Coon Rapids Family Center

Coon Rapids Family Center is located in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. It is one of the only 1960s malls in Minnesota that has received no updates. The mall opened in 1964 with a Red Owl grocery store as its anchor.
In addition to groceries, this Red Owl also contained a restaurant and pharmacy. Other 1960s tenants of the mall include Amidore’s (which sold electronics), Leib’s Fashions (which claimed to be Coon Rapid’s first dress shop), M. Hagerty Barbers, Coon Rapids Liquor Store #3, and Bennett’s Shoes.
In 1972, the mall doubled in size and added a movie theater called the Owl Theater. This was the same year a regional mall, Northtown Mall, opened aix miles away in Blaine.
In 1976, the movie theater reopened on April 1st as the Rapid Theater. Other tenants that opened in the 1970s included: Radio Shack, Zunker-Kuzel Sports, Ye Olde Workshoppe (a craft home decor center), Temple Book & Bible, The Beauty Bar, and Pet Land - a pet store that was “locally owned and operated and of course supervised by Thumbs the store’s mascot.” The mall also contained Minnesota Fabrics and Fancy That - a store that carried a large range of items from candy to art glass to live plants.
An family entertainment place called Grand Slam moved into the grocery store in 1997.
The 1970s expansion is a school is today. One could walk everywhere in the complex until at least 2015. Management built the wall sometime between 2015 and 2018 separating the original building from the expansion.
Excluding the school and Grand Slam, the mall was down to two tenants at the beginning of 2023: a barber and a tailor. The tailor left in 2023 leaving the barber shop as the only small tenant.
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File:Coon Rapids Family Center (Coon Rapids, MN) - 1960's gem
Category:Malls that opened in 1964
Category:Malls in Minnesota
Category:Red owl