Diggity said:

---

Brothers was the *****

---

Yes sir! I still will go to the one off of Highway 6 and I10. Anytime my friends and I went to West Oaks, we always got Brothers, we didn't care about any of the other food places.

Ag_07 said:

---

Still baffles me that Northwest Mall still sits untouched.

That's such prime real estate I'm shocked a developed hasn't ponyed up to build a townhome community or an awesome mixed use City Center type development.

---

Was just thinking the exact same thing this morning as I drove by on the way down to the island.

Northwest Mall is crappy location. There is no easy way to get there specifically. You have to make upturns or ride the feeder for a light or two.

First Colony Mall is Sugar Land is like 80% shoe stores and 90% non English as a first language patrons.

Malls are dying. A vestige of the pre-2010 era....lots of maintenance and zero customers. I'm not from TX but I did work at Foleys at West Oaks Mall in the mid 90s .

As a quick seasonal job at Christmas it was ideal. "Fold Clothes and tidy up 8hrs a day". Kinda perfect for 3 weeks. Because "shoppers" are non-house trained animals. Whatever. Pocket money.

Now shopping is an absolute chore. As a middle aged man, IDGAF. Married AF, wife would prefer I'm not trendy and I have an ag background. All stars align.

But First Colony killed Sharpstown and pretty much West Oaks - Katy Mills and the Memorial City revamp was the final bullet for west oaks

Gulfgate and Northline reincarnated itselves while Greenspoint is going to become affordable housing

98Ag99Grad said:

---

Grew up on the South side and Baybrook was our spot unless mom wanted to go to Foleys in which case we had to go to Almeda mall and that was a dump by comparison. When Mall of the Mainland was built they had a Foleys but that mall died rather quickly. Baybrook is still really nice. I live by The Woodlands now and that mall is still going strong too.

---

Took gf with me to Almeda on Saturday. Not completely dead but the most popular thing was a store for gaming, the wedgie nerd kind. That was packed. Everything else not so much. 2 anchors there and 1 is closed. Macys is still going somehow. Bath and body works still inside, random places in the half occupied food court, lots of cheap trashy stores. Plus lids and foot locker and a couple other shoe stores.

Baybrook went the other way and keeps going more upscale. I live close to it so we go about once a month just to walk around and marvel at the sights more than anything.

And mall of the mainland seemed perfectly poised and died faster than it was built. But I did see Jurassic Park at midnight there so

Willowbrook Mall was really nice when it was built in the 80's. Now I try and stay away from it as much as possible. Head to either Memorial City or The Woodlands instead.

Another downfall of malls I think is all the shoplifting that occurs and the trend that the store employees are to do nothing if it happens. My wife briefly worked at the Banana Republic in Willowbrook when we moved to our current house in 2008 and that is exactly what they told them...do nothing.

When I was a kid (1970's), we lived at Pinemont/290 and went to Northwest Mall all the time. Farrell's birthday parties! Lotus restaurant nearby. Good times!

Seems like there are only a few traditional malls around here still doing well, Baybrook, Galleria, Memorial City, maybe Katy Mills & Woodlands.

The outdoor malls like CityCenter, La Centerra, Pearland Town Square seem to be doing much better and the expansion at Baybrook 5-10 years ago is more like that style.

I go to WeWork in the Galleria sometimes and walking around at 3PM on a weekday is fine. Weekend traffic might scare the Cypress folks.

I think it's more 'out of sight out of mind' but you do have to go through a couple lights after exiting coming from any direction.

From 290, exit Mangum/Dacoma and take a right on 18th

From the East or West on 10 or southwest on 59 take 610 N and the first exit is 18th, take a left.

So which is next up on this list?

My vote is Katy Mills

Grew up going to willowbrook in the 90's and it always had the big 4th of July fireworks show in the parking lots.

Started getting ghetto in the early 2000's once the woodlands mall opened up and other factors (bus line)

Went back a few years ago after visiting a client nearby, depressing. Amazed it can stay open.

Diggity said:

---

Brothers was the *****

---

Still is. And for those on the Upper East Side, the Brothers family is family with Italianos.

They razed the mall in Baytown. I don't even recall the name.

And Almeda is next to go.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

---

They razed the mall in Baytown. I don't even recall the name.

And Almeda is next to go.

---

Baybrook San Jacinto Mall is gone?! I got banned from there for 30 days in the early 90s, always liked Deerbrook more anyways.

Ag_07 said:

---

So which is next up on this list?

My vote is Katy Mills

---

Katy Mills is owned by Simon, who usually doesn't hold onto completely crap assets.

I would imagine they would first sell to a lessor operator, who would then bleed the asset dry and let it eventually shutter.

I haven't been out there in forever but I think the standalone stores do pretty well, but the main store has always had a challenge getting a large number of good national tenants.

It was always a goofy premise. I think the "Mills" concept was supposed to be like an outlet mall but not really.

Ag_07 said:

---

So which is next up on this list?

My vote is Katy Mills

---

Its already kind of a mess and has never been great IMO. Don't really consider it a traditional mall as it has never as far as I can remember had a set of real, anchor department store tenants as that is what I think of for a traditional mall. Bass Pro has stood the test of the time but beyond that is a mix of outlet stores, quasi-outlet stores and crappy restaurants like Rainforest Cafe. If you do find yourself there, grab a bite at Ferso's near the AMC theater as that is solid traditional Mexican food.

Edit: At one time in mid 2000's Simon had The Grand mall planned for the NE corner of the Katy Freeway and 99 where Katy Asian Town now sits.

Coog97 said:

---

drumboy said:

---

Seems like there are only a few traditional malls around here still doing well, Baybrook, Galleria, Memorial City, maybe Katy Mills & Woodlands.

The outdoor malls like CityCenter, La Centerra, Pearland Town Square seem to be doing much better and the expansion at Baybrook 5-10 years ago is more like that style.

I go to WeWork in the Galleria sometimes and walking around at 3PM on a weekday is fine. Weekend traffic might scare the Cypress folks.

---

Full circle... CityCenter built on the old Town & Country Mall location (which was an awesome mall for a short time,) which had been built on the property previously occupied by Town & Country Village, one of the early open air mall concepts.

My family made a lot of Saturday trips to West Oaks over the years... I loved that place.

---

Is that accurate though? I think (most of) T&C Village still exists right? They built the mall on the north end with Dillard's as one of the anchors. That all got torn down when the mall closed (mainly due to the Beltway construction IIRC) then Midway bought the land and developed City Centre

Milwaukees Best Light said:

---

They razed the mall in Baytown. I don't even recall the name.

And Almeda is next to go.

---

San Jacinto Mall? The most depressing mall Ive ever been to. I miss that place lol.