Update July 31, 2022, Since I wrote this post there are new plans for development of North DeKalb Mall which you can read about at Decaturish North DeKalb Mall redevelopment. The plans include retail space, office space, apartments, townhouses and maybe even a hotel.
I’ve been in the area of North DeKalb Mall several times recently and decided to take a couple of photos of what was once Rich’s, the anchor store of the mall, and a place that I visited often from its beginnings through the 1990’s. These photos were taken in April of 2021.
I remember shopping at this mall beginning in the 1960s with my mom and having lunch at the Magnolia Room. Then later, in the 1990s I met my mom often to shop and have lunch in the food court with my little ones. More recently, I’ve seen a couple of movies at the movie theater. From the parking lot where these photos were taken, the movie theater, Marshall’s and a dollar store are visible. The other side has a Burlington Coat Factory.
I ventured inside this mall in late 2019 and it was like a ghost town. There was lots of empty space, a couple of food vendors, and practically no shoppers.
According to Rich’s: A Southern Institution, by Jeff Clemmons, the North DeKalb Rich’s opened in July of 1965. It was the fourth Rich’s surburban store. The first was Lenox Square, opening in 1959. A few months later Belvedere Plaza Rich’s opened, but before that there was a Belvedere Plaza Rich’s Appliance Store from 1956 until 1959. The Rich’s at Cobb Center opened in 1963.
North DeKalb Rich’s, located in Decatur, was the first Rich’s to be part of an enclosed mall. The store had two separate buildings, a 120,000 square foot main building and a 40,000 square foot building with the budget department, sporting goods, appliances and a music center.
An article in the July 29, 1965 Atlanta Constitution, Rich’s Feels Impact of DeKalb Growth states that “Rich’s new North DeKalb store will be the largest department store in DeKalb County. Developer Scott Hudgens said it was the first air-conditioned all-weather mall.
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on May 7, 2019 of plans to build a Costco at North DeKalb falling through. Today North DeKalb Mall is sometimes used for filming movies and television. Episodes of R. L. Stine’s Fear Street were filmed at the half empty mall, with store fronts converted to fit the 1990’s time frame. Other films and productions filmed there include Zombieland 2, MacGyver, Cobra Kai, and The Mule.
Another nearby mall which has also struggled is Northlake Mall. Northlake has also been used for filming. The food court of Gwinnett Place Mall has been used for scenes of the Netflix show Stranger Things. This link will show you what is currently being filmed in Georgia, but you will have to research further to find the exact locations.
The covid-19 pandemic, not surprisingly, has had a major impact on shopping malls. Time Magazine, October 28, 2020 reported that an estimated 25,000 stores could close due to the pandemic. The future of the traditional shopping mall seems unsure and rather bleak. It will be interesting to see how malls fare post-covid.