Volusia Mall (Daytona Beach, FL) : Florida Dead Mall Series
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- Опубликовано: 2 сен 2023
- Opened in the '70s, and once home to the most incredible mall fountain I've ever seen, Volusia Mall is at risk of becoming just another dead mall. Why? Competition from the likes of One Daytona is part of it.
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I visited the mall around Spring Break - woohoo! - to see what Volusia Mall had to offer and it offered plenty of surprises, from clones of the same store and long abandoned anchors to seriously off the wall tenants that have been there for decades.
Check out the video to take a stroll around this super-regional mall with me!
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I had a store in the Volusia Mall for 15 years My rent went from $2,200 to 6500 that drove me into bankruptcy after they did that the space said empty for 10 years so I jumped for joy when they filed bankruptcy it's about time that these legalized extortion people got what they have comming to them
That sucks, they should have kept a longtime Tennant at a sustainable rent. What store did you own?
In the early 80s my grandparents would take me to the Volusia mall. I remember the fountain, it used to have ramps and plants with colorful underwater lights bubbling up in geisers. Such a sight to behold, very enchanting, NTM that new mall smell!
It’s always a mistake when malls remove their fountains. Attracting shoppers and customers is as much a psychological thing as anything else and the beautiful fountains leave a positive imprint in people’s minds and subconsciously encourages them to return.
I agree. It’s a shame the people who own these building are just that cheap that they don’t want to pay for maintenance. Greed ruins many things.
Maintaining a fountain is particularly onerous
Lol, fountains aren't stopping the internet. The true destructor of malls. Lol...fountains.
@@barryfinkle1755 My internet has fountains.
Grew up in Daytona. The fountain was there for a long time before the 1997 renovation. Favorite spot to have a break when I went since there was a tiered seating area on one side. I'd been given a few coins to toss intoo. Seeing H&M taking up so much space was wild. Nice to see Dunderbaks still doing well. But dang I have never seen occupancy that low even in tough times. Figured only having one mall in the area wild keep things going.
Live/work in the area. If I need to get something I go to the Tanger outlets or One Daytona. I did buy a guitar at Guitar Center at One Daytona. Last time I was at the Volusia Mall was for family portraits and only because a family member was able to get us a discount. Everyone here is surprised it still exists. 🤷♂️
Well, I guess I better take back my Stratocaster remark then 😂 I honestly can’t believe they haven’t thrown up some hotels etc. around the mall to secure footfall given its proximity to the track…
This is my mall. I’ve been going since I was a kid in the 90s. So sad to see it go down and not be the mall it was once.
Boohoo numbskull biscuit.
This was my mall in the 70's.
After I became an adult with a car we drove to Orlando to do malls like the Altamonte mall or the Florida mall.
The Volusia mall was special when we didn't know there were bigger ones out there.
This is so sad, this was my childhood mall, I remember going there and that place was packed
Same, spent time with my grandparents there between 2010-2012.
@@macart5429 fr
As it is now, it's so sad. I miss it. I absolutely loathe all the outlet malls! I only go to them when I have no other choice. Used to go to the Volusia Mall, and some of the malls in Orlando, just to window shop, people watch, or eat at the food court. I've been in the area since 1966 and have so many memories!
I lived in Daytona for decades and went to Volusia mall hundreds of times. It has been nearly 10 years since I have been there, and I recognized nothing in the video. Except JC Penney and Dr Dunderbak. Maybe someday I will stop and walk through one more time.
Curious what would make you leave Daytona and do you prefer where you are now or consider moving back?
@@realruggeddiy I left because of jobs I was working. I would not move back to Daytona, but I would go to either Ormond Beach or Port Orange. They are much cleaner and safer.
@@frankcates3322 understandable and I agree. My wife and I lived adjacent to Embry Riddle for a few years while was at school in Port Orange.
I've been in that mall many times. I lived in Orange County FL since 2000. Mainly Orlando. I'm not a big 🇩🇪 Dunderbak fan. Theos Willow Tree in Sanford FL is better. I haven't been to this mall since May 2023.
@frankcates3322 In my view Melbourne FL is growing, nice if you like smaller 🏖 community life. Daytona Beach FL is not safe. RJ Larizza the SAO, SAO 7 is a 2 face jerk. The PD is full of inept morons. Chief Jakari Young. The county Sheriff, Mike Chitwood is decent. He was PD chief for years.
Lived in Daytona in the 90s.
Mom would take us to get ice cream on Fridays. The place was crowded then. That was close to Kmart and the 2 story McDonald's with a racing simulator inside. It was still there over the years when I'd visit. Palm Terrace was almost around the corner from it. 😊
Ice cream on a Friday as a kid, we were living the dream and didn’t even know it 😅
This used to be me and my grandma's favorite place to go when I was a kid and we'd always eat at the Piccadilly. Its a shame all the fun stores I grew up with there are closed down, replaced with boring clothing stores..
Piccadilly was the goat🙌
Good vid! Always great mix of history and commentary!
Thanks dude, I really appreciate it!
I grew up just south in Port Orange, and as a relatively poor family window shopping at the mall was a great time.
As a kid born in 1980 the Arcades were also a great time. The removal of the arcade was perhaps the first huge down step to my childhood self for the mall. The removal of the fountain and the condensing of all the food options into the fast food style food court were also downgrades in my opinion.
I think the death of Sears, Covid and facing the constant challenge from online shopping has been a bit too much for the mall to handle and I was shocked the last time I went there during December 2023.
There were two stores left open in the food court and my long standing favorite Italian pizza place from the 80's, was gone; Sorrentos I think... I still had an OK time visiting Spencer's, Hot Topic, FYE, Game Stop, and Books A Million, but the mall was mostly a hollow shell at that point. It reminded me of the Outlet Mall in South Daytona.
As a kid, my mom had said before Volusia Mall opened that that mall was full and busy but I've only ever known it as a shell with 1 or 2 businesses. Now future generations will look at Volusia Mall like that.
Unfortunately, in today's online world I can't think of a good reason for malls to exist anymore as fun as they were back in the day.
Also, open air malls in Florida are a joke. Might as well build it on the moon. I look at that as a way for the mall companies to be cheap and not have to build and air condition such a big space. Most months I don't even want to walk to the end of the drive for mail until sundown, I'm sure not walking around their sweltering outlet.
My family would go to Daytona every summer for vacation, and I always remember seeing the mall.
I remember around 95-96 there being a pretty solid arcade in there towards the back. I spent quite a few quarters on Mortal Kombat 2 and Killer Instinct. Ok basically my entire allowance but there was always next week.
I live in Daytona currently for the last couple of years, I had no idea that simulation center was at the mall and would happily have gone to check it out. Sadly, it appears to have closed permanently.
1:43 - Used to be a Suncoast store (where you'd buy movies and related items like posters and figures and stuff (I remember buying DVDs of Outlaw Star here for $50).
4:23 - On the right hand side, this was a smoothie/frozen yogurt place named Bressler's. I stopped there many times for a smoothie, and it was operating as late as 2019 (with the same guy who I saw running it in the late 90s). Sadly, it apparently didn't make it out of the Pandemic intact.
Still mildly shocked Dunderbak's is still around. Ate there a few times. Inside was kinda smelly (which is why carpet flooring inside of a restaurant is always a bad idea). Last time I was around, some notes were posted by the entrance - some passive-aggressive kvetching about "people don't wanna work anymore" or something to that affect. Saw an old interview with the then-owner and, yeah, he seems like that type. They're under new ownership now; maybe they'll finally do something about that carpet stank.
This mall was a home away from home I only went one time it was real 👍 nice😂
Since you filmed this they have lost 6-8 more stores in the mall and at One Daytona a couple more stores closed. The Mall struggles with 5 finger discounts everyday and that is a death wish.
Next time in FL try Regency Square in Jacksonville.
Thanks Gail, definitely on my list!
I live 5 minutes from there. There are 10 stores left, that are rarely open and they don't adhere to posted hours, leaving early / opening late. 70% of the mall is completely closed off, and the open 30% is an obstacle course of rain barrels. One long rainstorm, and the mall will be a river. The roof is so damaged, its amazing fire inspectors would pass it. I don't think the mall has the money to pay them off either, or would care to. The food court is down to 1 tenant Tokyo Sakura. Totally different from when I moved here in 92, when it was one of the biggest dollars per square foot malls in the country
I worked in Daytona from 2013-2015 and would frequently come here on my lunch breaks and after work. Even 10 years ago it was still full with stores and fairly great to shop at. I've come back to Daytona a couple times since then but have not come back to Volusia Mall. I'm not surprised to see it in the state it is now especially now that Tanger and One Daytona are open. The mall where I live now is very similar; it was awesome 10 years ago but is now a shell of its former self.
I'm curious how a mall attached to an apartment complex will function. Will they bring in more practical stores, such as grocery stores? Will it start to feel like a giant public lounge?
My guess is that they’ll seal off the Macy’s entrance and build on what used to be that land. Plans say it will be gated, but I guess they may add grocery stores within that complex? Otherwise residents will be in for a drive to get all that stuff…
@@DeadMallWalking Northpoint Mall in Alpharetta, GA discussed the same concept. I don't know if they moved forward on the changes. A once great mall which is in decline thanks to Avalon.
I live in Flagler Beach about 25 min away, have not been there in over 3 years.
this had one of the last Piccadilly restaurants in the area - I used to eat at the one at Fashion Square in Orlando ALL THE TIME as a kid (my parents are from Louisiana so it was one of their favorites) and I miss it so much. they still have them in New Orleans and Baton Rouge so i usually hit one up when I go up there and visit family and friends 😊
also, does anyone remember that German restaurant??
Damn, I’ve never even heard of Piccadilly restaurants! Will keep my eyes open for one in the future…
@@DeadMallWalking they're SO good! if you're ever in Louisiana you'll find them 😊 make sure to try the carrot souffle - it doesn't sound appealing but it's delicious!
@@weston407 Wunderbar.
@@GeneCash thanks!
I’ve lived in Daytona and have gone here on a regular basis my whole twenty years of life. The Volusia Mall is such a strange case to me. On one hand, I think the mall is great at staying afloat in the dead mall arena. People like me, who go for places like Hot Topic, FYE, Hudson’s games, and Books A Million are what Volusia needs and thrives on. Hot Topic alone is usually packed here! However, I know that the mall is but a shell of its former glory years. 2018 was the beginning of the *potential* end when Sears closed and competition with both Tanger and OneDaytona grew popular. Tbh I don’t think OneDaytona was the right call and could potentially fail entirely, while Tanger is booming and will continue to steal Volusia Mall’s business. But I still go for the few unique things and charming stores it has, and I wish it the best of luck as it continues to hold out and lightly grow! :)
One daytona is more of a nighttime hangout.
That makes sense - I wasn't expecting it to be crazy busy without a race on, haha!
One Daytona is nice but I’ve taken dates there on Friday night and it was empty. Costco just opened next to it
The split up Dillards is definitely the strangest thing I've ever heard of in a mall, I feel they'd lose business vs gain more doing that?
I’ve Men’s and Women’s split, but never three different ways. I can only guess they got an absolute steal on the leases to help the mall appear more lively…?
@@DeadMallWalking Dillard's has been splt up like that for DECADES. I think it used to be called something else then the name changed. The food court used to be badas, but now it looks like 💩. Endess memories from the 80s on up to today. Some of my favorite stores were Sears, Spencer's, Babbages/Electronics Boutique/Game Stop, Waldenbooks and Radio Shack of course. Sad to see it struggling.
Went there 1 time about a year ago. Store owner (claire's) randomly accused us of shoplifting, security kicked part of my group out until they were able to confirm that yeah, we didn't shoplift from Claires. Will not be returning again.
The fountain couldn't have closed in 97.... I was born in 2000 and definitely have memories of it. I would guess it closed around 2007
I remember going there as kid in the 80s, being from a larger metro area I thought the mall was small. However, the toy store had things I did not find back home. Volusia mall has always been unique.
Dunderbak's has their followers, I hope the new owners keep everything running smoothly. I've never been but as someone who has vacationed there for many years, I want to enjoy another long time establishment before it is gone.
As a general note as a southerner. I miss malls over outlets and outdoor mixed use developments. I like the AC but the malls are not stocked well. Developers then spin it as shoppers prefer the open air mall. If I want a wider selection, I usually have to go to the newer development.
I got an extremely dead mall in a rather dead town if you're interested. It's in Palatka Florida.
I feel like Mr. Dunderbak's could be worth its own video. That looks like such a cool place. The only reason I ever venture into my local mall that's going down hill is to look for Christmas gifts at the department stores, or look for cheap movies at FYE. The movie theater and food court stink, and there's nothing else there that interest me. I'd visit more often if it had a cool little bar with character.
Yes! I came across a news feature on Mr D’s but didn’t really have time to delve into it much. I should do a rundown of the craziest places I’ve found in malls over the years some time…
COME TO TALLAHASSEE MALL!
Next time I’m in Florida it’ll be on my list 😌
I love this mall been going since 1976, why they don’t get an ikea in that sears space and revitalize the mall concerns me deeply, since covid took its toll the mall has just been declining
Surprised you didn’t do the seminole mall. It’s about 30 mins from this one and it’s so dead that i think only two stores are open in the whole store and only one food place
I really wanted to, but I just ran out of time! Also, if I'm remembering rightly, it's already been covered by a few creators while this one hadn't...
@@DeadMallWalking Ah true! Great video though!! 👌🏼
worked in this mall as a teen
I think the stores are suffering because of online shopping. Prices are much better.
Maybe not dead but depressing as hell.
Where's your intro?
Thought I'd mix it up for this Spring Break special, haha. It will be back in the future, don't worry!
Malls will all die out soon. Why would I waste time walking around shopping when Amazon presents a world of unlimited choice at my feet? Movies at the mall also suck with limited choice. There is so much more choice in entertainment on line, and it is imersive if you want, very inexpensive. etc. I like the idea of the pub in the mall but I have to wonder who would want all the hassle that goes with distant parking and the "crummy" feel of a zombie mall.
florida is the king of dead malls - mass exodus, so much crime
If anyone can challenge Ohio for that crown, it might just be Florida…
I heard that Chicago is the in place to shop, along with Seattle.
There next to no crime at the volusia mall.. this isn’t New York… we lock up criminals
I went to this mall frequently in late 90s when i was a student at ERAU. I bought anime at the Suncost.
There was also a dollar theater beind the mall and i watched Emperor New Groove with my roomate
No mention of the homeless people living in the bushes?
Didn’t see ‘em! Maybe not there when I visited 🤷🏼♂️
Bezos killed Malls. Seems sneaker shops still do well though.
Hmm, I’d be concerned about that too though, as the bottom has really fallen out of the sneaker market recently!
What year did the mall finally install parking lot security cameras for customer safety?
Dobre noche.
Ceskoslovenska.