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Health & Fitness

Norwichtown Commons Much Blander than Norwichtown Mall

The Norwichtown Commons has a lot less character than the former Norwichtown Mall.

The interior shopping mall was transformed into a plain vanilla-looking outdoor shopping center which substantially reduced the size of the center from 241,000 square feet to 160,000 square feet.

Even after renovations, there are still four empty storefronts, which, according to the Winstanley Enterprises website, were slated for a sporting goods store, a pizza restaurant, a gift shop, and a shoe store. There is also an empty parcel near the mall’s entrance on Town Street.

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Oddly enough, the Eagle Rock Retail website stated the center would feature a GNC while the Black Line Retail website shows the center would be home to a beauty store and a Backus Hospital office. 

Specifically, Norwich desperately needs a nice Hallmark gift shop to replace the former Burrs/Suburban Stationeries stores that once existed in the Norwichtown Mall

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Such stores and restaurants, consisting of over 17,000-square-feet, would have added variety to the center’s 10 tenants, four (Stop and Shop, Dollar Tree, Fancy Nails, and Dress Barn) are not new to town and were formerly in the Norwichtown Mall.

New to Norwichtown are Big Lots, Petsense, Hair Cuttery, Asian Bistro, Yogurt City, and Planet Fitness.

While I especially like Big Lots, I still think that the plaza’s small size and blandness will cause it to struggle to compete with other shopping centers. 

The Norwichtown Mall always had a sit-down full-service American restaurant, which the Norwichtown Commons fails to have. I remember eating at Bee Bee Dairy Bar numerous times, which was once the lone survivor after its sister restaurants closed.

The Waterford Commons and Lisbon Landing have Ruby Tuesday’s while Montville Commons and Lisbon Commons have Chili’s. It’s a shame the Norwichtown Commons could not be home to a Red Lobster, Texas Road House, Red Robin, T.G.I. Friday’s, or another eatery that southeastern Connecticut doesn’t already have so the center could better attract customers outside the Norwichtown area.

The mall used to feature decorative elements like numerous benches and planters, colorful flags, kiosks, kid’s rides, Santa Claus and Easter Bunny visits, a tornado simulator machine, candy vending machines, a community room, and even pay phones.

The renovated center only has one old wooden bench outside Dress Barn compared to Waterford Commons which has several metal ones.

Except for a structural overhang over Stop and Shop and Dress Barn, there is no tarp to protect shoppers from the elements like Montville Commons. 

Many seniors used to get their exercise walking the mall’s concourses and others liked to sit and people watch. Now, they are forced to travel to the East Brook Mall or Crystal Mall for a climate controlled environment.

I would encourage the center to aggressively fill vacant space, add a sit-down restaurant in the parking lot, and a glass atrium in front of all the stores to restore the interior mall component. 

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