On July 11, 2018, we took a trip to the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, New York just to see what has become of the place that has seen stores like Macy's close, Sears, and now the bon-ton.
As with any Mall, this shopping center used to be filled with shoppers from the moment it opened its doors til closing, but that's not the case anymore.
On this day, you could find a few senior citizens walking the mall for their daily exercise and by 2 p.m. maybe a group of girl's from a local camp. It was clear the store's open were spending more money on all the workers just being there, than any amount they would close with. A store could only hope to break even!
As we walked around checking out all the great sales! We new that couldn't possibly be the reason for a lack of a crowd. However, even it its last days the bon-ton boasted "We're Holding Nothing Back" yet items in the store such as shirts, jackets, footwear were still priced $40-$70 making one wonder how the store made it this long in such a small community.
While Johnson City is the biggest attraction in the area next to Vestal and Binghamton to draw in shoppers, it's still located in an area nestled into the countryside. Try as it may, it's not New York City.
It was roughly around 3 p.m. before one could see anything resembling a crowd of 20 people throughout the whole Mall. One person we spoke to after taking this next photo said...
Even the shoppers are waiting for the news to whole site will be closed! We did reach out to the Oakdale Mall with a few questions, but have yet to receive a respnse.
