Foothills Mall (Tucson, Oro Valley, Marana: movie theater, closing, restaurants)

[azmemories]

Hello All, I am starting this thread to discuss the Foothills Mall. I have been active in another forum that talks about the way Tucson used to be.

I left Tucson in the mid-90s and was always surprised that the Foothills Mall could remain open. Every time I visited, it seemed there were more workers than shoppers. I am not talking about walking in just before closing either. I could visit on a Saturday afternoon and feel as though I had the place to myself.

For this reason, I am surprised that the mall on Ina and La Cholla is still open. Granted, there are many more people in that area than there were twenty years ago. The Foothills Mall must get some more shoppers. There were a couple of things I remember about it, one was that Goldwater's was anchored there for a while, a store that only sold old copies of Life Magazine, and a movie theatre.

For current residents, what has been your experiences with the mall as far as convenience of shopping. The shopping center was one of the things I had wondered about regarding the future of Tucson. I suppose if you closed the mall, what can it feasibly be replaced with? Maybe that is why it is still open?

[azmemories]

Come to think of it, let's expand this to the northwest side of Tucson. There would only be so much to talk about for one specific mall.

If there are any significant changes you would like to discuss over the past 20 or 30 years, this could be a thread for that subject. Prior to leaving, Marana actually annexed their city limits to the area around Thornydale from about Ina to Orange Grove.

[swbrotha100]

Foothills Mall is still in unincorporated Pima County. I'm pretty sure Marana or Oro Valley would love to annex the area someday. I bet it has survived because it's in a desireable area of the Tucson area. I would say it's far enough away from Tucson Mall that both can coexist for now.

[jksn75]

The mall always seems pretty busy to me. It has a couple of decent restaurants, Barnes & Noble, movie theater etc...

[azmemories]

I guess the increased population has helped the mall. As swbrotha said, it is far enough away from the Tucson Mall for both places to get enough revenue.

Then again, what sort of mall shopping options do eastsiders have? When I was there, the El Con Mall used to do a good amount of business. That has probably expanded in the last twenty years. Maybe Tucson and Foothills are getting shoppers from all over Tucson as well as Marana and Oro Valley, especially the Foothills for the latter two municipalities.

The huge supermarket on the northwest corner of Ina and Shannon always seemed to be busy. I think it was either Smith's or Fry's back then.

Thanks for the input so far!

[azmemories]

Originally Posted by azmemories

I guess the increased population has helped the mall. As swbrotha said, it is far enough away from the Tucson Mall for both places to get enough revenue.

Then again, what sort of mall shopping options do eastsiders have? When I was there, the El Con Mall used to do a good amount of business. That has probably expanded in the last twenty years. Maybe Tucson and Foothills are getting shoppers from all over Tucson as well as Marana and Oro Valley, especially the Foothills for the latter two municipalities.

The huge supermarket on the northwest corner of Ina and Shannon always seemed to be busy. I think it was either Smith's or Fry's back then.

Thanks for the input so far!

Does this website not allow edits to posts anymore? Yes, it is the PARK MALL on the east side, not EL CON MALL.

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by azmemories

Does this website not allow edits to posts anymore? Yes, it is the PARK MALL on the east side, not EL CON MALL.

You can edit up to 90 minutes after your post, after that you need to have a mod make the edit for you.

[swbrotha100]

Originally Posted by azmemories

I guess the increased population has helped the mall. As swbrotha said, it is far enough away from the Tucson Mall for both places to get enough revenue.

Then again, what sort of mall shopping options do eastsiders have? When I was there, the El Con Mall used to do a good amount of business. That has probably expanded in the last twenty years. Maybe Tucson and Foothills are getting shoppers from all over Tucson as well as Marana and Oro Valley, especially the Foothills for the latter two municipalities.

The huge supermarket on the northwest corner of Ina and Shannon always seemed to be busy. I think it was either Smith's or Fry's back then.

Thanks for the input so far!

Park Place is the mall for eastsiders. El Con has been turned into more of an outlet mall.