A New Beginning for Little Village
Little Village discount mall is closing. After decades of being open, since the early 1960s, Little Village’s Discount Mall has now decided to close its doors, and many people are upset. Especially the community of Little Village and many other people that have watched the mall develop throughout the years. For numerous people, the mall is more than just a shopping center.
The Little Village Discount Mall is a huge part of the community, and an even more significant building for people of the Hispanic ethnicity and those who immigrate from Mexico. This mall brings feelings of home to the people, and gives many a little reminder of Mexico.
A Small Look Inside the Mall
The Little Village Discount Mall consists of many small businesses. Furthermore, it held more than 100 vendors who were always ready to sell and provide a small piece of tradition to every single one of their customers who passed through their business.
These vendors all over the mall sit outside of their stores calling and trying to catch the attention of every person who walks past them. They sell a numerous variety of things. From traditional quinceañera dresses, to first communion dresses, and baptism dresses. Apart from dresses, they also sell all types of devices. For example computers, speakers, phones, and many other objects. Furthermore, they also sell jewelry for every type of occasion.
Finally, the Discount Mall offers traditional Mexican food like corn, ice cream, chips, and a variety of different food combinations traditional of Mexican food. These objects are only a small amount of the items you could find there, as the mall is a huge building. Other examples include all different types of shoes, and even animals from birds, to mice, fish, and even small insects.
Losing a Local Treasure
The mall has been open for years and throughout those years it has gone through constant change. Many people do not want to lose what the mall has become after all this time. Novak Construction bought the mall in February 2020. Since the purchase, Novak has been unclear with the vendors about the future of the mall. They’ve said little to nothing about what would happen with the mall, and vendors fear they will be evicted.
Fear Amongst the Community
Numerous amounts of vendors are furious that their small businesses will close if the mall actually closes. At one point, Novak did try to come up with an agreement with the vendors at the mall. Many of the vendors did not support the agreement that was offered. This was because Novak asked the store corporations to expand their lease with them as the new company. A long-term lease that would last many years instead of the short-term lease that many workers and corporations were already used to.
Many workers did not agree with this new deal. This led Novak to ask many workers to leave the mall and close their businesses. Novak gave those not willing to renew their lease until March 26 of this year to sell all of their merchandise and abandon their working station.
Community Member First-Hand Experience
As mentioned before, there is not much said or known about what is going to happen to the mall. However, an employee at the Little Village Discount Mall, Dennis, who has been working there for a couple of years, spoke a little on the issue. She shared her opinion and what she was aware of at the moment.
Dennis stated the mall has been divided into two sections. Adding that the section that is under construction will be a better and improved version of the old Discount Mall. Once construction is finished, new workers will be allowed to move in. This is an upgrade that not many people know the details of.
Furthermore, she also went on to explain that the reason only one side of the mall has closed is that the company that owns that part decided to not renew its lease.
Community Member Final Thoughts
Finally, Dennis does not support the changes that will be made to the mall. For numerous reasons, the main one is that the construction is destroying the old mall. Novak will not only be taking from the community, but from people outside the community as well.
Destroying the mall will only take away the very thing that attracted outside people to this place. Another reason, Dennis mentioned for not supporting these changes and the most important one is that the mall has been a part of Little Village for half of a century now. Destroying the mall abruptly will take away tradition, value, and culture from many people who appreciated the mall.
Written by Nohemi Sanchez
Sources:
BORDERLESS: Future of Little Village’s Discount Mall Still Uncertain, One Year After Sale
CBS Chicago: Little Village Discount Mall Vendors Want Upgrades halted, demand end to eviction
Interview: Little Village Discount Mall Employee Dennis; April 6, 2023
WTTW: Discount Mall in Little Village to continue Operations as Long-Term Deal
Featured Image by Nohemi Sanchez
Inset Image by Nohemi Sanchez
