre to see. My first job was in this exact mall.

[@nancydarling4918]

Good video and interesting mall. Thanks.

[@jessicapetrowitsch615]

I'm so happy you did Monroe! I worked at two different stores here near the end: Payless and Carson's! I left each maybe a year before they closed, and was working there when Target closed. We are all sad when it closed because the cafe was perfect for lunch lol

[@LorettaMoore1234]

There was never a FarmAll store at the mall. It was Sears.

[@22lilacsky]

Pharmore, back in the 90s.

[@blakemcclellan7422]

I live here and the mall is fine. Yes it’s small and quiet but it’s nice to go in. The Phoenix Theatre and the Planet Fitness do well here because they own their buildings. They don’t pay rent. The bath and body works is nice to go into. Please come back to Monroe. The area is actually getting busier again because we had Ford move in and is in the process of finishing a plant. We also had another plant that just recently came in at Frenchtown Township.

[@BeingMe23]

Nice 80s soundtrack 👌

[@TheRedDevil_NC]

The horse and buggy of the 21st century

[@joeybuddy6]

The theater is actually really nice, a friend of mine and I drive up from Toledo whenever we want to see a movie. But I haven't been in the proper mall in YEARS. I worked for Spencer's in Southland when we closed the Frenchtown store in 2006ish, it's funny that they went back into it. (Spencer's also re-entered Fairlane after several years out of that mall. One year our seasonal storage unit for a different company I worked for was the old Spencer's in Fairlane lol) But yeah, you can drive a half an hour up the road to Southland mall or a halfy south to Franklin Park in Toledo and both of them have Spencer's and Bath and Body Works and so much more lol. So it's no wonder people don't shop the mall of Monroe anymore.

[@supersanic1254]

Except they do shop the mall still, as the occupancy has bounced back to over 80%, and only 1 empty anchor now, along with multiple new restaurants and many new stores.

[@retailtoursplus]

Great video

[@warj.3577]

Before visiting this mall back in 2019, I always thought of this place as "the mall with the detached seasonal Halloween store". When I visited, there was a BAM (Books-a-Million) store in the B&BW wing that seems to have finally closed. It's kind of impressive that the mall seems to still be running, even with theater being the single "anchor". Thanks for filming this!

[@supersanic1254]

The theater is not the only anchor anymore. 2 more have been added.

[@agentslimepunk]

There's something about those dead mall arcades. Something really intriguing

[@markjohansen6048]

Side note: I presume it's called the "Mall of Monroe" because there's a strip mall not far down the road called the "Monroe Mall".

[@Jstiffl_0113]

That’s actually because that used to be the mall before they built the current one

[@Y18327]

I remember this mall I still go to it but only to the theater but back then there was lots of stores and people but now people only go to the theater

[@supersanic1254]

Not true anymore. The mall has surged back for sure, sitting at about 80% occupancy with only 1 empty anchor.

[@timothywoodbury9490]

I think one reason is why it's dying off the rent that they charge every month for a business to stay in their is getting costly sure I used to go out there a lot back in the day but I haven't been out there much more since then the only thing that still keeping busy is the theater

[@Domsweirdvideos]

I'm so glad I live where the prologue of the puppet combo game takes place

[@markjohansen6048]

Last summer I got the idea that I'd drop by the mall's food court for lunch. I hadn't been to this mall for years. I remember when they had a thriving food court with at least a dozen different places. I found that the "food court" now consisted of one cookie shop. There was a sign saying that a taco place was "coming soon". It was kind of sad.

[@supersanic1254]

Yeah, isn't like that anymore. New sit down restaurant just opened, along with 2 or 3 other food places.

[@TheRedDevil_NC]

Michigan is extremely depressing . Don’t know how that mall brings joy or profit to anyone inside

[@supersanic1254]

Well, clearly it does, as this mall has really bounced back.

[@Jon0570]

Phar-Mor was an add on, not an original anchor.

[@Mapmaker1559]

I've always wondered, what exactly is the "liminal spaces" effect that some say malls have?

[@DoomieGruntVentures]

Liminal Spaces usually refer to a space in transition. Although pop culture has used the term to refer to places that, best I can tell, invokes a sense of nostalgia, but also a sense of dread & unease. Some focus more on the unease than nostalgia. The most notorious example would be the infamous backrooms photo.

[@technodrone313]

lol you should do the outlet mall there too.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Claw Kicker still in action… people love shoving money in machines for worthless plush.

[@supersanic1254]

Most of his prizes have cash attached. It isn't just plush.

[@iworkout6912]

With rapidly changing retail scene, this mall is actually rather attractive. Not great, but kind of that hometown, industrial look. I'd guess this mall will survive is some form long after many other malls are closed. Your right, the area for shopping just isn't there anymore with the loss of so many business that provide jobs. Low rent may keep the mall at least open. It does have an attractive exterior though.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

This reminds me of the Sandusky Mall… carpeted and bland… yuck

[@supersanic1254]

Same owners, and definitely not bland at all. Both malls continue to thrive.

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Looked like you visited on a really nice day. Maybe…. Maybe more traffic during cold and snow, but if no stores I guess not.

[@dancarlton7973]

The city of Monroe has a declining population according to Wikipedia.

[@jeee1074]

I actually like the industrial and blue look of the mall. The one section of the mall with stores and the cookie place looks lively, but man is the rest of the mall dead.

[@GoGreen44]

It's not pronounced Maaan-row.... it's Munroe

[@jimdavis5849]

I think I would have looked forward to church more as a kid if it had been at a mall.

[@robertbruce7772]

Dumb place for a mall that big. The only area malls around the metro area near Detroit are Fairlane and Southland, but they are smack dab in Michigan's main population center. Even then these malls have seen better days and are walking a tightrope. If we have a deep recession or worse game over for those malls that remain.

[@supersanic1254]

Nah, this mall has surged back, and is no longer a dead mall.

[@woohoo22]

Monhoes mall looks dead

[@dodgecaravanrampickuptruck8674]

IV and

[@Saymeow_Kay]

Ok, first off, that arcade you went to is owned by a youtuber (Channel name is ClawKicker.) And also, are you able to visit the Orchards Mall is Benton Harbor Mi? The mall is very dead and the Joann is moving somewhere else.

[@thedaylightwolfman564]

Not it.

[@juliehoot3916]

Sad. 😣