Brookwood Village faces ominous future
It’s been a tough season for indoor malls.
As the world becomes more fast paced, customers begin to expect fast shopping experiences, such as buying online at the click of a button or receiving their items curbside without needing to exit their cars. For this type of customer, parking the car and walking through a mall can feel time-consuming.
Brookwood Village, located on Lakeshore Drive, already had empty storefronts before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The mall lost Belk as one of its anchor stores back in 2018, but the indoor mall began to see some hope as local small businesses and boutiques moved into the interior spaces.
Then the pandemic caused the mall to be closed for over a month, which led to the closure of many storefronts at the Brookwood Village. Brio Tuscan Grille was the first to go during the pandemic season, and its closure was followed by Cocina Superior, Books-A-Million, LOFT and Jason’s Deli.
The Cottage of Serendipity is the next store-front to close after one year in business there. The Cottage moved into Brookwood Village October 2019 and announced in an Aug. 14 Facebook post, “Tough decisions are having to be made about the future of our store.” The owners were not available for further comments on the decision to close the store.
Other small businesses are sticking it out, though. The Homewood Theatre celebrated its first show in the mall in August 2019, and director Kyle Bass said he loved how patrons could shop or eat dinner after the shows without having to move their cars. Bass said he plans to wait it out until the performers can get back onstage, and he said he has no plans to leave. One adjustment Bass has made during the pandemic was Homewood Theatre Co.’s first-ever outdoor performance, which happened Sept. 12 in the Brookwood Village parking lot.
“We have been trying to think of a way to get back onstage, and we think this is a good way to do it,” Bass said. “Everyone has been so understanding during this crazy time, we just want to give a little something back.”
White Flowers also isn’t going anywhere, said owner Diana Hansen. This mall holds a special place in Hansen’s heart — it’s where she opened her shop 32 years ago. Since then, she has worked in an 18th Street storefront and has tried to go online-only. She returned to Brookwood Village on Black Friday in 2018, and White Flowers currently operates in a storefront there with an outdoor entrance, located across from Five Guys.
“I love this mall, and I feel like it’s beautiful here,” Hansen said. “I know it’s empty. A lot of places are gone, and it’s sad. But the flowers are beautiful, and it’s a wonderful place for quietness.”
Although indoor malls are losing popularity, Brookwood Village sits on prime real estate, with nearby entrances to U.S. 31 and to U.S. 280.
It’s also nestled between Homewood and Mountain Brook, two thriving cities — however, this could also present a problem for a potential buyer. Macy’s, which is the anchor store on the northeastern side of Brookwood Mall, is zoned for Mountain Brook. The Brookwood Village owners don’t own the Macy’s portion of the mall. So if a buyer wanted to redevelop the land, they would need to work with Macy’s to come up with a solution.