Willowbrook Mall

Willowbrook Mall is an indoor shopping center with a partial second floor located in Wayne, New Jersey, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. It is near the intersection of U.S. Route 46, Route 23 and Interstate 80. The mall opened in 1969 and was expanded or renovated in 1970, 1988, 2006, and 2015.
The mall has over 200 retail establishments and a gross leasable area (GLA) of 1,514,000 ft², and is the fourth-largest shopping mall in New Jersey. The mall anchors are Macy's, JCPenney Bloomingdale's, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Dave & Buster's.
With blue laws in effect in neighboring Bergen County, and nearby shopping haven Paramus imposing even stricter Sunday-sales restrictions of its own, Willowbrook Mall has benefited from the spillover of shoppers on Sunday.
The mall is currently owned by Brookfield Properties Retail Group.
== History ==
Construction of a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) Ohrbach's store in 1968, joined by a Sears, were the original anchors of what was designed as a two-level, 110-store, indoor shopping mall, encompassing 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2).
In 1993, Willowbrook Mall became one of the first malls in New Jersey to ban smoking on mall grounds.
Sears is the mall's only remaining original anchor store, while the former Bamberger's store has been open without interruption for the mall's entire existence. Bamberger's was rebranded as Macy's in 1986 after its corporate parent decided to rebrand its entire northeastern United States operation under its namesake marque. 
Ohrbach's came under new ownership and was rebranded as part of the Steinbach chain, which went out of business in 1996. The building was gutted and expanded for its new tenant Lord & Taylor, which opened in 1997. Stern's closed its doors in 2001 after its parent company, Federated Department Stores, retired the brand; the store was converted to its sister brand, Bloomingdale's, which opened in late 2002.
In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Willowbrook Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties.
In 2015, it was announced that the mall would undergo a two-year $23 million renovation. The renovation entailed new ceilings in the Sears and Macy's wings, an overhaul of the seating in the food court, new flooring throughout the mall, additional seating, and a two-story streetscape theme for the Bloomingdale's wing. In 2017, the Sears store was subleased to Dave & Buster's, which opened on Valentine's Day 2018.
The mall and its surrounding  roads and parking areas are prone to flooding in rainstorms. The Passaic River flows near the mall and one of its tributaries, the Pompton River, runs behind it.
In August 2018, Macy's added a Macy's Backstage outlet in a portion of its store.
Seritage plans to demolish the Sears Auto Center for a Cinemark movie theater.
P.F. Chang's China Bistro opened in the Bloomingdale's wing of the mall on January 22 2019.
In 2020 Lord & Taylor closed and Shoppers Find opened in the former Lord & Taylor but it closed in early 2023.
In 2023, BJ’s Wholesale Club opened and a gas station opened where Sears used to be.
In March of 2024 JCPenney moved from Wayne Town Center to the former Lord & Taylor/Shoppers Find location.
== Public transportation ==
The mall and its parking lots serve as a transportation hub for the surrounding area: An NJ Transit park and ride facility, opened in 1974, provides bus service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
== In popular culture ==
Willowbrook Mall was the site of The Adventures of Pete & Pete special episode, "What We Did on Our Summer Vacation" (May 17, 1992), in which Ellen's photo booth was located in the parking lot of the mall.
==Anchors==
* Macy's
* Sears (closed in 2019)
* Dave & Buster's (opened 2018)
* Lord & Taylor (opened 1997, closed in 2020)
* Bloomingdale's
* Shoppers Find former Lord & Taylor (opened in 2021, closed in 2023)
* JCPenney in the former Lord & Taylor/Shoppers Find (opened 2024)
*BJ’s Wholesale Club in the former Sears (opened 2023)
==Dining==
* Blaze Fast Fired Pizza
* Bourbon Street Café
* Brio
* California Pizza Kitchen
* Charley's Grilled Subs
* Cheesecake Factory
* Cinnabon
* Dave & Buster's
* Dairy Queen
* Dunkin' Donuts
* Jamba Juice
* Master Wok
* Nathan's Famous
* Orange Julius
* Popeye's
* Qdoba Mexican Grill
* Ruby Thai Kitchen
* Ruby Tuesday
* Saladworks
* Sarku Japan
* Starbucks
* Street Corner News
* Subway
* Taco Bell
* Wendy's
* Wetzel's Pretzels
== Gallery ==
=== Videos ===
File:Willowbrook Mall (NJ) - Raw & Real Retail|Mall Tour
==External Links ==
* Willowbrook Mall's Official Website
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Malls in New Jersey
Category:Brookfield Properties Retail Group Malls
Category:Multi-Level Malls
Category:Malls that opened in 1969
Category:Seritage Locations
Category:Dave & Buster's-anchored Properties
Category:Macy's-anchored Malls
Category:Bloomingdale's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Lord & Taylor-anchored Malls
Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Former Bamberger's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Stern's-anchored Malls
Category:Cinemark-anchored Malls
Category:P.F. Chang's Locations
Category:Former The Rouse Company Malls