CLARENCE, N.Y. — If you're a fan of strolling the concourse of the Eastern Hills Mall or shopping at the remaining stores within it, your time to do that is quickly running out.
This weekend will mark a milestone in the history of the mall, and its future.
Signs at mall entrances advise that as of Sunday, January 14, the concourses within the mall will be closed to the public.
The move comes as Uniland pushes forward with plans to convert the the property upon which the the mall has stood for more than 50 years into an entire neighborhood with homes, offices, and shopping.
For some establishments like Chrusciki bakery and its ancillary Sto Lat bar restaurant and events center, there will be no impact as they have exterior entrances to their businesses.
"Everything should be just as it is now, and we have a lot of cool changes that we hope to make this year as well," said Cody Klink, one of the managers.
Indeed, more than 20 businesses at the mall with exterior entrances which open to the parking lots will stay open during the transition to the new development.
At Pure Integrity Soy Candles, proprietor Jeffrey Schumacher said that while his existing did not have an exterior entrance, he was able to secure another space at the mall that did, which will allow him to stay at the mall where he's been a tenant for more than 20 years.
"People are wanting that more," said Schumaker, who says he looks forward to the future of the property. "That's why the malls are struggling ... because people don't want to walk through an entire mall just to find one store."
Judy Mohn Griggs, however, who brought her custom designed jewelry business Bflo Boho to the mall three and a half years ago, will be leaving.
"I thought we'd have a little more time because the original plans they had announced indicated this space would be good for a while. I found out (about plans to close the mall concourse) in September, but at least they let us stay through Christmas," said Mohn Griggs, who has secured studio space elsewhere in Clarence so that she can continue her business.
"It'll be by appointment, though. ... I'm done with retail," she said.
"It's very sad because it is one more that we're losing," said June Hooven, who has been coming to Eastern Hills for about as long as it existed.
Now in her 80s, Hooven came to the mall on what was a grey and brisk winter's afternoon on Wednesday to stroll one more time in the warmth of its now mostly empty corridors.
"We came to say goodbye to the stores and the mall, and we will terribly miss it," she said.