Aurora Farms Premium Outlets — Attraction in Aurora

I've lived in Aurora my whole life and Aurora Farms has been a shopping staple of mine from early childhood. It was a fun walkable outdoor mall with a pond fixture and many great stores. Split into two halves, the front feeling like a mini-town square to shop around. The back, a more traditional rectangle with parking in middle and shops/sidewalk squared around that.

Sadly it is far past it's glory days. The back half still has tons of foot traffic, but the front half of the Outlets is mostly empty and dilapidated. It looks like a ghost town and it is sad to walk through. I'm sure the COVID-19 pandemic did most of this damage, but even before then the front half was losing stores left and right. Malley's and Saks Off 5th are now gone. Forever 21 is now an bargain store, mostly selling overstock from other retailers.

Some of the staples going way back are still there like Claire's, Yankee Candle, Crocs, Adidas and Ralph Lauren, but they're all so spread between empty buildings, I doubt they'll be there much longer.

This place sadly needs to demolish the front half and re-design it like the back half. It was a neat front half in it's day, but now it is just too un-kept and full of empty buildings. The lake can be remade into a square walkable area, but they should rebuild around it to essentially be like the back area.

It's just sad to see the dead mall phase is hitting this beloved local outdoor mall. It's still half alive, but if it's gonna survive they need to revamp the first half badly. If not, it will become yet another Cleveland area abandoned...

They need food courts but I like the discount prices. Sometime I forget it’s an outlet and probably paid more than I should. Everything should be discounted. However, avoid possibly Wilson’s, but most definitely The Cosmetic Company! A racist associate in both but mainly because the older women in that cosmetic store lack something in customers service. They cater to older Caucasian women or white in general and lack customer skills with women of color. I’m pretty sure other minorities have observed this trait and tend to exit without purchasing. They’re stand-offish, rude and follow you around the store with very little interest in you being a consumer. They don’t want our business. Trust and believe that. Prices are good in that store but it isn’t worth the aggravation. Wilsons is sufficient because they have great prices but I had to have words with a white male associate followed up by a phone call to management. He was harassing me at the register while purchasing a leather bag asking me if I was going to also purchase a ski jacket that belonged to me, I WORE IT IN THE STORE! This items isn’t one of their brands and when have they ever sold Apt 9 ski jackets. He was sizing me up for no reason and was being a bigot . He reeked of prejudice. Then commented on my designer bag that was also my property. I probably won’t be returning to either of those retailers. Otherwise I enjoy aurora farms...

First off- this place is one where you should plan on staying longer than a brief visit. The Outlets are a very large area and it is like a single-story shopping mall so you will need more than a couple of hours to fully explore. Puma is one of my personal favorite brands ever, and the Puma Outlet here is quite good, with a very decent selection of both recent items and old favorites; that being said, if it's shoes you're after their clearance section is extremely decent and carries a good variety that updates frequently, although you may have trouble finding your size if it's a men's 10.5 or 11. As for the other stores, there is a good (and larger) variety of items at lower prices than their usual retail as well as stuff you can't find anywhere else. There is generally good parking available, but be prepared to walk a lot or move your vehicle if you plan on visiting multiple stores (unless they happen to be right next to each other). That being said, accessibility to the stores I personally shop at is very adequate, but since there aren't generally any big names with close proximity, if I don't find what I want I feel less inclined to browse. The restrooms are well appointed, and walking from place to place is scenic if time-consuming. There are also various...