The Maine Mall bustles with shoppers on a late-winter weekend, but on a midweek morning, the scene is quiet.
Done with their daily walk, the silver-haired set fills some of the tables at the food court. Mall workers unobtrusively water plants and sweep debris from the corners, but shoppers are largely absent. This is the time of day, when many people are at their workplaces, that the economic recession’s toll on the retail sector becomes apparent.
"Things have slowed down," said Tom Weston, proprietor of the Tommie Shades kiosk for the past decade.
Since the holidays, the seasonal stores have gone away and storefronts have emptied. Two of the Maine Mall’s anchor locations now stand empty, a half-dozen other store spaces are vacant, and three of 14 food court locations have closed. Many of the kiosks and carts that filled the thoroughfares have disappeared. The restaurant spaces in the mall’s detached buildings are only partially occupied. (Continued on PDF)