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“A hub of activity”

What's coming next for the Truro Mall?

BRENDYN CREAMER TRURO NEWS brendyn.creamer @saltwire.com

TRURO — At a time when malls across the world are withering away, the Truro Mall (soon rebranding to The Hub) is thriving.

And with a refurbished food court and new restaurants and retailers on the way, it seems it will be quite some time before the Truro Mall follows suit.

Calista Kossatz, the marketing and events manager with Pmco Inc. (who manage the property), spoke about the mall’s upcoming developments in an interview with Saltwire Network.

“The whole mall idea has been changing over the last couple of years, and COVID has hit retailers really hard,” said Kossatz, a Truro native. “Over the years, it has become less of a community space than it used to be.”

The mall has been under the new ownership of local entrepreneurs Doug Doucet and Arnold Hagen since July 2021. Kossatz said the new ownership has led to the mall’s revitalization.

“When everything flips, entrepreneurs get in it and on it. They make things happen. It’s about seeing opportunities where people are moving away from something. If you think you’ve got a great idea where something could work, you’ve got to run with it.

“I think our ownership group is what is propelling this whole change, which is awesome.”

This change will soon include two new restaurants at the mall’s food court — Philthy Philly's, which will be serving poutine and sandwiches made with authentic Philadelphia ingredients, and a brewpub that will also see a deck being built on the back end of the mall.

“My partner George Vlahos and I are very excited to be

involved in the invigoration going on at the Truro Mall,” said Tammy Oulton, a partner in Philthy Philly’s Atlantic operations. “It is always exciting to see local ownership take a long-standing idea and turn it into something new and exciting for the community.

“We believe in this project and the impact it will have locally, and that is why we have made this the first Philthy Philly’s in a mall in Canada.”

Also on the way is Mary Browns, which is currently under construction in the mall’s parking lot.

“Mary Browns was in this mall at one point, so it’s their grand return,” said Kossatz.

She mentioned seeing rumours on social media the mall would be getting a Montana’s franchise, which she denied.

NEW RETAILERS

According to Kossatz, their strategy in terms of bringing in new retailers is to fill in the gaps.

“It’s not that we don’t have amazing retailers now, but there are some gaps in what we’re presenting to the market. I want this to be a place where you can get everything that you need.

“Right now, we’re lacking in children’s apparel, in shoes, in men’s wear, in lingerie,” said Kossatz. “We’re really chasing retailers to get them interested in this space and get them interested in this community.”

She also thinks foot traffic for the mall will only increase as the town becomes more of a hot spot, making the space more attractive to retailers.

“Any event that happens in town, we definitely see a bump in traffic,” said Kossatz. “The North American Indigenous games are coming up; our hockey team is doing really well. There is a lot happening at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre, there are more concerts in town ... more events.

“When those events happen, we definitely will see an uptick in traffic.”

One topic regarding the mall that keeps popping up on social media is Pet Smart.

Though she didn’t have an exact date, Kossatz explained their delayed opening.

“They got delayed with supply chain stuff, but they’re looking to open soon,” said Kossatz.

Kossatz also mentioned a pop-up spot for vendors who may want to test out their business, which she said is priced appropriately for those looking to get their feet wet.

“It’ll be something nice and different. It’ll switch as short of a time frame as a week or weekend, and sometimes as long as a month or two.

“If they’re doing well and they want to stay, then great. We’ll make it work.”

They are also in the early planning stages of hosting a local market in the mall for vendors. “We’re trying to plan to create a really good experience for everyone that’s here and really bring something that we need. A little market space would be great.”

REBRANDING

With the rebranding to The Hub, the mall’s management will hold a kick-off event from May 25 to May 28 with many events planned to celebrate.

The first day will feature a ribbon cutting and VIP reception, as well as a local vendor and performer showcase. The second will feature a food hall festival with live music and a fashion show.

The third day will feature a parking lot party, which will have a Razzmatazz variety show for the kids, an outdoor carnival, a performance from the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddlers and other live performances.

Kossatz said the lot party will continue into Sunday, with other events for kids happening at the mall such as indoor games, airbrush tattoos, balloon animals, characters for kids to meet and greet, as well as a ‘magical musician.’

She also spoke of a community space they plan to open on the far end of the mall that will include a stage for performances.

“There is a lot going on here,” said Kossatz. “It’ll be a hub of activity, for sure.”

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2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

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