Santa Rosa Mall — Local services in Mary Esther

I give it 3 stars because of a few reasons.

There are a lot of stores out of business/closed. There weren't a lot of options at the food court, so that was a bummer.

I have to say, that I was only there for Dillard's looking for petite formal dresses and did not find what I needed. I did not have time to alter their dresses made for gals that are 6 feet tall and some of the dresses they had I feel were for someone a bit older or more conservative than me. (I'm 5'2" in my 40's.)

Also, I did end up purchasing a very comfortable pair of shoes that were priced for $4 less than what they rung up for (which was not enough for me to make a fuss about, but the shoes were already over $100) and the cashier clerk stated that there were some price changes they hadn't updated on their stickers. I've worked in retail before and for this store not having been busy, the workers could have been working in that instead of standing around waiting for customers to appear. So, be sure to double check prior to buying about their sales posted on shoe shelves and verify what prices actually are.

Just to add, that most stores are still not having their dressing rooms open but Dillards does. Aside from myself, there were another couple of ladies wanting to try something on but no clerk around to ask or signs stating otherwise, so since the dressing room lights were on, we tried on clothes anyway.

However, the mall is still maintained clean, bathrooms were attended to, & if you're not into shopping in crowds, this is the place to go.

(Posted are shoes I purchased and just an example of a...

there isn’t much left here, but it’s kinda fun to walk around lol. every time i come another store has closed. they are slowly blocking off and demolishing sections to i believe eventually turn this whole space into luxury apartments, like we need more of those 🙄 currently in january 2024 the food court section is permanently closed, so you must enter through the main entrance by planet fitness. remaining stores include FYE, a couple of jewelry stores, Crackers restaurant, a 3D printing place, Pokémon store, Shoe Dept., Hibbett, barbershop and a few other random locally owned clothing stores and things. it’s wild how few places are left, and like i said every time i come another one has bitten the dust. really the only remaining store that’s a well known national brand is Old Navy. besides stores, there is a kid’s play area along with some claw machines and other arcade games scattered about. if you’re bored it’s not a bad place to walk around and...

Needs a shot of life... My wife and I just moved to the area and were really disappointed that the Santa Rosa Mall was the only mall around. I understand that a lot of business has gone to other locations such as Destin Commons or the Silver Sands outlets but you'd think people would check out the mall when walking outside turns you into a big ball of flames during the Summer months. There are still some good stores but the Santa Rosa mall desperately needs a shot of life. I would highly suggest building a new movie theater with IMAX and Dolby. Fort Walton needs a movie theater really bad. Adding this and maybe more entertainment options to the mall would set it apart from the other shopping destinations in the area. Maybe consider a Dave & Buster's and a theater. Just something like that could maybe draw other shops and restaurants. Anyways, I hope the mall doesn't die because it has potential to...