Greenwood Park Mall reopens; many stores inside remain closed
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — When the Greenwood Park Mall opened its doors Monday morning, the parking lot was filled with cars and people were lined up, waiting to get in.
But throughout the day as people have come to shop, they have left empty-handed and disappointed.
The mall opened after implementing some new safety procedures, including cutting down on hours of operation. The mall is now open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
Customers can only use two entrances: the one by Applebee’s and the Life Style entrance near the water fountain.
Additionally, the mall closed the play area, set up sanitation stations, and is providing masks for customers who do not have their own,.
The mall also took measures to encourage social distancing in various areas of the mall that can commonly get crowded, including the food court and the bathrooms. The mall has removed more than half of the seating in the food court and has blocked off certain sinks in the bathroom to increase distance between people.
“We are also encouraging our shoppers to frequently wash their hands and sanitize them when they are shopping,” said Danielle Parker, a representative of Simon Malls. “We are also encouraging our shoppers to wear masks or facial coverings while shopping.”
Nearly as quickly as customers filed into the mall, they came back out, complaining that many of the stores were not open.
One couple said, “We turned around and walked away. A little bit shocked. I thought they’d be prepared to be open.”
A spokesperson with the mall anticipates the number of retailers that choose to open will increase in the coming days.
“The mall is opening. We are encouraging our retailers to open when their business feel safe to do so,” said Parker.
News 8 asked viewers online if they planned on going shopping at stores that were opening. While there were a few that were willing to go out right away, overwhelmingly, people responded that they would continue ordering online or doing curbside pickup, citing “too many unknowns” for them to feel comfortable.
A large percentage of the stores inside the mall were not open Monday and many didn’t indicate when their gates would be lifted.
“This is kind of our starting point, and we are just expecting to hopefully see some friendly faces today,” said Parker.
The Greenwood Park Mall has a list of which stores are open within the mall and the hours of those stores. Simon Malls says that information will be updated daily.