Mall Rats No More
The luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue recently announced that its Beachwood, Ohio, location, which had served Cleveland’s fashionistas for nearly fifty years, would close at the end of May. Trying on a coat at Saks in better days I watched this once-vibrant shopping mecca, one of three retail anchors of Beachwood Place mall, decline over the years, amazed at how far it had fallen. I clearly remember the excitement of something new in 1978 when the mall first opened, and my mom buying me a bright green windbreaker that I proudly wore to school. I nostalgically recall going to Black Friday sales with Joe. We both love clothes, and Saks was at once a vibe, a destination, and a source of inspiration. In the '80s and '90s, visiting the mall was a way of life. People shopped, met friends, ate at the food court, and repeated it all the next weekend. The TV show Stranger Things captured the essence of the ’80s mall lifestyle. The mall was a place of liberation for teenagers. Beachw...
