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Back in March, I published a post called “One last trip to the Muncie Mall.” As it turns out, I’m a liar! Last week, I wanted to see how the inside’s holding up now that demolition has started on the exterior. The results were not surprising. 

I know I’ve been writing a lot about Muncie Mall lately, but there are a few good reasons. For one, it’s not every day you get a front-row seat to the slow death of a local institution! It’s also a rare opportunity to finally establish myself as a primary source instead of a secondary one. What’s more is that many former Muncie people have moved away and are anxious to see what’s left of this community stalwart. Documenting its disappearance is a series of once-in-a-generation stories.

Finally, the response to my posts has been overwhelming. Eight of my Muncie Mall posts rank among my fifteen most-read articles this year. They’ve brought more than 33,000 readers here! Quite frankly, posts like this keep the lights on. As long as there are new developments, I’ll keep covering them.

My most recent trip inside Muncie Mall took place last Friday. I walked in the main entrance next to Books A Million like I always do and the first change was immediately visible: Zales had closed. The lights were on but the security grille was down. A couple of employees were boxing things up. That’s a shame, since Zales was in the mall on opening day in 1970. The rumor mill indicates that the store has no intention to reopen here.

Turning left -south- from Zales, no stores remain open between the old Carson’s and shuttered JCPenney. In recent years, this wing was home to Ann Nails, Art Spa, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, Blondie’s Cookies, Buckle, Country Charm, Francesca’s, GNC, Icing, Rue 21, Seals Furniture, Shoe Department Encore, and Wireless Toybox. The Buckle was the last to leave- it moved to Muncie Mall Plaza back in June.

Here’s a look north along the mall’s main concourse. From left to right are the former homes of the Buckle, the Mainstream Arcade -once the entrance hall to the Muncie Mall 3 cinema and Sultan’s Castle- and Icing. The storefront with the roll-up security door was most recently Carson’s. The space with the blue accent strip housed a cell phone accessory store. That’s a sliver of Bath & Body Works on the right.

Books-A-Million and its Joe Muggs Café were as busy as ever. The store still has a loyal following in Muncie! I hope it finds a new home after the mall closes. The vacant Michael’s or Party City nearby seem like natural fits, or perhaps it’ll become part of whatever new retail space eventually replaces the mall. As encouraging as the crowds were, though, I couldn’t help but notice the growing number of water-stained ceiling tiles above its interior entrance.

Just past Books A Million, I was surprised to see Hot Topic still clinging to life since it’s been running clearance sales for the past few months. Of anywhere in the mall, this was the place I spent the majority of my time in high school! Unfortunately, I can’t recall what the tiny tinted storefront next to it was.

Looking north into the former Sears wing, more of the mall’s fading retail lineup came into view. On the left are the former locations of F.Y.E., The Children’s Place, and Daily Thread. Across the concourse, past Hot Topic, were Torrid and Aeropostale, along with that small storefront whose tenant has escaped my memory. Even after years of visiting Muncie Mall, a few mysteries remain.

Here’s the mall’s newest tenant, Maurice’s. The clothing retailer first opened there in 1990, then abandoned it for a place in the nearby plaza twelve years later.  Oddly enough, though, Maurice’s recently came full circle: in February, it came back inside just weeks before owners announced the entire place would be demolished! At least it was fairly busy when I walked past.

The northwest wing, added in 1996 to connect a new L.S. Ayres store to the rest of the mall, was where most of the action was left. Tradehome was still there, running a BOGO sale. Lane Bryant used to sit to the left of it in the image, and PINK sat to the right.

Nirvana, a store with band tees, body jewelry, incense, and stuff like that, remains open near the grade separation down towards the old L.S. Ayres/Macy’s anchor. I think I remember this spot as American Eagle before Nirvana moved in. A few years ago, Squeeze Play was on the left and Spencer Gifts was at the right. I think Lane Bryant once occupied the storefront closest to the carousel.

Much had changed since my last visit to this part of the mall. For starters, the sports card shop and the banner store had both moved elsewhere. Still, Louie’s Tux Shop remained near the mall’s northwest terminus. I always thought that Louie’s was a local one-off, but the South Bend-based chain dates to 1948! Including Muncie Mall’s, there are sixteen locations today.

Serenty Spa & Boutique by Pinal also remains open. The lights were off towards the mall’s most northwestern entrance, but someone was in there getting his limbs rotated. Good for Pinal, who I don’t know and isn’t compensating me for this brief mention.

Then there was Finish Line. It wasn’t bustling, but the lights were on, the shelves were stocked, and it still looked every bit like a functioning shoe store. I only ever bought one pair of kicks there, but I still remember them: a sick pair of Nike Barkley Posite Maxes back around 2013. Inspired by Charles Barkley’s years with the Phoenix Suns, they combined purple and orange with a scaly texture and a glow-in-the-dark outsole. They were impossible to miss! Without question, they were the coolest pair of sneakers I’ve ever owned.

The last of the mall’s remaining stores -and its only occupied anchor- was Buyer’s Market. The building itself opened as L.S. Ayres in 1996 before becoming Macy’s about a decade later. Buyer’s Market opened in 2021 a year after Macy’s closed. At some point, the store sealed off its entrance to the rest of the mall. That left only one thing to do: drive around to see what had become of the place. Soon, it will be the only structure saved from the wrecking ball.

Here’s what’s become of the place: only one of Buyer’s Market’s three exterior entrances remains in use; the one at the southwestern side of the building. John and I parked and headed inside. Taped to the entrance was a faded sign advertising Quiksilver and Billabong surfwear. I didn’t know those imprints were still around!

If you’ve never head of Buyer’s Market, it’s a small chain with twelve stores spread around the country. If you’ve never been inside one, imagine a cross between Big Lots and Ollie’s, with all the raccoonery of a Dollar General. The merchandise is loosely organized into departments so you can organize your trip, but “polished” isn’t a word anyone would use to describe the shopping experience. Buyer’s Market occupies maybe half of the former Macy’s building. A dark partition divides the storefront from its storeroom.

Buyer’s Market may have been one of the mall’s busiest stores, but it doesn’t really feel like part of it. Looking out from its old interior entrance was a little sad: the glass doors were permanently locked, cutting shoppers off. Stacks of cardboard boxes, lawn chairs, bags of merchandise, and assorted yard goods were piled haphazardly against the windows. Buyer’s Market is an island unto itself.

Soon after we entered, my brother remarked that Buyer’s Market’s lighting “says tasteful department store but the stock says aggressive fluorescents.” He had a point. Here’s the store’s electronics department. I’m glad the old anchor space isn’t sitting vacant anymore, even if the shopping experience isn’t really my style. Then again, I’ve always been a bit of a contrarian. Judging by the steady stream of customers, plenty of people clearly enjoy shopping there.

I don’t think I’d ever fully appreciated just how enormous L.S. Ayres and Macy’s really were. Near the northwest corner of the sales floor, I spotted one of those flexible plastic strip curtains you’d expect to see at a car wash, separating the public area from employees-only space. Curiosity got the better of me, so I slipped my phone between the strips and snapped a photo. Beyond them stretched a cavernous expanse of the former department store, now filled with pallets, gaylords, and towering stacks of merchandise—a reminder of just how much of the old anchor lies hidden behind Buyer’s Market’s sales floor.

Buyer’s Market’s shelves are packed with towels, pillows, blankets, and comforters, many advertised at 50 percent off or more. There are certainly some genuine bargains to be found if you’re willing to browse. For me, though, the store has more of a warehouse atmosphere than a traditional department store, which makes it feel very different from the Macy’s and L.S. Ayres that once occupied the space. Judging by the number of shoppers, it’s clearly found an audience. As for me, one lap around the store was enough, and I’m not likely to make many return visits.

Walking through Muncie Mall now was different than it felt even a few months ago. Knowing that much of what lies beyond those walls has already been reduced to rubble, every storefront, empty concourse, and faded sign carries a new sense of finality. Before long, its corridors will only exist in photographs and memories. That’s why I keep documenting them.