Thoughts about Miller Hill Mall (Duluth, Crystal: home, construction, floor)

[nateduluthnative]

I am wondering about Applebees. In the Twin Cities they are moving out of malls and
building their own free-standing locations. Any rumors of that happening in Duluth?

[duluthian2008]

I do know what you mean nateduluthnative. Applebees will not move out of the mall for a few years. I do think they would like their own freestanding space but they did just remodel their interior and exterior of their store this last month. I think they do very well in the Miller Hill Mall and that they do not plan to move out yet. I could see in a few years though, or even them possibly opening a second location in downtown Duluth. I thought it would have been great if Applebees went and built their own restaurant across from Home Depot, I mean Superior does have their own freestanding Applebees along with Cloquet, so its about time we do too. Another Restaurant thought I have about that mall is I would like to see Romanos Macaroni Grill take the place of The Great American Bar and Grill. Its space is perfect for Romanos and they can do a large amount of reconstructive work to the facade to make it how Romanos prefers. Romanos prefers wide fronts of malls, so this space is perfect. If anyone finds out any news about the mall and restaurants let us know.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by duluthian2008

What are you thoughts about Miller Hill Mall? What stores need to be added and what ones need to be removed? What needs to happen to the interior, exterior, etc, to make this mall even more successful?

I don't like Miller Hill Mall, except for Barnes and Noble. The one-story design is really obnoxious and labyrinthine.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by duluthian2008

I do know what you mean nateduluthnative. Applebees will not move out of the mall for a few years. I do think they would like their own freestanding space but they did just remodel their interior and exterior of their store this last month. I think they do very well in the Miller Hill Mall and that they do not plan to move out yet. I could see in a few years though, or even them possibly opening a second location in downtown Duluth. I thought it would have been great if Applebees went and built their own restaurant across from Home Depot, I mean Superior does have their own freestanding Applebees along with Cloquet, so its about time we do too. Another Restaurant thought I have about that mall is I would like to see Romanos Macaroni Grill take the place of The Great American Bar and Grill. Its space is perfect for Romanos and they can do a large amount of reconstructive work to the facade to make it how Romanos prefers. Romanos prefers wide fronts of malls, so this space is perfect. If anyone finds out any news about the mall and restaurants let us know.

What's with you and chain restaurants? Wouldn't you rather have a good local, family-run establishment start up? Do you want to the entire country look the same?

Personally, I think Duluth needs:

* An upscale French restaurant. If there's one "mainstream" cuisine that's missing from Duluth, it's French food. This would be a great option alongside the current upscale choices Duluth has (Pickwick, Bellisio's, Nokomis, North Shore Cafe), and if located well could get a lot of business from both tourists and locals, as long as they have a good, experienced chef.

* Another place to get sushi. Zen House isn't bad, but in my experience they're kind of inconsistent - sometimes great, sometimes blah. Or maybe it's just what I order. But a city of 85,000 with a large student population should be able to support at least one other sushi bar.

* An Ethiopian restaurant. Sioux Falls has one, why can't Duluth?

* A tapas bar or Spanish restaurant. Again, with a large student population this might just work out.

* Some place that serves dim sum. This doesn't require a new restaurant, I'm sure an existing Chinese restaurant could do this.

* More bakeries. There do not seem to be too many places to get fresh and artesianal bread in Duluth. It'd be nice to have a few more of these. They smell really good too.

[duluthian2008]

Tvdexer,
I do agree that one story design of the mall is annoying and should have been built with two stories. Its not that I dont like local restaurants, its just I do like the chain restaurants that the cities have. If you show me a good, nice local restaurant I would very much appreciate it. We do need what you said, every type of ethnic food you described Duluth needs.

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

What's with you and chain restaurants? Wouldn't you rather have a good local, family-run establishment start up? Do you want to the entire country look the same?

I think we've gone over this before . For me at least, this interest of mine doesn't just apply to chain restaurants, but rather any major company that franchises or has remote offices. To me, a company's new found interest in the area shows that the company sees value in locating here. They're many reasons that Duluth has fewer major chains, strip malls etc than similarly sizes cities (Fargo, Rochester). I'm hoping that this recent new found interest means those reasons are starting the diminish. I love this city to death and want to see it flourish.

[duluthian2008]

aluminumpork I completely agree with you. Chain retailers locating in a city as great as Duluth signals number one, growth, and two our economy is doing well. Aluminumpork do you have any news with the mall yet?

[duluthian2008]

Does anyone know of abercrombie or Apple possibly locating stores at Miller Hill Mall?

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by duluthian2008

Does anyone know of abercrombie or Apple possibly locating stores at Miller Hill Mall?

Isn't Abercrombie already in the mall?

As far as Apple, I would highly doubt it. Even though the area has a large student population, if you look at Apple's store building history, Duluth just doesn't seem to fit in. But if we did get one, I could see it doing VERY well. This is definitely a Mac town

Although we do have Best Buy (selling Apple again) and the UMD Apple store. So we're not completely deprived ;-)

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by aluminumpork

Isn't Abercrombie already in the mall?

As far as Apple, I would highly doubt it. Even though the area has a large student population, if you look at Apple's store building history, Duluth just doesn't seem to fit in. But if we did get one, I could see it doing VERY well. This is definitely a Mac town

Although we do have Best Buy (selling Apple again) and the UMD Apple store. So we're not completely deprived ;-)

Abercrombie has been in the mall since roughly 2002. I know because my sister shops there all the time

Apple Store? I don't think so. But remember the Gateway store? I think they were in the same building Verizon is today (right by where Maple Grove goes into 53).