I've said it for years, but take a page out of The Porter Square Mall in Cambridge. Chock full of Asian restaurants (Pho, Sushi, Ramen). Put in a gym as well as a Henry's type market. That combined w/ Cinema Salem and Polonus...i'd be there weekly. Run free shuttle to/from Salem State.

Could not agree more. Milk & Honey is a fantastic addition to downtown with organic and locally sourced food options. I encourage anyone who hasn't been to give it a try. And while you're it, step into Salem Wine Imports next door. Steve's and Crosby's are fine for staples but surely do not inspire one to eat healthy or creatively. It's time for a real market.

How about running the Winter Farmer's Market there?

Thank you William for the historical perspective and the insights. Look at the photo. What a drab dingy depressing dull dark gray monolith. So uninviting. I hope this is what the artist will be sprucing up with a mural.

Bill - i worked in the Planning Dept 15 years ago. We tried to lure bread n' circus to the east india mall, but the demographocs werent right. Times have changed, more people downtown, museum investment, more monied tourists. Maybe....

I'd love to see a Shubie's style place in the mall. Church St, with Milk&Honey, Salem Wine Imports, and another upscale market could become culinary central in Salem.

I think that a tiny little mall like this one will always have problems. Filling it with tourist season kitsch makes those problems even tougher.

I completely agree with this article. The mall is definitely the "white elephant" in the room. It screams poor management with NO imagination. The simple addition of something like awnings over the store windows, but inside the mall, could make a huge difference. Imagine awnings in a combination of colorful, fun printed fabrics!

A grocery store is a great idea, but who wants to pay to park to go grocery shopping? If you set up for a foot traffic only grocery store then it won't last. A grocery store where you could do a week's worth of shopping is just what we need, but I don't think that the mall is an appropriate place for it. The mall needs help. When I have visitors come in October they always ask me what the mall is the rest of the year. It's a little embarrassing to say it's almost exactly the same minus a few skeletons and pumpkins. To the businesses that have survived there for years, congratulations! I don't know how they do it. Maybe the rent is really cheap?

Arcade. It would be great with the movie theatre right there.

Tear it down and start over - it is a relic from the past. The area could be redeveloped into an open air shopping venue with a wide variety of shops and services in an inviting environment. The current venue is depressing and reminds me of a prison or some other government building.

We've been pleading and pleading for a market like Trader Joe's or ok, like Henry's would be fine too-- for years. We talked to everyone who is supposed to listen to such ideas, to no avail. We do love those like Milk and Honey who have come into town, but most of us can't afford to shop there for "everyday" groceries. Not their fault, just the way it is.

A real grocery store really is a no brainer, but I guess there are no brains behind that idea. Geesh.

No wonder tourists think there are no residents here, just props in a Disneylandish WitchWorld,

A grocery/butcher/fish market would be an excellent idea, especially if they validated garage parking.

We were just discussing this at the ward 2 facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/salemward2

The biggest issue is, of course, parking. The Mall almost needs an anchor store that revolves around shopping for small items or 'going out' (like a restaurant or a nightclub)

Does anyone have a list of the current tenants of the mall?

Trader Joes would be a disaster. Trust me...the one in Portland is a total mess when it comes to parking. I wouldn't tear it down....we have plenty of outdoor space in Salem that is underutilized and painstakingly difficult to throw events at. I say keep the mall, but have specialty shops run by individuals ala butcher, fishmonger, formaggerie, as well as food stands like Pho, etc. Similar to indoor markets you see in other great cities.

Zach, you're right on.

For comparison, think of the Shaw's near MIT in Cambridge - they have no street parking, and you get 2h parking free validation with I think $20 or $25 purchase in groceries. They use mostly the compact shopping carts - the ones with short noses, with up and down baskets. It works quite well there, and is a pretty common solution for centrally located markets, admittedly mostly in cities twice our size... But it could be better than what's there! Problem is, it's a free country. ;) We really don't get to tell mall management what to do, although there are ways to put pressure behind suggestions.

If there is enough available square feet, what just might work there, is Trader Joe's. They did a great business when they were in Swampscott, but when their Saugus store opened, they closed the Swampscott location.

Advocated a Trader Joe's for that space with Rinus at the Chamber of Commerce (along with other ideas which have since proven to be good suggestions)...consistently waved off as if I was talking about nonsense. I have long since given up making any suggestions for projects we can start to serve the residents of Salem well. It's nice Bill that you say these things but I can't help but just shrug...the indifference to suggestions like attracting a Trader Joe's type of food store to the city was too aggravating in the long run. Eventually, you just quietly support the local merchants you like or who seem decent to you, and leave the city to do the everyday things.