Being a child of the 90's/early 00's in Australia, I grew up at the mall. This was the place to go to do everything from hanging out to eating, shopping, watching movies and even grocery shopping. I realized what I loved in life and what I wanted to do in life by going to the mall. Some people may look at an indoor mall as a soul-sucking claustrophobic experience that can be a nightmare to park, but I saw it as a world of possibilities and my connection to the world at large. We grew up without social media, so our connection to the world was through TV and movies and magazines, and the mall brought all this to life. Now we are spoiled for choice and ease and can order anything at the click of a finger and have it at our doorstep within the hour. But there is something more analogue about perusing a mall and its stores that is somewhat nostalgic.

Going to the mall over the weekend at Glendale Galleria, it really felt like we could’ve been back in those early 00's. Especially with brands like Abercombie being hot again. Sitting in a packed food court deciding what to eat from a litany of choices was like Grubhub brought to life. As the world goes more and more digital, there is something special about the mall that I think for me the mall is not dead but has the potential to thrive. As we expand our retail footprint starting with our foray into our first mall in Beverly Center, we are now embarking on yet another milestone moment, albeit a pop-up for now, at the famed Glendale Galleria. A reddish-brown brick monolith that is a cue to yesteryear, where the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger had to track down John Connor in Terminator 2, no less. We are excited by the prospect of being in the mall. And the way I see it, the mall has a future place in my heart and my weekends!