Westfarms

[Marc82]

Westfarms will be getting a face lift. They will be getting a new restaurant along with a new redesigned entrance area.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-whdcouncil1114.artnov14,0,7833551.story

[TRU7536]

whats the new resturant going ot be? because that link doesnt work

[Marc82]

Originally posted by TRU7536
whats the new resturant going ot be? because that link doesnt work

Some upscale Chinese Place. I forget what it's called. The link is over a month old that's probably why it doesn't work.

[farmingtonvalleymall]

Anyone else here who remembers Westfarms having a movie theater? It was just inside to the right of one of the main mall entrances. I forget which end it was (G.Fox or Penney's) but the space has long since been converted to restaurants. They use to do late night screenings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pink Floyds The Wall on Saturday's. Hows that for a classy mall :P

[XISMZERO]

Originally posted by farmingtonvalleymall
Anyone else here who remembers Westfarms having a movie theater? It was just inside to the right of one of the main mall entrances. I forget which end it was (G.Fox or Penney's) but the space has long since been converted to restaurants. They use to do late night screenings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pink Floyds The Wall on Saturday's. Hows that for a classy mall :P

The Movies at Westfarms was the name. My parents told me they saw Star Wars here in the late 70's. They axed the theater in the mid 80s, I think.

My dad claims California Pizza Kitchen is where the bygone theater was.

[farmingtonvalleymall]

Originally posted by XISMZERO

My dad claims California Pizza Kitchen is where the bygone theater was.

My mom claims it was at the G. Fox end which I believe would be across from where Sbarro's is now. Is that where California Pizza is? I love the mall but I just don't know the stores anymore.

[Marc82]

Of course we prefer The Brass Mill in Waterbury and The Meriden Square in Meriden (you won't catch me calling it Westfield) when my friends and I went to Westfarms about a month ago, we were surprised how many vacant stores there were. Some looked like they were closed for good, while a few others were closed for remodel.

[RogerAnthony]

Originally posted by XISMZERO
The Lord & Taylor corridor. L&T has been here since the mall opened and has changed very little.

No it hasn't.  Lord & Taylor moved from Bishops Corner to the mall in the mid-1980's.  The new wing was built for it then and the old L&T at Bishops Corner was converted to Caldor.

In response to some other posts:
Yes, that Burger King is where A&W used to be.

As for the movie theater, I think it was across from where California Pizza Kitchen, where Brooks Brothers (currently undergoing renovations) is.

[TRU7536]

Originally posted by Marc82
Of course we prefer The Brass Mill in Waterbury and The Meriden Square in Meriden (you won't catch me calling it Westfield) when my friends and I went to Westfarms about a month ago, we were surprised how many vacant stores there were. Some looked like they were closed for good, while a few others were closed for remodel.

Westfarms is doing alot of upgrades, it looks like half of the mall is closed, but alot of stores are rebuilding, or making them bigger. Alot of leases were up so their trying to get very high end stores to come in. They want to make Westfarms upscale! Waterbury is nasty and dirty. My manager use to run a store in waterbury and she said they had rats running around. Meriden is boring. I love westfarms, only mall in CT that has good stores.

[TRU7536]

http://www.shopwestfarms.com/infodesk/whatsNew.html

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news4684.html

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-westfarms0304.artmar04,0,1033796.story

All these articles are what is going down at Westfarms. I hope they get rid of more stores to make room for Kenneth Cole, AX and Diesel (my favorite stores)

[farmingtonvalleymall]

Originally posted by RogerAnthony
As for the movie theater, I think it was across from where California Pizza Kitchen, where Brooks Brothers (currently undergoing renovations) is.

I had to go back to the mall to check it out myself. The theater was indeed where California Pizza is now plus it probably took up the space to the left as well.

I've heard several claims that the theater got the axe due to large crowds/loitering and generally just not fitting in with the "upscale" direction the mall wanted to go.

[farmingtonvalleymall]

Oh btw, I'll let out one big WTF! on that new Gilly Hicks, yeeesh :duh:

[TRU7536]

Tiffinys has just opened at Westfarms. Word on the street among employees that work at the mall is that luxary retail  louis vuitton is opening across from Tiffanys.

[XISMZERO]

Heh heh I was impressed by Gilly Hicks -- opens up that closet of dark fantasy within. I don't bode well in lingerie shops myself...

 Saw Tiffany's a few days ago and I must say... it has crowds "impressed" with it all. So much that all the other jewelry stores were almost ghostly. Call me a snob, but when I saw Tiffany's at Copley Square in Boston, it seemed like it only attracted people who look the part, dress up -- not some of the slobs I saw in there.

I really don't care much for Westfarms to shop (apart from sweeping up sales at Macy's and L&T occasionally) because of its increasingly highbrow nature. In the meantime, I don't care for the lower-tier malls and their junk stores but I'd rather hang out at those -- like Buckland Hills but more so Meriden Square. Has anyone else noticed malls now ramping up their look with higher end tenants? Just look at Holyoke Mall and Danbury Fair in the past year.

I don't know, who could buy any of this exorbitant stuff in times like these? Do the rich get richer indeed?

[momof3]

I remember the theater at West Farms, they had a Burger King back then too, but due to the loitering and such both got the axe.  I also remember the foutain with all the change in it.  I don't go to West faerms much but do like the big Yankee candle.  I like Meriden Sq much better for shopping.

[CTAmeshopper]

Wow, the new plans look great, too bad I can't see the progress, since I can't/neither can my family can afford to  go there, thanks to these high gas prices *grumble*

[TRU7536]

Looks like FYE just hit the dust at West Farms. Replacing it will be Nike Store and Cole Hann. Man they are really cleaning up this mall now. Their trully trying to make it CT's upscale mall. Louis Vuitton will come in 2009 after the xmas season, going right next to Tiffanys. I wonder what next will the mall get? Footbeats and Sunglass hut also closed down too. Their trying to make it look alot like The Westchester in White Plains and Short Hills in NJ. I wonder what other non upscale store they will kick out next?

[standa]

I was wondering whether there is a large supermarket near the Westfarms Mall.  Is the Stop & Shop in Newington the closest one?

[XISMZERO]

Originally posted by standa
I was wondering whether there is a large supermarket near the Westfarms Mall.  Is the Stop & Shop in Newington the closest one?

The only supermarkets in the area are Trader Joes, not super by any means, across the street in Corbins Corner. And yes, Stop & Shop is the closest, a few short minutes away.

[AmesNewington]

It's weird how there is no real supermarket along Southeast Road. Waldbaum's Foodmart was the last supermarket there which closed in 93/94. As a matter of fact, Linens 'n' Things which took most of Foodmart's space is now closed.

[TRU7536]

Has anyone taking a walk around west farms recently? Last time I went was two weeks ago and boy does it look different! I know Cole Haan, Nike Store and Vuiton opened up their these past weeks! Pf Changs is almost done too and well as their new entrance and new bus stops.I know the mall is still wanting to get more upscale stores to move in, but their at 97 percent full.

[momof3]

Haven't been to West farms in a while, the stores are just too pricey for my tastes.  Are peopl;e actually shopping  or just window shopping??

[XISMZERO]

I was there yesterday as I was blowing some inbetween time after school and before work. PF Changs (looks) open and complete, Louis Vuitton is open and has a captivating facade (as one might expect). Both Cole Haan and the Nike Store have been opened in time for Black Friday -- so the mall's all ready to dazzle this Christmas season. I will have to grab images of the 2008 edition of the center court soon.

On huge disappointment is the lame, rehashed "holiday" decorations this year mirroring the same old crap they've been using for the past couple years now. Anyone who remembers the better old days of Westfarms will recall the enormous Christmas tree which once doned the center court -- now replaced by product placements and a cheap plastic globe thing.

And yes, people are shopping. Westfarms has gotten so classy as of late it seems they might have to impose a de facto dress code just to window shop!

[AmesNewington]

Will JCPenney ever replace their deteriorating signs? Have they since the mall was upgraded? I haven't been there for a while.

JCPenney is really the only store in Westfarms that my family can afford and even it's not within our budget at the moment. I wish Buckland was closer to Greater Hartford.

[momof3]

I like Macy's when they have sales and coupons, you can get some stuff pretty inexpensive then.  

I do remember the huge westfarms Christmas tree, and they always had the most realistic looking Santa too.

The Hartford Courant here in CT had a front page article on the new Vuitton store, haven't read it through yet, too much drama this morning before school.

[CTAmeshopper]

I finally got a chance to get to the Westfarms mall yesterday, after we went in one car to get dads car, so he could go to work. My mom drove us there and we checked out the new front it looks very nice,and is a big improvement we saw the horse with a shortened back end out front, it was pretty big, but it wasn't as big as I expected it to be. Also in the back they've installed a new solar powered  curve warning sign (to replace the faded non flashing one) with flashing lights inside it,it looked pretty futuristic. I never got a chance to get inside the mall thought, tight schedule.

I think Westfarms is a good example of an long standing successful mall.It's great and a nice example how old meets new without becoming bland.

[Marc82]

Christian Bernard Jewelers closed down without warning.

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-jewelry1231.artdec31,0,1505104.story

[TRU7536]

Originally posted by Marc82
Christian Bernard Jewelers closed down without warning.

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-jewelry1231.artdec31,0,1505104.story

The whole chain went bankrupt without notice.

[TRU7536]

I dont know if i posted thise before, but Macys at Westfarms is the flagship store for all of New England. Its considered the most proftible one after the flagship store in NYC around the northeast. I have a freind that works at the Buckland one and he told me this. They even do way better business then the one in White Plains. Someone else told me they were open 24 hours before xmas and  with alot of Macys stores closing in 2009, i don't see Westfarms closing, its Macys golden child.  Now if they only remodel it!

[Marc82]

Yes it is true that the Westfarms Macys was open 24 hours before Christmas. They did a big business being open overnights. The Westfarms store was one of only 13 Macys nationwide open 24/7 out of more than 900 stores coast to coast.