The single-level mall first opened in 1977 on Plano Road with four anchors: Montgomery Ward, Dillard's, Titche-Goettinger, and Sears. The Sears building was constructed in 1974 before the mall existed and operated as a standalone store. The other three anchor locations were each two story, despite the remainder of the mall being only one. During its peak in the 1980s, the mall included the Richardson Square I-II-III movie theater, a video arcade across from it, two bookstores, and two music stores. Food vendors were grouped in the entrance corridors at each end of the mall–by Sears and Montgomery Ward–and included Chick-fil-A, Orange Julius, Hot Sam Pretzels, Bresler's Ice Cream, and Karmelkorn. The mall was closed on Sundays until September 1, 1985, when the Texas blue law was repealed. In 1981, the much larger Collin Creek Mall opened in nearby Plano, but Richardson Square continued to be popular and fully occupied throughout the remainder of the 1980s. A small free-standing strip of stores was built in 1984-85 on the outer corner of the property closest to Lloyd V. Berkner High School. Tenants included a realtor and dry cleaning business, but most of the stores were never leased. In 1987, the Joske's chain was purchased by Dillard's, and the Joske's location in the mall became a second Dillard's. Dillard's maintained both its store and the former Joske's location, which it would close in 1995.
Decline
Stores began rapidly closing in the early 1990s. By 1993, the property was at about 60% occupancy. A new tenant during this phase was French bakery Cafe Partier. In 1998, the mall was remodeled, with many new tenants and a food court added, as well as a Barnes & Noble bookstore which occupied the space of half a dozen stores. The entrance corridor near Sears, formerly occupied by a movie theater, video arcade, and several food vendors, became a Stein Mart. Shortly thereafter Montgomery Ward filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores. The former Ward's pad was demolished and converted into a Super Target in 2002. Stein Mart, Oshman's, and several other small stores soon closed as well. The mall continued to operate until Garland's Firewheel Town Center opened in 2005. Dillard's, Old Navy, and Barnes & Noble all relocated to Firewheel. Richardson Square Mall was demolished in mid 2007, except for Sears, which remained in operation as part of the subsequent Richardson Square retail center. The loss of the mall was significant for the city, but, in 2006, with the announcement that Simon Properties would be renovating the site, city leaders expressed optimism that the new development would flourish. On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide. The store closed on March 10, 2019.
Revitalization
March 23, 2018 was the grand opening of El Pollo Loco at the northwest corner of Richardson Square - 1400 E. Beltline Rd. Chipotle Mexican Grill and Jason’s Deli will open new locations at 501 S. Plano Road. A Starbucks with a drive through will be utilizing approximately 2000 square feet out of a 7,731 square foot new retail and restaurant space.
