Laurie's Hallmark to close at Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer

Laurie’s Hallmark is leaving the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer in January, citing a decrease in foot traffic exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Co-owner Hemanth Kapoor said the greeting card, home decor and gift store is closing because several other businesses in that section of the mall have left, and the number of customers has decreased by about 70% since the store first opened at the mall in 2005.

“There were a lot of factors that were involved,” Kapoor said. “The other tenants in our wing are all closed. The Shoe Dept. closed on Nov. 30. Victoria’s Secret closed over the summer. And, of course, JCPenney’s closed in September, which killed all the traffic that was going to the mall.”

The struggling Mills mall has seen an exodus of businesses in recent years.

Earlier this year, mall anchor tenants Cinemark and JCPenney announced they would be vacating the mall, which is owned by Long Island, N.Y.-based Mason Asset Management.

Bradley’s Book Outlet, a discount book retailer, is closing all eight of its brick-and-mortar stores, including the one in the Mills mall, at the end of the year.

Dance studio, Twirl Time, which previously filled two storefronts at the Mills mall, relocated to Tarentum this year.

Last year, the Mills mall lost Philip Pelusi, an upscale Pittsburgh-based hair salon; and Petland, a pet store.

Officials with Mason Asset Management said they are disappointed by the closures, but are continuing to “aggressively pursue new leasing opportunities.”

“We’re actually in the process of backfilling the Cinemark Theatre, and we’re in conversation with some potential retailers that have expressed interest in the former JCPenney and Sears spaces,” Mason officials said in a statement. “We are remaining optimistic and look forward to the opportunity to continue identifying new and different tenants for Pittsburgh Mills.”

Mason officials declined to say how many stores are currently in the Mills mall, but the empty storefronts far outnumber businesses that continue to operate.

Representatives from Victoria’s Secret and The Shoe Dept. could not be reached for comment. Employees working at the The Shoe Dept. at the Mills mall earlier this week declined to comment.

Kapoor doesn’t know what is next for the Mills mall. He anticipates the owners will try to turn it into a mixed-use center. He said he can’t see it lasting as a mall.

“Even though that wasn’t the strongest mall when it opened, it had potential,” Kapoor said. “With 1 million square feet, they could have put a lot of good places in there. But for whatever reason they struggled to fill the spaces.”

Igal Nassim, director of Mason Asset Management, said officials are open to working with companies that aren’t retail or traditionally found in a mall.

The ScareHouse haunted attraction and Turf Attack, an indoor Nerf gun arena, opened at the Mills mall this year.

The Polimadei family, owners of Turf Attack, said the future of malls may be to open more entertainment-type venues.

“I think that’s the goal, to get people in here for activities and then they might shop,” Mike Polimadei said.

Kapoor and Marty Feuer own nine other Laurie’s Hallmark stores across Western Pennsylvania. None of those will close.

Kapoor said the stores located in strip malls have actually fared quite well during the pandemic because they’re stand alone stores people can park by and walk to. That’s unlike malls, which are enclosed spaces with lots of stores where large crowds of people tend to gather, he said.

Kapoor said if foot traffic increases at the Mills mall, they may consider going back.

“It’s not all gloom and doom,” Kapoor said. “Hopefully next year will be better than 2020.”