North Grand Mall — Local services in Ames

It's improving! As much as was lost in the past year, they have slowly begun to replace with decent stores .. finally! Not stop gap fill-ins, (or at least hopefully not so, hehe)!

After HomeGoods and a few other shops up and closed down/moved to other sides of Ames, the Mall was looking like it was finally on its last legs. The stores that were there were mainly novelty and eccentric garage sale/thrifty/eBay....well...you get the picture I'm sure. Heh.

At any rate, the old HomeGoods store is being used as the temp Halloween Costume shop and there's some other fresh blood being pumped in slowly. I'll definitely take a closer look at it as it seems Ames is getting a revamp finally.

Hopefully it will be done in good taste and with the town in mind, (as in they've researched longevity and what's needed), rather than instant sparkle that inevitably goes the way of the dodo like so many other shops...

This place is so empty that being in it feels awkward. Half the storefronts are closed. It is a nice place though. It's clean. I miss the fountain they used to have here, but that's okay.

It's nice to come to for the few main-stays that are here, like JC Penny, Planet Fitness, and Jimmy Johns. One place I refommend the most though are Inside Golf, which has golf similators, a bar, pool tables, axe throwing, and bowling. I won a Mario Kart competition there once, but I'm not sure if they still have the Nintendo hooked up there. It's a good place to have a good time.

The other place I strongly recommend is Cookies Etc. The best cookies I've ever had and they cost even dollar amounts. They've been there for decades and I hope they never go out of business. I get a cookie there every time I come...

North Grand mall the last decade has steadily declined in popularity as many stores closed shop and the movie theater closed down. They recently changed management and since then the mall is growing at a great rate. Awesome new stores like the Games, Gifts, Gallery which is my new favorite game store. Also the farmers market, which give the mall a hometown feel compared to the larger, brand name hogged storefronts. They also reinvented the movie theater to being the best one in town. Great prices and comfy power reclined seats bring this nearly closed mall into the type of mall that is fun for all ages. I love coming here with my family and buying from a variety of shops that are...