While the mall opened to great fanfare in 1987, bringing a variety of new stores to the area, as well as the relocation of Sears, JCPenney, and The Bon Marche from nearby downtown Longview, Washington, the mall began to struggle in the early 2000s, starting with the closure of the Emporium chain. A few tenants, such as a used car showroom, a seasonal Halloween store, and a church, occupied the former Emporium for brief periods of time until 2014. The decline in foot traffic prompted many smaller retailers to close, and some chains present in the mall such as Radio Shack, Sam Goody, and KB Toys, were also closed as those chains struggled. The food court also dwindled down to a couple of local tenants. Sears announced late in 2012 that they would close their store in the mall in January 2013, which further reduced foot traffic. Among the businesses that left after Sears closed were Big 5 Sporting Goods, Fred Meyer Jewelers, and Mr. Formal. Chuck E. Cheese's also closed their location inside the mall on April 7, 2014. Macy's announced in January 2017 that the Kelso location is one of 68 stores that would be closing. The store closed in March 2017. As of February 2018, there were no tenants open in the food court, and the food court remained vacant until March 2020. Sportsman's Warehouse opened in the former Emporium store in July 2014. The former Sears store has been demolished, and Regal Cinemas has constructed a new theater on the former Sears site, which replaced the mall's freestanding theater, as well as the Triangle Cinemas in nearby Longview. The new theater opened in January 2015. The mall's management announced in September 2014 that Planet Fitness will be moving into the former Chuck E. Cheese's site with additional space. Planet Fitness held its grand opening in January 2015. Panera Bread built a new, freestanding location which opened in December 2017. A local business called The Coffee Court opened in the mall's food court in March 2020. This is the first food court tenant in over two years.
In popular culture
An episode of the Food Network show Food Court Wars was filmed in the mall. The episode titled "Gaufre Gourmet vs. Pressed" originally aired on March 30, 2014. The winner of the contest received one year of free rent in the food court, and Gaufre Gourmet opened for business in April 2014. However, citing a lack of foot traffic, Gaufre Gourmet closed in September 2014, and the owners have since opened a restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
