TriCounty Mall (Columbus, Cincinnati, Mason: theater, closing, live)

[iceturkee]

Originally Posted by Ohky0815

EEEK. Its going downhill or went downhill. Its been a long time since i went but i checked it out yesterday and there are quite a few empty stores and dim lights...

Ill stick to Kenwood.

i remember when that first opened in the early 60's i believe. it was the first mall i ever went to. i lived in cincinnati from 1952 until 1962.

[blickcd]

I had read through this message thread a while back and yesterday happened to be near Tri County Mall so I thought I would stop in and check it out.


The last time I was there was the early 90's, which might have been the mall's peak, with the second level having been added along with other improvements. At that point I moved east of 275, making Eastgate Mall my usual destination.


As far as the condition of the mall it has held up well, but I was shocked at the vacancies including spaces that would normally be occupied with anchor stores. It was a disturbing flashback to Forest Fair Mall in the early 90's. Hopefully the decline does not continue. I have recently been to Forest Fair, or whatever it is called now, and would hate for Tri County Mall to be reduced to a few occupied stores, random buckets placed to catch roof leaks, and a lone security guard cruising the empty concourses on his Segway...

[PerryMason614]

Malls were great in their time and day, but they are a hassle for most people today, not to mention that most mall stores are a bit pricey.

Malls used to have a more middle-class variety of stores back in the old days. At the mall closest to my house, there was a York Steakhouse, Woolworths, Harvest House Cafeteria, Drug Store, jean store, a furniture store, dry cleaner and an A&P, in addition to all the typical mall stores. Nowadays, malls are only for people who have $80 to blow on a dress shirt.

If all the second-tier malls close up and we only end up with a few top-tier malls, so be it. I prefer shopping at places like Meijer and JCPenney anyway.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by PerryMason614

Kenwood sucks from an architectural and logistical standpoint. It is hard to credibly argue otherwise .

I rarely choose my shopping venues based on architecture, unless I'm buying a house.

What logistical barriers are there, other than the poor design of the entrance/exit on Mongtomery Road? I used to live five minutes away from the mall - no logistical barriers whatsoever.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

I rarely choose my shopping venues based on architecture, unless I'm buying a house.
. . . . .

^^ Best post of the year!

[PerryMason614]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

I rarely choose my shopping venues based on architecture, unless I'm buying a house.

What logistical barriers are there, other than the poor design of the entrance/exit on Mongtomery Road? I used to live five minutes away from the mall - no logistical barriers whatsoever.

Malls are no different than anything else. Given the choice to shop in a new store or an old store, people will usually pick the nice, new store. Why do you think Kroger remodels every five years?

A mall that purports to be the upscale mall in the city should have everything top-notch, including layout and design.

Originally Posted by Wilson513

^^ Best post of the year!

Sorry for you, Rink's and Kash's Big Bargain Barn aren't around anymore.

Video @ 1:02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Qm...=youtu.be&t=62

[Wilson513]

Krogers remodels as a marketing strategy. Customers develop shopping patterns within the store and do not encounter higher margin goods pushed by Krogers. So, they move everything around and shoppers are exposed to new items.

Kroger practically invented this science. You should know that.

[PerryMason614]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

Kroger practically invented this science. You should know that.

If it wasn't for the 1970's Superstores, Kroger would have gone the way of all the other defunct chains. The Superstore was better light years better than most of their competitors.

However, Kroger wasn't the first to do this or were their stores the swankiest. Lots of other chains were upgrading their stores in those days. In fact, if you look at the markets where Kroger floundered, it was usually because the local chain was one of these chains that cared about the look of their stores.

In Columbus, Big Bear traditionally had the number one market share. They were basically the Target of the grocery business and Kroger was just a regular grocery store. But the Wall Street guys got ahold of Big Bear and they squeezed it to death.

I think I've said this before, but when I was a kid, whenever my mother bought Kroger brands, it was like a death sentence. THEY WERE AWFUL. I much preferred the Big Bear Store brands (supplied by Topco, which also supplies the store brands at Meijer, Giant Eagle and Marsh), which were great. Now Kroger's store brands are top notch and they are priced right.

[Wilson513]

Krogers and the other chains would only have disappeared if there were not 100,000,000 moms who have to buy groceries somewhere every week.

As for the store brands, back in the day, the major consumer product manufacturers (read P&G, Kimberley Clark, General Foods, etc.) would not private label for Krogers and so they had to private label their own stuff or use "second tier" products. How much Kroger actually manufactures today I don't know. But, Simple Truth is a really fast growing brand.

[Quickslinger]

Tri County Mall redid their redevelopment plan for the fourth time in four or five years. Things aren't looking good for this mall if their management is this terrible.
Latest plan for Tri-County Mall: Dine-in theater and 'mini major' retail anchors - Insider - Story
Also, where was the former Disney store in Tri County Mall? I didn't know they had one at one point. Was it in the Macy's wing, Sear's wing?