Dead Mall Update: Enfield Square Mall to be Demolished!? Let's Talk About It!

[@sherrieroggero9206]

Tom, I totally can feel your emotion about the Enfield mall. It sounds like you kind of grew up there and you form an attachment to these places when they close. Spending most of my life working at the Crystal mall it’s a very emotional nostalgic feeling when it goes.

[@robfrancois]

Crystal Mall used to be iconic. We'd always stop on the way to Rhode Island.

[@StealyDan-s8s]

I worked as an assistant manager / manager trainee at CVS in this mall in December 1976, I remember it being very busy at that time. Of course being at the mall at Christmas in the late 70"s it was the place to be!

[@Stealthborn]

Thank you for the video. This has similarities to the Eastfield Mall for me. I'm glad you brought up State Line Video Games. I was very close with Frankie the owner for years. I knew him when he had his store on the Agawam/Sheffield line, hence the name. And I was a regular when he was in Feeding Hills too. He probably won't remember me, but if you ever see him, tell him that the guy who sold him and bought back Panzer Dragoon Saga says hi. Thanks for the video.

[@mikecif4123]

Hey can I just say thank you for making these videos. It's sad to see these malls dying. But I'm glad they're recorded for posterity. I have fon memories of Christmas shopping here as a young kid in the mid to late 80s.

[@Foxonian]

The Enfield Square mall was built at a time when CT. had a lower sales tax than Mass. did (similar the situation with the Mall of NH with no sales tax.). As such, Enfield Square did a lot of business all through the 70's & 80's fueled by shoppers from neighboring Mass. until CT, raised its sales tax to be the same as Mass.'s. And almost overnight all that over the boarder business that sustained the mall was lost and never regained.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Good point. I didn't think of that.

[@nonyobussiness3440]

Bs lol the mall was fine up until the late 2000’s.

[@StevenSimpson-it5mv]

Buckland in Manchester opening in the 90s drew a lot of business away from Enfield.

[@StevenSimpson-it5mv]

That was THE cool mall to go to in the 80s. The arcade was cool. Wayyy before the movie theater moved in from the Bob's strip mall. They started going downhill in the 90s when Buckland opened in Manchester, siphoning off a lot of business.

[@gremlinfinger5964]

TILT!!!

[@dominicreyes419]

Damn! I miss going to an indoor mall! Its been years since! And brings good memories back of the 70's 80's 90's and early 2000's!

[@mark3464]

Don’t you have any indoor malls near you you could go to?

[@fleabittenadventures]

What I miss are malls with water fountains and trees!

[@mark3464]

@@fleabittenadventures yes if you are going to have an indoor mall it may as well have all of that!

[@StevenSimpson-it5mv]

That's why they close. Millions of good little consumers like you shop online.

[@xzAllisonxz]

What great memories I had here growing up.

[@FireMinstrel]

The Enfield Square is where I first tried buffalo wings at Ruby Tuesdays when I was a kid. Chicken was never the same for me again. :) I was pretty sad when I drove down there in 2017 and saw that the restaurant was gone. I used to go to the Kay-bee Toys across from there while my parents waited for the food to come out. Now it’s all gone.

[@kjcolby1978-pr8wf]

My god this is sad, my grandparents lived in Enfield so I spent a ton of my childhood at this mall (and the other Enfield mall where Bob's stores is, used to be an indoor mall)

[@spunchbob360]

ugh im going to miss this place so much i really grew up here :( i hope i get to visit at least one more time before it closes

[@pch421054570]

Worked @ J C Penny part time, '78-79. Good job, as always, Tom. Very nostalgic. Kinda obsessed with old-time retail. Maybe add a drone video? Just a thought.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I would love to do drone footage, but you actually need a commercial drone license to use drone footage in a video. The FAA will fine me about $1000 if I use drone footage without a license. Maybe someday though if I get a license.

[@BELCAN57]

Store number 308-7 I was there from August of '75 thru March of '78. (Shoe Department)

[@Ilikemycat102]

​@@fleabittenadventuresmiss that sears, walking through it before it closed was so sad

[@Cerby1979]

Malls were great back in the days of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s but times have changed and trends have as well. Today’s generation sees malls as old school and are looking for more outdoor shopping centers that seem fun to them.

[@danielflynn8530]

I haven’t been there in years sadly but I’m not surprised it’s getting demolished soon. It was kinda like the Eastfield Mall in Springfield where I grew up. Malls were more popular because that was something exciting to do when technology wasn’t as prominent back in the 80’s. The stores were not as expensive too. I remember going to see Batman 1989 next to the enfield mall then there was a Abdows nearby we ate at afterwards.

[@GhostReaper2043]

yes do a walk thru of that Target and maybe that game store as well. Also please keep us updated on this place especially how they plan on doing an enterance to Target.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Will do. It's only about 20 minutes from where I live, so I'll definitely be doing updates.

[@MrCraigblaze]

Thanks for the upload !! Only if They get the 20 million dollars to do the remodeling.. Same with the old sears at the Eastfield Mall site in Spfld Ma..

[@Stephen_A.]

I grew up near Enfield and remember the Enfield Square as a thriving mall. Always remember going to the Figaro restaurant with my Mother. 🧡 I'm guessing the former Ruby Tuesday's was the original Figaro's. The style sure does still looks like an Italian restaurant. 😃

[@ContraVirtual]

That tile work is legit

[@robfrancois]

I grew up in CT for 35 years. Now live in Tennessee. I went to the Enfield Mall my whole life. When you first walked in on the right used to be a Ruby Tuesday's. Sad to see what Northern CT has become.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, I was going there since the late 90's, so I remember a lot of the stores you mentioned. I used to love that Ruby Tuesdays!

[@robfrancois]

@@fleabittenadventures yeah that's back when they were really good

[@donsurlylyte]

the circle of life. malls killed off smaller shops, the net killed off malls. still sad

[@cheeko_914]

My apartment was down the road from that back when I went to Lincoln Tech in 2020, the parking lot was my goto spot for getting some peace and quiet since it was so big and empty and right next to all the fast food spots. I wanted to go in but I thought it was all closed off

[@robfrancois]

Kebab place idea used to be a pizza place. I used to work at Filene's there which became Macy's and before Filene's was G Fox & Co. Used to have an Electronics Boutique in the mall too. And a Friendly's. Once Westfield sold it was downhill. Furnari used to be Kay's. Last time i shopped there was 2003. The VR lounge was another jeweler. Back in the day there was a Radio Shack on the back side outside the mall entrance.

[@Palmtop_User]

One small detail id like to point out before its forgotten - one of the back entrances for the stores, outside on target's side is still labeled as FYE 18:23 i think its a game of some kinda. I remember it being installed when i was still in highschool probably nearly a decade ago. Seen people use it only once or twice that entire time

[@bridgetraveler7700]

integrity martial arts is in the Enfield Square Mall. It used to be located right across from McDonald's in the shopping center in Scitco not to far from Family Dollar. I heard that they need a bigger place to have bigger classes.

[@raymondjones5909]

It use to be a tilt arcade next to the old ruby Tuesday. This mall was so fun to shop at in the 90s up until about 2009 when it really died out. The movie theater closing really closed the casket

[@Fanatic2011-mo1ys]

Bad news! Several tenants are now leaving according to The Connecticut Scoop as the redevelopment is on hold for now. Stateline Video Games, Quest VR, Moon Crystal, D Gym, and a few others are leaving or have left. On the bright side, a theater company opened recently in the old Finish Line store! Also, Cajun Cafe, Claire’s, Bloodlines Tattooing, and Foot Locker have all closed at Meriden Mall

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes! I just read to that too! Sounds like time for an update video...

[@Fanatic2011-mo1ys]

Just saw that FYE and Petrillo’s are closing at Meriden Mall too

[@Victini862]

And now party city is closing all of its stores.

[@carolhorner7202]

I have fond memories of real trees and the water fountains they had in the main hallway in the late '80's. The biggest was up near Toys 'R Us (before the movie theaters were built) and my kids would toss in pennies to make wishes. All the plumbing pipes that supported the fountain system are still under these original floors, and have increased the deterioration of the tiles and subfloor. In the early 2000's, I worked in the Ritz Camera shop (where the CBD shop is now) and the maintenance staff, even back then, had their hands full with collapsing pipes. Throughout the video, you can spot the floor plates for plumbing and electrical access. At 4:45 and 19:50, there are diamond-shaped areas on the floor where Large potted trees/shrubs would have been. Thank you for this video tour. Good to have an archive before 'The End'.

[@andrewdunn49ers]

I grew up a few towns over and this was the goto mall in the 80s for the area before Buckland Hills was built. Some of my earlier memories are walking around here with my parents.

[@darrenthorne6247]

Thanks for another great video!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thank you!

[@macalward]

I grew up in that mall. The 80's and 90's were spent roaming that hallway. Breaks my heart to see that Cinemark closed. I used to be there ever Tuesday night for many years. But it's past time to tear it down. Last time I went in there it was sketchy as hell. All the shops were closed, tiles broken and not repaired it looked abandoned then and that was probably 2017/2018.

[@hapter437]

Been living in enfield for more than half my life, this mall hasn't been active since I was in elementary school!

[@sstjacques]

The old dead mall is where the fleemarket used to be in this area years ago, it was huge then, parking lot for is where Red Robbin is now. I have not been this way in a while, live in VT/MA now, thanks for sharing, sad to see this go.

[@msmo4127]

So many memories here, my first jobs at JC Penny and the arcade in the 90's. I miss Nino's pizza.

[@sstjacques]

In 1987 when I was a teen, this mall was happening. A dead mall was next to where Bob's stores was just parallel to this mall to the south beyond some woods, it was an inside mall turned outside and the old movie theater is where motel 6 is. Movie theater was not in this mall back then until old one was destroyed.

[@cdw6553]

I remember that. The place to buy jeans!

[@georgef551]

I know I haven't brought it up in these Enfield videos, but I have been here a long time ago. Back when my sister was moving into the dorms at Bay Path College nearby, my mother caught wind of this "Enfield Mall", and of course, my father, and I were tortured with another "New" mall to get bored in. This was early 90s, so the only thing I remember is the Macy's with that arch design for the entries. I'm sure the renovations happened long after that. It was so unimportant even then, that I don't really recall anything else but that Macy's. Not even the Sears. Maybe it was doomed over 30 years ago. :)

[@vengeance1701]

Early 90s? That would have been G Fox, not Macy's. Sears would have been Steiger's. The central anchor was JC Penney.

[@adambysko1787]

Dam that's just sad. used to go there all the time. crystal mall is equally sad these days

[@SlumberBear2k]

Danbury Fair Mall is still going pretty strong last time I checked. I think that they are doing everything they can to put anchor stores in it. For example they just added a Target.

[@Nothinghere0101]

Congrats on 15K Subscribers!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thank you!

[@MillerVanDotTV]

I disliked going to this mall as a kid in the 80’s. I much preferred going to westfarms or Holyoke further up the road. I still remember the smell of G Fox though. It smelled classy.

[@JDonahue79]

Looked online and as far as I know, the Mall is still there but doing worse. More tenants have left, maybe you could do an update now it’s like even deader now. Reminds me of Mt. Wayte Plaza when that place decayed and the only thing left was a Dunkin’ and a thrift store before that got demolished. Now the Stop and Shop Plaza I work at is in decay now, with a leaky roof at one of the empty storefronts which half the plaza is now dead, thanks to RK centers which is jacking up rent.

[@GeometryWars]

I always liked the movie ticket machine at the counter of that movie theater. I always thought it was neat that it was flat on the counter.

[@csscott9803]

I remember the arcade I used pass by when I visited the mall.

[@Jonny4384]

Thank you for not 1 but 2 mall videos this week; I look forward to them very much! Regarding walking through stores, if you feel inspired, go for it; no need to ask! Ps: Jesus loves you and yours!

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks! Glad you like the videos! I would love to do more videos, but my full time job sometimes gets in the way...

[@Jonny4384]

@@fleabittenadventures just do what you can when you can.

[@nolandionne1262]

There was a big bounce house playground set up over there in front of the old Sears two weeks ago in the searing heat. My son wanted to go in, but we had to leave. 🤷‍♂️ I have lots of memories of that mall circa 2002-2008, especially EB Games and the movie theater. In my opinion, the growth of strip malls is fully dependent on car culture and demand for convenience as work and debts consume the majority of our time and income. People seem to prefer the relative ease of pulling up to a storefront in a strip mall and immediately accessing their destination rather than the excursion of a trip to an indoor mall, despite the air conditioning and semi-social atmosphere that used to be.

[@BeanieG82]

Did you hear that Hampshire Mall in Hadley, MA is going up for a foreclosure auction in June?

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes. I'll have to do an update video. Thanks

[@markyamamoto6838]

The old Sears Store could be made into a big movie theater.

[@fleabittenadventures]

It could, but the smaller theater that was at the mall closed in December 2023. I don't think another theater would do well there.

[@MillerVanDotTV]

Movie theaters are dead too

[@cdw6553]

I remember bennetton, orange julius , foxmoor casual, weathervane, child’s world, naturalized shoes, kinney shoe store, steiger’s, figaro and the pizza restaurant there and JCPenney had a restaurant in it. 😢

[@belowaveragechris7152]

I come to this mall all the time. The stateline game store has moved To a diffrent spot in the mall.

[@Tullysplaytime]

U should have went in that store and asked them what a diaper cake was, I'm curious to know also. 😂😂

[@matthart1853]

Hi fleabitten adventures just found out the hampshire mall in hadley ma is going up for foreclosure next month in June so sounds to me like that mall is next to close here in western ma

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, I just saw that too! I'll have to do an update video there sometime soon. Thanks.

[@johnthompkins4858]

Can you do a walkthrough of Meriden Mall to see how dead that mall is.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I did a walkthrough of Meriden Mall a couple of months ago. Security almost kicked me out. I'll probably go back on a few months.

[@briwanderz]

funny memory about that jewelry store: around 1998, walking around with my then girlfriend, her friend and my friend, she quietly said to her friend "watch this" (not knowing i heard her) then basically pulled me into the jewelry store, and said she wanted to look at engagement / wedding rings.. i knew she was just trying to get a reaction out of me, so i just said, ok, let's go.. so i got more of a reaction, then she did actually look, and i just kept going with it, she finally said she was just trying to get a reaction from me, and i started "oh, but are you sure you don't want to get one..." then i finally admitted i knew what she was doing. i swear anytime i've seen any party city it is dead, sometimes even hard to tell if they are open.

[@JDonahue79]

Got another update, it’s about Party City. They have announced they are going out of business, which leaves the Enfield Mall with one more vacant area.

[@dannoneyabiz1277]

I remember going to G Fox in that mall. Macy's had two locations there as well

[@user-vg2eg7oo5n]

There are constant crowds, excitement and traffic at the new Raising Cains, who's customers use the Enfield Square empty parking lot.

[@charlesbartholomew2910]

If the Coca Cola is past its use by date, it makes me wonder how old the snacks are in the quarter-catcher machines is.

[@thomashammond5666]

4:20 Party City is now officially closing all of its stores as of December 2024.

[@andysorensen1737]

I feel like the lack of customers in Party City’s I’ve been to outside of say mid/ late August to Halloween is pretty telling in my experience as well. Obviously they must have some customer base if they’re still at it but I could be wrong.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, I would assume that there is some customer base, but I don't know who it is as I've never seen them.

[@johnburke1317]

Nice video 😊

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks!

[@absolutetruthgirl]

Could it be for light therapy?

[@OriginalNethead]

I swear those round on brick entryways used to be Sage Allen. I was in one on the last day, but not that one. Had to be the 1990s some time.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes, you are correct.

[@carolhorner7202]

@@fleabittenadventures before the Sears, it was Sage Allen.

[@mid-nite_drive-thru]

@@fleabittenadventures - When I spent hours there mall-ratting as a teen so long ago, the west end of the Square was G. Fox & Co., (later Macy's Women), south middle was JCPenney (later Macy's Men), and east end was Steiger's (later Sears). There was also a dirt path that went through the woods, which connected (if you were willing to venture over the makeshift shopping-cart bridge that spanned the brook) the Enfield Square and the Enfield Mall, the old indoor mall where Jonathan's Eatery (the first arcade in town) blared away noise from Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and even older machines...the Tilt Arcade in the Square was a latecomer...I can place its arrival in time by the big draw at the time, a cockpit cabinet of the Atari laserdisc title 'Firefox' (after the Clint Eastwood film), which would put the opening of Tilt somewhere in 1984-1985. More than once crossing those slippery shopping carts in the winter led to a dousing for myself or my friends...but you HAD to go to the Square to get what REMAINS (to my mind, and that of many Enfield natives) the best pizza, at L' Expo (the spot where the Furnari Jewelers is now). A buck a slice, and so hot from the oven the cheese would scald the roof of your mouth...but delicious. Nino's Pizza of later years was run by the son of the guy who owned L' Expo, after L' Expo closed. It was ALMOST as good, but there was some indefinable something missing: we all knew it. They say you can't go home again: and seeing this place which was the backdrop for so many of my memories as I came of age, devolved into what it is now: that really rings true. I can still smell the inside of the elevators at JCPenney and G.Fox. I remember window-shopping for an Atari 800 computer at Child World, harassing my parents until they got me one, and set the course of my future life. Thank you for documenting this, before it finally disappears forever. "All these memories...lost in time, like...tears...in rain." - Rutger Hauer, 'Blade Runner'

[@TRJ2241987]

There was one in Holyoke Mall too

[@zakihanti]

i cant belive what happen to this mall it has been open for many years and th that fact that target is left as a anchor store

[@sstjacques]

Before target came, that was a huge parking lot to support the busy mall then. I agree the sales tax on clothes killed them, after it increased more than 3%. 3% nobody cared, but more, they just go over the border to MA for no sales tax on clothes and now CT has higher sales tax on other stuff than MA.

[@jimmysouders5640]

A friend of mine went to this mall a few weeks ago that was the last time he was there

[@fleabittenadventures]

There's really not much reason to go to this mall, other than the Target and the games store, which is right next to Target.

[@Steve.Cutler]

Has any of these new "mixed use" centers actually worked. I've seen malls turned into a business park work, but not the mixed use places.

[@R32R38]

My take is that developers tout "mixed use" as the Next New Thing but it's mostly just talk.

[@nonyobussiness3440]

Mix use just means apartments no one likes lol

[@MirzaAhmed89]

Why not? The apartments usually sell/rent very quickly. The other retail does pretty well. Blue Back Square in West Hartford and Downtown Storrs in Mansfield are good examples.

[@MirzaAhmed89]

@@nonyobussiness3440 what do you mean no one likes? They get rented out or sold very rapidly.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I can't think of any off the top of my head.

[@ElJuanSolo]

IMO Mall’s worked best at a pre-internet online shopping era and with better faster cheaper ways to shop online just like record stores and movie rental stores they’ve become obsolete. I think the best idea is not to revisit creating another mall style shopping center. Target is good even though they have only one line open at a time (self checkout mostly) as for luxury apartments I don’t know how well that will do. Enfield seems like another town where money isn’t what it used to be. What I have seen is a high influx of new medical buildings. The area is actually large enough to build a sports complex/stadium to draw in a minor league baseball team or hockey team. The Yardgoats are a great draw and if Enfield could get a team there it would bring in $$$ and you have ample parking and a train access coming soon. Plus it’s right off 91.

[@p0larz0mbies]

I literally only went there for the movie theater which closed in December. So now there's literally no reason for me to go there lol.

[@dannoneyabiz1277]

I think they use those kiosks when they have craft fairs in the mall

[@Cassie00111]

that Target is huge (looks from the outside(

[@fleabittenadventures]

It's pretty big.

[@gremlinfinger5964]

I thought the roof collapsed in the Macy's at the end of the mall.

[@oldretailsongooglemaps2619]

when is the last day

[@fleabittenadventures]

No one knows yet. I don't think anything is finalized. My guess would be not before the end of the year.

[@spman]

A diaper cake as a decoration made using diapers usually for a baby shower or something

[@fleabittenadventures]

OK. Makes sense. I've never been to a baby shower, so I'd never heard of them. Sounds gross though.

[@spman]

@@fleabittenadventures haha, they’re new unused diapers obviously

[@mark3464]

I never understand why dead malls always have those massage chairs.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I've seen a few people sleeping in them.

[@mark3464]

@@fleabittenadventures I can’t see how they make any money

[@Cassie00111]

@mark3464 I used them once..got scared when it started squeezing my legs..lol. my big southern California mall has lots of massage chairs..like 20

[@laurahaynes7293]

Can you still smell popcorn? Very sad 😢

[@scupking]

The state denied Enfield the 20 million they asked for to help with demolishing and rebuilding the area. Sounds like the mall will stay for now....

[@keikapanen5555]

For now, I still go there to play mtg

[@jenniferinsalaco5790]

Dipper cake, is a cake made out of diapers, it's cute

[@fleabittenadventures]

I don't have kids, so I'm not in the loop on this type of thing. Sounds disgusting though.

[@Nothinghere0101]

I bet the mall is closing soon because Bath and body works moved out

[@fleabittenadventures]

I'd say it's got about 1 year left or less. We'll see.

[@jasonminote7499]

I have no idea why they are demolishing this place since it doesn't look rundown it's so stupid!

[@fleabittenadventures]

The inside mall area isn't in bad condition, but the roof has holes in it and the rest of the exterior is falling apart.

[@TheShackGuy]

Enfield is worse than the Crystal Morgue?

[@peepykimtins]

I hope they actually have the money to do something and not leave it just a giant empty lot with a target lol.

[@Candie-kv6fh]

It's pretty dead but good video though

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks!

[@vengeance1701]

I doubt anything will come of this. These companies treat towns like Enfield like chumps.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Hard to say. We'll see.

[@ThisIsAydin]

My dad at 20:00

[@MargDBX]

Namdar is a private equity greed company and should be forced out of business.

[@TheTinybubbles1]

Enfield nees this mall lots people dont drive and buses go here