Sept. 4, 2024
The biggest shopping center in the Lehigh Valley keeps rotating its retail lineup.
In the upcoming months, four new shops will be joining the Lehigh Valley Mall, located in Whitehall Township at the intersection of MacArthur Road and Route 22: Game Box Arcade, Spice n Shake, MINISO, and Golf Galaxy. The new tenants will join Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Rally House, and Stone Haven as recent additions. Several shops have also left the mall in recent months, including Rivals Indoor Battlefield and Ardene.
A Starbucks location near the escalators on the mall's lower level also closed earlier this month. According to Elizabeth DiDuca, the mall's director of marketing and business development, the new location of the interactive golf retail chain Golf Galaxy will open in the Lehigh Valley Mall in the late fall.
According to DiDuca, the new location will take up a refurbished outparcel that had housed HobbyTown USA and a part of the former Babies R Us shop. According to a statement on the Lehigh Valley Mall's website, "The redesigned Golf Galaxy Performance Center in the Lehigh Valley Mall will offer golfers of all levels an immersive experience—access to industry leading TrackManTM and BioMechTM golf technologies, state-of-the-art hitting bays, custom fittings, golf lessons from a Class A Certified PGA Professional, and the best equipment, apparel, and footwear from top brands such as Callaway, TaylorMade, PING, Titleist, Nike, TravisMathew, New Balance, FootJoy and more."
In Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Airport Shopping Center is home to another Lehigh Valley Golf Galaxy store.
According to DiDuca, MINISO, a chain of variety stores that focuses in home and consumer goods like makeup, stationery, toys, and kitchenware, will establish its first site in the Lehigh Valley this summer in a lower level near to Bath & Body Works. MINISO offers a broad range of products, including home goods like energy-efficient mini night lamps and noodle bowls; cosmetics and health care items like lipstick and moisturizing face masks; fashion accessories like bath slippers and eye masks; and digital goods like headphones and a double-speaker, stereo Bluetooth speaker for "home theaters."
According to Sherry Smith, the mall's marketing administrator, Spice n Shake, a counter-service restaurant promising “the ultimate fried experience,” is anticipated to debut in early fall on the upper level, across from Lens Crafters. According to a description on the mall's website, Spice n Shake will specialize in serving French fries in a variety of shapes, such as shoestring and curly, "all expertly seasoned and shaken with your choice of robust flavors."
Game Box Arcade is also scheduled to launch in early fall, according to Smith. According to Smith, the Game Box Arcade, which will be located next to Boscov's on the lower floor, would follow the classic arcade theme and allow patrons to play a variety of games with quarters. In addition to welcoming new tenants, the Lehigh Valley Mall recently bid adieu to a number of establishments.
Earlier this week, Rivals Indoor Battlefield—which offered a secure indoor space for people of all ages to play with Nerf guns—closed. It was located on the second floor of the mall, adjacent to Macy's. Owner Yashira Caballero of Rivals posted a notice on the company's Facebook page earlier this month about Rivals' impending closure. A former Florida law enforcement officer and single mother of three who founded Rivals Indoor Battlefield did so in order to give her children a better future. Recently, a Starbucks outlet at the mall also shuttered. The network of coffee shops had been operating on the lower floor of the mall, close to the escalators, since 2007.
The recently remodeled Barnes & Noble bookshop within the mall is home to Barnes & Noble Cafe, where customers may still purchase Starbucks items. Last but not least, the Lehigh Valley Mall's lone Ardene store, a global fashion brand with over 250 locations, shuttered its doors in late July. Prior to the store closing, there was a "big blowout sale" with 70–80% off all garments, $2 off all footwear, and 10 for $10 off all accessories. More than 140 companies call the Lehigh Valley Mall, which opened in 1976 and included an outdoor lifestyle center in 2007, home, including major department stores Boscov's, Macy's, and JCPenney.
The mall has opened a number of new shops and eateries in recent months, including the first Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in the Lehigh Valley. At the outdoor lifestyle section of the Lehigh Valley Mall, Iron Hill, a well-known restaurant and craft brewery with outlets in Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, held a ribbon-cutting and “First Pour Celebration” on July 12. The new facility has a huge bar that is spread throughout the dining room, patio, and cocktail area. It also has an on-site, glass-enclosed brewery and a range of seating options, from communal high-tops to quiet banquettes.
Bravo! Cucina Italiana, which closed in the fall of 2022, was once housed in a restored end unit that now houses the 400-seat restaurant and brewery. On July 5, Rally House, a chain of specialist sports stores with a wide range of clothing, presents, home décor, and other items of memorabilia featuring local teams from the NCAA, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS, established a location in a lower level mall close to Macy's. Rally House boasts one of the best assortments of officially licensed team gear and locally made gifts. Its other Lehigh Valley locations are in the townships of Lower Macungie and Upper Saucon. Fan favorites like jerseys, headwear, drinkware, home decor, collectibles, and more are available in its product line. Stone Haven, a store selling natural stone jewelry and other related natural products, and Time On My Hands, a store selling watches from well-known brands including Bering, Bulova, Citizen, G-Shock, and Kenneth Cole, along with watch accessories and jewelry, have both recently opened at the mall.
On the lower floor of the mall, next to the main entrance, are Stone Haven and Time On My Hands. Some long-term tenants have recently renovated their spaces in addition to adding new shops and restaurants.
With almost 600 stores across the country, Barnes & Noble is an American bookshop. On May 17, it shuttered its temporary site on the mall's lower level, next to JCPenney, in preparation for the June 12 grand opening of its rebuilt branch, which is housed in the former lifestyle center.
The new location features all the best books, toys, games, and gifts that consumers have come to expect from the country's top bookseller, and it also shows the highly praised bookstore design seen in the most recent Barnes & Noble store openings. An updated B&N Café will be housed in the bookstore. Additionally, during the winter, Dave & Buster's—a network of restaurants and entertainment venues where patrons are encouraged to "eat, drink, play, and watch”—underwent significant renovations that included the installation of new carpet, lighting, and furnishings.
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