I just had to see this store one last time before it closed, so in early December 2024, I came back for one last visit. Remembering that only the down escalator worked, I decided to be smart and start on the upper level. Well, that didn't quite work out, as the upstairs entrance was all shut down on this visit!
I wonder if they actually took the signage off this Sears after it closed. Closed Sears generally shed their signage pretty quickly, but the Mall of the America former Sears still has the signage up even several years after it closed! It is the same newer logo signage like this store had. Supposedly the reason why the Mall of America Sears still has their signage up is because the mall and Sears are in a legal fight, which has been taken up by the Supreme Court, over whether Sears can sublet the anchor space and so the space can't be modified until the legal case is settled.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is that Sears is the most prominent thing on the exterior of the mall from the corner we parked at, which is a popular corner due to it being near the main highway and the airport.
I was somewhat surprised to see that the signage all disappeared quite quickly! Lots of closed stores around here (even from non-zombie brands) keep their signs up for quite some time, but this was not one of them. It doesn't appear that there's any drama with this store; it's owned by Westfield, and while permanent tenants haven't been forthcoming, they wasted no time letting Spirit Halloween set up shop last year when their typical space was taken up by the Toys R Us pop-up!
DeleteSears is also the most prominent space at Southcenter for people passing by on I-5, which might be why they moved so quickly on taking the signs down. Hopefully it won't end up sitting vacant for as long as the Mall of America one has!