Christmas Eve at Buckland Hills Mall: Is It a Dead Mall Yet? Manchester, Connecticut. 2023 Update!

[@maryannefeyer6332]

27:13: My late husband and I got our cat Maggie from that pet store in 1997. She came from a local home, with all her vet records, vaccinations, and tests. The people who worked with us there were phenomenal; we had to wait for the results of one of her tests over Memorial Day weekend before we could take her home, so they took 1/3 off the price (which I’ll always consider an adoption fee.) I’d never advocate pet store vs. adoption, but because we’d just lost a cat to cancer and weren’t aggressive with treatment (treated symptoms vs. disease), rescues didn’t want to adopt to us. Maggie turned out to be the best cat I’ve ever had; I just lost her on 3/20/23. She was six days shy of her sixteenth birthday.

[@joed9305]

I live there. Just came from there in fact. It definitely feels unsustainable, but far from dead. The number of empty shops and comic stores suggest they can't charge high rents anymore. And they definitely don't upkeep like they used to. If a shop closes or moves it can take them a long time to update the maps.

[@plinger1]

I remember a lot of businesses getting pushed out in the late 90’s because of high rents. Someone bought that mall and raised local rents to draw in businesses with long term contracts. Hence they closed McDonalds owned by Walsh Enterprises in favor of Burger King.

[@IchigoKurosaki]

I miss the Suncoast and Sam Goody that used to be in this mall. Once the FYE closed up a couple of years ago, I stopped bothering to come to this mall. I still go to B&N here and there but I often forget that it's even attached to the mall honestly.

[@csscott9803]

I remember Sam goody and suncoast used to be next door. EB games was there. I go to B&N in the mall.

[@xprojected]

The greatest threat to this mall is the insane expansion of retail space around it. It's surrounded by big box stores and strip malls in nearly all directions. And then, the Shops at Evergreen Walk opened just up the road, offering an upscale outdoor shopping experience and drawing yet more people away. So Buckland Hills is hanging in there, and has a few unique attractions like The Funny Bone, Newbury Comics, and the carousel, but if more stores move out or JCPenney inevitably closes, it could start to fall apart.

[@Johnnykeys100]

Love your videos. I don't live too far from this mall but haven't gone in years thinking it wasn't worth the trip, but I think I will give it another try after seeing your video. Thank you.

[@plinger1]

Above the Barnes and noble was forever vacant, sometime in the early two thousand they pushed that space back for some small clothing store. This mall had a major revamp at on point adding additional foot paths and the escalator across from the food court.

[@andrewvesci2612]

I work in this mall (including on that very day!) I’m waiting for the day I see you walking around, haha. Obviously I won’t recognize your FACE but the second I hear your VOICE I’ll recognize you! Right in the middle of the day on Christmas Eve it got pretty busy. As someone who used to work at Westfarms, nowhere near as “alive” at Buckland as it is at Westfarms, but Buckland is starting to “come back to life” imo. I remember this used to be the cool mall to visit when i lived closer to Westfarms 10 or so years ago. i have hope for the mall!!

[@tarrabaron]

Westfarms has always been busier. I worked at both too. I hope the mall makes it!

[@philcatania3892]

For Christmas eve their should be a lot more people shopping,several store empty and also I judge a mall by how many people are caring bags. The old days before amazon, people would make two or three trips out to the car,so they didn't have to carry all the bags around the mall. food court my be busy with people coming for lunch but that's not going to keep the stores in business.

[@fredWaxBeans11111]

I still miss the tiny Arcade in Sears that used to be there. Tucked away in a back corner, hard to find (unless you were a kid/adolescent). Loved playing Smash TV in there.

[@passthegrits]

I'd buy that for a dollar!

[@fredWaxBeans11111]

@@passthegrits "Total Carnage!" 😆👍

[@passthegrits]

@@fredWaxBeans11111 "I love it!"

[@TopTower]

Thanks for sharing! This mall was my childhood mall, lived in Florida for the better part of a decade, but it was amazing to relive this place. I’m so happy to see it thriving. Fun fact, the Native Crafts seen at the 5:30 mark was a Brookstone for YEARS until it went out in the early 2010s, we would always go in there to test out the fancy gadgets with zero budget to buy anything!

[@emocobra666]

i remember when the mall had a frendlys

[@MrCraigblaze]

Most malls did..

[@piratetv1]

I remember many lunches there

[@ritajeanferreira1032]

I miss Friendly's, I live in CA now. I am so ready to leave.

[@piratetv1]

@ritajeanferreira1032 there are only a few Friendly's left now. I used to love the milkshakes where they gave you a glass and the rest in the metal cup they mixed it inside of.

[@John_Locke_108]

I think the Farminton Valley Mall had one, too. I have a faded memory of eating there 40 odd years ago.

[@Elaine-zh7oc]

Beautiful mall

[@bethstreich6565]

I moved to Ct in 1978 closest clothing store was bradlees caldor and bobs! I lived in Higganum and every year would go to bobs the Meriden mall for school clothes! The bobs in Middletown was a trip you go into the and if you wanted jeans you go up to the counter which was wooden and tell whomever was helping you what brand and style of jeans you wanted and if they had them you got them! I thought it was really weird to purchase clothing that way especially jeans reminded me of a mercantile type store! Clothes where on the first floor shoes and foot wear was on the lower level

[@malcomalexander9437]

I actually work here; I work at the carrousel in the food court. So, from my experience of working there since November 2022, it's busier on the weekends. Not much business on the weekdays, unless it's raining, then I get more customers. Note that even on weekends, it will be slightly less busy if the weather is really nice. Never had a day where no one came.

[@LEXRAPS]

17:39 I remember visiting the Time Out arcade every weekend in the 90’s where the Carousel is. Also, Electronics Boutique, Babbages, KayBee Toys and Spencer Gifts. Spencer Gifts might be the oldest store in there besides JC Penny and Macys.

[@thomashynes4042]

Christmas eve YEARS ago was Packed - it was so packed that I did everything I could to avoid this place

[@piratetv1]

I remember a VR arcade behind the carousel. We ate at ruby Tuesday all the time. There was a game stop where the air soft place is, and EB games under Spencer's. I work just up the street but haven't been inside the mall in years.

[@DaleTerry-xn9ui]

thats a beautiful nice big huge mall with two floors of stores

[@Madness832]

You mentioned Suncoast Motion Picture Co. I can still remember callin' in special orders for hard-to-find videotapes. Still have quite a lot of them.

[@MrCraigblaze]

Thanks!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks! I appreciate it!

[@MrCraigblaze]

​@@fleabittenadventuresThe new Byers are going to be. Nandmar reality group for this Mall. 😂😂

[@plinger1]

It may have been Walden Books. I distinctly remember there being one in the mall with Borders being down the road next to Sam’s Club.

[@thomasmosakowski]

Steve and Barry's used to be the anchor above Barnes and Noble. D&L used to be in the area under the food court which was once Filene's Home which got subdivided. Steiger's was where Lord & Taylor was and Sage Allen used to be housed where Dicks/Bob's-EMS is. The Spinoso Group is definitely trying to revive the mall with letting smaller businesses enter while acquiring new leases such as Box Lunch and alot of people are hoping for Boscov's to take the former Sears unless they choose to reactivate the space such as in Burbank CA which would be cool to see since it's location has good bones.

[@maryannefeyer6332]

I’d love to see a Boscov’s there! Right now the closest one is in Meriden.

[@thomasmosakowski]

@@maryannefeyer6332 Correct and CT Post Mall has one in Milford. The good thing about Boscov's as a private company is they are very customer driven and if enough demand is shown for a market they usually respond to it accordingly with their approach of one new store a year growth pattern. But with Sears also out of bankruptcy the redevelopment of that parcel being split into different smaller anchors like Primark and etc like Danbury Fair did is another option.

[@Foxonian]

I haven't been to the Buckland Hills mall since the late 90's. Looks like it hasn't changed too much.

[@cnn24seven]

I remember partying at night up on the hill where thus this mall sits now - it was a golf course - in '86. I don't ever remember D&L at the mall, they were located in the Parkade. Do you mean DSL shoes? Next to the pet store on the left was Things Remembered. To the right in the corner was Payless Shoes. I haven't been there in 10 years even though I recently ate across the street. Thanks for the video, I'll be going to check it out again - it's not dead yet. Enjoy your videos, they get to the point

[@maryannefeyer6332]

I agree - I don’t remember D & L in the Mall. I do remember Things Remembered; we bought out attendant gifts there for our wedding in 2004. And between the pet shop and Newbury Comics was a personalized T-shirt shop; my late husband bought me a “bride to be” shirt there with my name on it.

[@arthurmarinelli9418]

Red Rock Golf course.....it had a coke machine on the 18th hole...I also remember partying at a house up there...managed teh Hickory Farms kiosk for a few years outside of Sears near Newberry...watched the Sears store die before my eys

[@kevingamble8861]

I remember in the 70's and 80's you couldn't get past the mobs of shoppers in the mall on Christmas eve. I guess it's all relative to the times. That mall looks deserted in comparison to back then. Kinda sad.

[@pigs18]

Not this mall. It opened in 1989.

[@chuckplainview4085]

I went here Christmas eve 2024, so about a week ago now. I think its just dependent on the time you go. I was there at 4pm and it was VERY busy. I'm happy to see this one still going I always liked it a lot.

[@lonelyman1967]

You hands down do the best mall videos. I have a request , Is it possible can you do videos on the 2 largest malls in New York State? Destiny USA in Syracuse and the Roosevelt Field Mall in Uniondale thanks.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks! I'll try to get to those malls eventually, but they are both quite a long drive. Maybe sometime this spring.

[@csscott9803]

It had a McDonald's in the food court when it first opened. I used to there afterwards. Sam goody and record town was there, including a CVS. I really missed EB games and Kay bee toy store.

[@rangerxlt3]

Man, I haven't been here in well over ten years.. Looks different! GNC has been in the same spot ever since I could remember. I miss the arcade near the food court back in the early 90's.

[@toddgelineau6536]

This mall was built on one of the world’s largest red rock formations. I should say they sheared the top of the formation off to build the mall. That’s why the mall sits way up on a plateau.

[@joane.landers9151]

I had grown up in Manchester from the mid-1940's thru 1960. As I recall from when the beginnings of the mall began, as the red rock began to be dismantled, there were Dinosaur bones discovered. I don't remember if they were complete skeletons and how many there were. Yale University in New Haven, CT was contacted and I believe they removed perhaps at least two skeletons. The other skeletons were covered up to protect them forever beneath the asphalt parking area. I think either the Journal Inquirer newspaper or Hartford Courant newspaper or both, had articles on the discovery. .

[@kellingc]

Barnes and Nobel was a blank wall. I remember going to office and asking what was going in there as it was new construction. It was about the time Maggie McFly's was going in, too. That was also the time I spent most of my book money down the street at Border's. Above Barns and Nobel has always been empty. I think that was left that way for expansion, and when they were building out Barns and Nobel, they probably were thinking maybe they could get another store or get B&N to go two floors? The watch kiosk by Sears (that'[s where I take my analog watch I got from my grandfather) reduced it's hours because of the drop off of foot traffic in the mall. There still seems to be a lot of people whenever I go there, but the closing of Sears seems to have killed that end of Buckland Hills. The salon by that kiosk used to be a Super Cuts, and when she took it over didn't even last 3 months. Ah, I bought Pro Com+ from that Electronics Boutique. and SimCity 2000.

[@Kevin-w4n]

That store above Barnes and Nobel was Against All Odds a clothing store, it’s still in the mall but it has moved .

[@dennisriordan1846]

There was a d&l in Manchester parkade but I don't remember it at this mall. The Newbury comics and eblens was kaybee and cvs

[@2FRESH-4U]

I miss the old days

[@SueBobChicVid]

I never cared to buy anything from Hollister, but I loved their mall architecture. I found that their style/look drew me in even though I knew I wouldn't buy anything.

[@ClarkKasheta]

My dad and his brother did a lot of work during the construction of the mall. Basically spent all of my high school years there - Sam Goody, Spencers, Hot Topic, the arcade. Almost set a bench on fire after spilling some lighter fluid with the Zippo I got at a kiosk. Awkward first dates, fights, the list goes on!

[@LaslundLazaro]

same, i remember this in 1990 or so when it opened. I used to come here with my friend and go to sam goody for music cds, electronic botique for games and Mr. Bulky's for candy. Anyone remember Mr Bulkies candy store?For the longest time their was a Sears too.This is before their were movie theatres,walmarts,home depos in Manchester. This mall is definetly not dead, mainly because of Manchesters population and it gets alot of ppl coming from Hartford. I doubt it will die anytime soon.

[@charliegordon2266]

Grew up at this mall. Every weekend we were here. Still remember when it was built and how it was golf course/ farmland prior. It was more packed on a regular weekend then this. Couldn't barely move so crowded. Forget Christmas eve years ago. You couldn't get near there or find parking. Would drive around for 30min just to find a space near Christmas. The exit ramp and streets surrounding there were backed up. Took forever to get from the highway and around the corner. If you were not going to the mall you went the back way around so you didn't sit in traffic for an hour. Sad to see this. Plus with all the fights and the shooting here, no one wants to deal with that garbage.

[@BrandonLongwell-mw9iy]

Yes! Can you do please Sears.

[@marissablaszko]

Idk if you saw it but they got bought out be Namdar, announced today! Would love to see a January 2025 video before Namdar moves in for the before and after.....

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, I saw that and was thinking the same thing!

[@mlandry8887]

Coming from central mass this mall seemed quite busy on 7/12/24 actually was nice seeing so many places thriving inside

[@TheSkuncle]

Someone may have mentioned this already, but wasn’t there a Stiegers were Sears was in Enfield? I seem to remember that from the 70’s. I know there was a Stiegers in Enfield at some point. I haven’t been to Buckland for much other than Newbury Comics and Barnes And Noble. But Suncoast and Sam Goody were two of my favorites at Buckland back in the day.

[@cruzn2548]

I live by West Farm Mall area. It took hours to get into that parking lot and once in it was busy. Had to dodge and weave to walk around. Compared to that, Buckland is doing ok, but for how long? Didn’t look very busy in the video

[@harrisonhanson2998]

This is really big mall too, I’ve only been there maybe a few times but I recall it being so big I couldn’t even see everything.

[@angelajthorpe]

I went to Macy's the other day to make a return. Did the usual walk around the mall afterwards. In comparison to this video, which actually shows some people, this mall is dying. There was hardly anyone in the entire mall. It felt like I was walking through a library .. very quiet.

[@Ashley_Boasso]

10:14 The WOW Entertainment Center was originally a Stride Rite shoe store

[@SuperRobinDX]

I think this mall is definitely taking a turn, a lot more local stores replacing national brands. People are still shopping here though, it's far from complete disarray like Enfield Square, etc. There is no neglect as you said, but it can't keep major stores open and big business isn't opening here.

[@swayze693]

i was a manager at this finish line in 2014-2015. i remember requesting to transfer from meriden because this mall did business and was #2 in the district. haven’t been back since i resigned. the mall still looks okay though. so many new stores and not alot of corporate business.

[@Kevin-ty9dj]

It’s not dead yet but by next year it could be. Thanks for the video.

[@Peteroc860]

Revisiting this comment, mall was actually busier this time around. I have no clue how it’s keeping busy lol

[@chuckplainview4085]

This year it was super busy

[@John_Locke_108]

I remember when this mall first opened. It felt like my Dad was taken us to Disneywold because it just seemed so huge and the crowds on opening weekend were insane.

[@Loveourelders]

Tons of people! Remember when g. Fox was the only store open while the rest was being finished?

[@fredWaxBeans11111]

That 2nd Elevator ride looked almost as exciting as the FUSION ride at the Big E 😅

[@yeahhoo86]

Businesses is especially enterprise level businesses like Walmart and mall REITs, for fee, can sign up for extended support for software that has been deprecated/outdated. I would assume at a certain point that extended support would have to run out as well, but who knows.

[@piratetv1]

Above the barns and noble was a smaller store. Maybe a foot locker or lids hat store

[@timothydirocco3138]

Since Bobs opened, they've only had the upper level open. The lower level was bring "remodeled" for some time now. If it's open, it's now brand new. Bobs in general has had major expansions over the past couple of years, closeing their Endield location but opening several others including some in MA.

[@PhillyMotoXTS]

Earlier this month Bob's announced they're closing all locations

[@John_Locke_108]

This comment didn't age well. Goodbye Bobs.

[@TheRedDevil_NC]

Really enjoy these malls. Time just creates a different vibe for them

[@TinkDncr82]

I remember walking through it before most stores officially opened.

[@eddiepealock]

Was that a bird flying across at 8:01??

[@fleabittenadventures]

I think so. I've seen birds in a few malls I've been to.

[@eddiepealock]

@@fleabittenadventures oh ok. I’ve seen them inside of Costco and an Expo Center before

[@jeffwerth2707]

Some big name stores either went out of business or moved out - but still people there. Nice to see

[@R32R38]

Reasonably low vacancies, mostly national stores rather than local ones, a thriving food court, but a rather thin crowd for Christmas Eve.

[@mikefromct5415]

food court is far from thriving!

[@ericcook5745]

I remember going here not that long ago and seen how many stores were closed down and how the mall was more than half empty when it came to the businesses and I heard the one in Meriden which is almost the same exact Mall just in a different town is even worse there's a couple others in Connecticut to where I'm guessing they're probably doing just about as well as the rest of them. I'm surprised I haven't shut them down yet and when the time comes that they do I wonder what they're going to do with the property. I saw how I have sneaky suspicion that they're going to turn into a Amazon warehouse or something in the lines of that

[@northhankspin]

Those canopy's are beautiful. The Sears building, brick didn't age well.

[@elwoodjacobs4353]

This was my childhood mall. It's a pale shadow of its former glory. Before I moved, the only shop that was worth visiting for me was Regency Gaming, now Stateline Video Games.

[@TheRealDee96]

Nail shop was next to jcpenny but they never had a lot of customers around pandemic time. Across from forever 21 there also was a nail shop. Both were doing bad

[@OriginalNethead]

I was at the Sage Allen the day it closed in 1993. Bought a box of loose buttons and took a photocopy of their certificate of occupancy. The ladies there that day wondered why I'd want that. May still have it somewhere. G Fox was bought by Filene's and then Filene's was swallowed by Macy's.

[@buh_buh_becky]

I know i'm watching this a year after it was posted BUT I'm pretty sure the Barnes and Noble's used to be a Borders. I know there has been a bookstore in there for a very long time.

[@sped6954]

Before Barnes & Noble went in there, and 2002 sounds about right, but before that, no one was in there. There may have been an entrance/exit for the parking lot, or if there was anything in the area leading up to the entrance, it would have been maybe a few small botiques or some kind of attraction similar to the trampoline area, or a mall services/You Are Here area, but the actual store itself didn't exist before B&N. Today, it looks like it belongs there, with other stores that have been built around it, until you take an aerial view of B&N and how it relates to the rest of the mall, then it becomes obvious that the whole store was an add on.

[@coreycoyle9548]

Great Carousel in this Video!!!! F+L, Corey

[@mikecif4123]

That Barnes and Noble was built as an addition specifically for Barnes and Noble. This was back when Borders was over by where the gym is now.

[@rachelhamm1843]

I am pretty impressed how many open businesses for a mall that size. It always looks bad when an anchor closes but this mall has 6 anchors and Sears closure had nothing to do with the mall and the owner is trying to hold out for a premium resulting in a lot of empty stores.

[@user-vg2eg7oo5n]

The Sears, Dick's and old Bertucci's locations are sore spots. Bob's Store was in half of Dick's,but just went bankrupt. Dick's did not move far away, just down the road, near the old Caldor location. The rest seems ok.

[@georgealcoba3514]

I worked at Suncoast Motion Pictures. Miss that place

[@antoinetteasselin4906]

What year is this at the Buckland mall

[@fleabittenadventures]

This was Christmas Eve 2023.

[@pigs18]

The mall was recently put up for sale. It's not a dead mall yet, but it's definitely updating its life insurance policy.

[@Daddyezee]

the mail be full on Sat & Sun today was full and this week do to the sale at bath and body

[@mgk2600]

Those screens running Win7, the train system i take to work runs their ticket kiosks on Windows 2000! 23 years and still running

[@arockzilla]

That store used to be a store called against all odds a clothing store

[@MegaCassie83]

It's dying. I once thought a dying walgreens near me was doing fine and it was not on the closure locations list back in October. Cut to November when it was gone.

[@joshhardin666]

It still bugs the crap out of me that they tore out the fantastic Time-Out arcade that used to be in the food court and replaced it with that awful carousel that rarely gets ridden. It used to be a vibrant well-attended classic 90s arcade.

[@avgjoeavglife]

That elevator is nice. As for the if the mall is dead, no i don't think so but it could be better.

[@toddgelineau6536]

Sage Allen may have been in the two floor anchor space where Barnes &Noble is.

[@danielflynn8530]

Buckland hills is doing ok. It’s got a comedy place inside which has some very strong acts.

[@georgef551]

Did my walkthrough of Whitney Field X-Mas Eve, posted the video about 8pm that day, D-E-A-D! I noticed you missed a sizeable chunk of the Toys "Я" Us, as I initially didn't see it either. When you were leaving, I noticed it actually continued across the aisle deeper into the store, away from the mall entry. Still a smaller one. The one at Solomon Pond was bigger (got that to a degree on my Black Friday walkthrough video of the mall).

[@Chr0meHeart]

i live near here!!!! definitely not dead but its not doing great lol

[@kellyhoward6385]

I loved D&L!

[@mustlooklikeadork]

My memory of course may be fuzzy but I think it went like this: Stieger's was actually where the Macy's men's shop is now. And Dick's didn't exist at all in 1990, but rather was built anew around 1993/1994?

[@jaywho3737]

Buckland is still going strong. Getting ready to head there now

[@welding_guy7524]

That’s a beautiful Allen Herschel carousel..

[@madmerlot841]

The mall could do a better job of hiding the hiding the closed stores. How many of those are only open for the holiday season? Some of those stores the the calendar store might only be open for a few months. The mall isn't quite at the dying stage yet but there is some rot near the closed Sears.

[@robertwells6724]

Buckland looks a lot more filled than Meridan Mall!!

[@mikecif4123]

I don't think that Dick's Sporting Goods was anything before, They built that as an addition specifically for Dicks, back to compete with the Sport's Authority that was where Hobby Lobby is now. There was certainly never a Steiger's at that mall. (Never even heard of them before.)

[@Charstorms]

wtf this in my recommended and i literally live near this place lol. I never seen this mall dead, there is always people here but there is obvious decline. I remember it was still popular in the 2000s to 2010s

[@noticonjeepguy7674]

Update, it was just purchased by the current owners of the Enfield Mall, so I'm quite sure it'll go down hill pretty quick from here out.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, I saw that! RIP Buckland Hills Mall.

[@voyfan99]

I definitely don't classify Buckland as a dead or dying mall, but if more anchor stores leave it's definitely a possibility. There are also plenty of smaller stores that have not gotten stores back in the spaces. Sometimes temp stores go in but they don't last long. Holister pulled out quite a while ago so the calendar/toy store is temporary. Filene's used to be located where Macy's Women's is currently located.

[@aragorn4370]

Miss mall heyday

[@csscott9803]

8:50 that used to be Babbage's.

[@pigs18]

I believe the Babbages was next door in the corner unit.

[@robertgross5466]

That was quite a mall when it first opened

[@zakihanti]

before it was barnes and noble was the orginal anchoer store lord and taylor

[@matrixman7706]

I don’t think this is really a dying mall. Seems to be doing OK. I’m surprised the Sears sign is still up.

[@harrisonhanson2998]

Not super busy for it being Xmas eve. Maybe the 23rd was busier, bc I think most ppl are winding down by the 24th.

[@LEXRAPS]

Dicks Sporting Goods was like I’m outta here lol