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writingcorey · 6 years

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One mall is hoping a love of history and comics could bring shoppers back again. Let’s hope they are right. Eastfield Mall, in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a small one-floor mall that might have a smart strategy that others would like to mirror especially those that have lost once traditional anchor department store like Sears, J.C. Penney, and Macy’s as those chains shed off unprofitable locations. For the second weekend in a row, Eastfield Mall, which is about 824,000-square-feet in total, recently hosted “The Markets at Eastfield,” which according to banners outside the venue, features “antiques, collectibles, vintage merchandise, artisans, furniture, crafts, jewelry, and clothes.” What was once the bottom floor of a 125,000-square-foot Macy’s Department Store was transformed into a collection of vendors. The tile floor walkways, which used to be between clothing departments in the store remained and vendors setup shop creating what seems like a mall within a mall. While it maintains the store’s outdoor entrances, they encourage folks to use the mall entrance to increase mall traffic.

A waitress at the mall’s 99 Restaurant and Pub, one of only two sit-down restaurants in the mall, said that the first weekend the marketplace was open, April 7-8, 2018, the restaurant was very busy with folks coming from the marketplace. Mass Live also reported that the inaugural weekend of the marketplace was successful with 2,000 people using the Wi-Fi on April 7 and 1,500 using the show’s Wi-Fi on April 8. When me and my girlfriend, Ashley, went to 99 Restaurant on a rainy April 15 at lunch time, there were some people there and the waitress admitted they were still busier than they were before the marketplace opened. In fact, the Eastfield Mall Facebook page advertised the marketplace’s opening. On the “Markets at Eastfield” Facebook page, folks said that the mall’s parking lot was much fuller on April 7-8 than they have seen it in a longtime. We saw the lot was full during our visit on April 15, as well. There certainly were folks walking the mall concourse, between the Cinemark Eastfield 16 movie theater where we entered and 99 Restaurant, but we didn’t see that many with shopping bags in their hands. According to the Markets at Eastfield Facebook page, there were over 100 booths of antiques, vintage, collectibles, crafts, jewelry and more while there were over 60 tables of cards, comics, toys, and video games.

A tribute to the Ghostbusters! Photo by Corey Sipe

What was interesting is that the weekend that we attended the marketplace was combined with a “Cards, Comics, and Collectibles” event hosted by Bulldog Enterprises Craft/Vendor Events. It was the first time the two events were combined in this former department store and, while it was enjoyable, some kinks need to be worked out. Such kinks can be expected whenever something is brand new, however. While the Cards, Comics, and Collectibles event was originally advertised to take place on the second level of the old Macy’s but we found that only a portion of the store on the first floor was used for this event. The event included comic book and comic-related collectible vendors, video games for kids, a panel discussion, and a cosplay contest. I would not call this a “comic con”. Specifically, I enjoyed seeing the The Massachusetts Ghostbusters, even though only one was in attendance, and watching the cosplay contest which featured guest judges. The comic area of the event also featured autographs from Dwight Gooden, X-Pac, and Rob Ninkovich and there was a long line of folks waiting to get their autographs.

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As for the panel discussion portion of the event, there was no microphone for speakers. Attendees had to sit in the first or second row of fold up chairs to hear from the speakers. Usually panel discussions at comic cons are held in separate multi-purpose rooms with speakers at a table with a microphone and speakers located in the audience area. According to the “Markets at Eastfield” Facebook page, cosplay panelists that weekend included Lucky Grim Creative, Lodaim Cosplay, Kitteninstrings Cosplay and BelleChere. Many of those in attendance when we attended were seen at the portion of the store featuring antiques and collectibles vendors, to get autographs from famous sports stars but not the comic vendor portion of the event. Those attending comic-con type events are usually a different crowd than those interested in antiques or flea market sort of vendors. It was ironic that the first floor of the former Macy’s was crowded with vendors and people while one could look near the store’s blocked escalators and see that the second floor was vacant.

Some vendors didn’t quite fit in the category of an antiques dealer or a comic book collector. They included a solar panel dealer, a contemporary clothing seller, a flooring dealer, and a seller of satellite television. It seems like they would be vendors better suited for the Eastern States Exposition, or better known as the Big E, in West Springfield, Mass. A vendor selling popcorn, candy, and soda between an antiques dealer, the comic-con panel discussion stage, and the main outside doors seemed a bit out of place but certainly provided a valuable service especially to those walking into the marketplace from the parking lot.

It was quite odd that the comic con vendors started shutting down around 3 p.m. while the antiques and collectibles portion of the show was open until 5 p.m. When we went out into the mall, we saw nobody in either sports memorabilia store, whose vendors were at the show advertising their respective stores, or a store which featured comic books and related merchandise not far from Sears. In fact, at around 5 p.m., the mall was pretty much deserted even though it was open until 6 p.m. Hopefully, these stores were busier earlier in the day.

Also, hopefully the “Markets at Eastfield” can further improve their shows as time goes on and vendors determine what visitors want and don’t want in a show.

About Eastfield Mall

The Eastfield Mall, like other small malls, has fallen on some hard times. The mall’s leasing plan on the MDC Retails Property Group webpage is quite old listing tenants that have since closed including Radio Shack, Toys R Us, and even a 126,000-square-foot J.C. Penney Outlet Store. I can only remember being in a J.C. Penney Outlet Store many years ago in Manchester, Connecticut at their catalog and distribution center building. The outlet store featured items that had been returned in stores and from their once massive catalog, previous year’s clothing and shoes, and overstock items. According to the Caldor Rainbow website in 2011, a J.C. Penney Outlet store closed after it anchored the mall since 1975. Mass Live reported that the closure was part of corporate restructuring. According to the Oklahomian, all JCP Outlet stores nationwide have since closed. Before that, the anchor was home of a Forbes and Wallace Department Store from 1968 to 1975. The anchor space remains empty much of the year until a portion of it is transformed to a “Spirit of Halloween”. Upon my recent visit, the store was vacant, but many boxes were piled in front of the store’s gate to the mall. As for Macy’s, the store anchored the mall since 2006 and was also a victim of corporate restructuring according to Mass Live. The Macy’s was previously a Filene’s from 1994 to 2006 and a Steiger’s from 1968 to 1994. A 201,000-square-foot Sears is the only remaining traditional department store at the mall since it opened in 1968. While the store was filled with merchandise and had several customers purchasing merchandise, the future of its parent company, Sears Holdings which owns Sears and K-Mart, is in jeopardy as the company continues to fall on hard times.

Most of the smaller stores in the mall were filled except for those in the wing where the former J.C. Penney outlet store used to exist. Other attractions in the mall include a 66,000-square foot Cinemark 16-screen theater, a 27,990-square-foot Old Navy near Sears, a 4,562-square-foot inside Bounce Inflatable Park next to the former J.C. Penney, a 21,472-square-foot Hannoush Jewelers Flagship Store and Design Center, and a six-vendor food court with all local food vendors, you won’t see Subway, Sbarro, or Burger King here.

While a MassLive article in 2017 stated that management of the mall plans to “de-mall” it and make it an outdoor shopping center. It would follow the trend of other shopping centers. However, I am hoping they will reconsider. The mall’s unique neon green ceiling lighting, multi-color fountain with individualized water nozzles, and indoor walking program would all be history if the mall became a strip mall like other enclosed malls have done before it. Their indoor walking program is so popular that they host monthly mall walker club presentation meetings. In fact, the only mall maps on a kiosk in the mall advertise the club and shows that walking 1 time around the inside of the mall including hallways is 5/8 of a mile while walking 8 times around is 5 miles.

Water fountain in Eastfield Mall court Photo by Corey Sipe

A sign on a table near the Eastfield Mall food court stating interesting facts about the mall Photo by Corey Sipe

The Markets at Eastfield is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are in the center of Eastfield Mall. Those looking to rent a space at the marketplace should call 413-459-4663. The Eastfield Mall is open Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The mall is open early for mall walkers Monday through Friday at 7 a.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m. Department store, cinema, and restaurant hours may vary. The mall is located at 1655 Boston Road in Springfield, Mass. and can be reached at 413-543-8000.

Can Antiques and Comics Save Eastfield Mall? One mall is hoping a love of history and comics could bring shoppers back again. Let’s hope they are right.

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