My wife needed some work clothes since she is going back to work after taking 2 years off to take care of the kids during COVID. We shopped in Glendale at the Americana on Brand and at the Brea Mall. However, some of the items she got didn't fit right after bringing it home. So she needed to exchange some items and buy new ones, too.
My boys, aged 3, 6 and 8 dreaded going shopping (is this a guy thing that we're born with?), but it was a Sunday and a good reason to get out and spend time with mama and explore.
Getting here is really easy, right off the 60, but the signs to the stores, like H & M, in the parking lot, are misleading. There's an arrow pointing left, but you follow it and there's no other indication where a particular store is. Luckily, I asked "Hey Google" on my Samsung phone and we were directed to one of the two mall entrances that weren't Macy's.
Once inside, it's a clean and well laid out mall that is bright and airy. It's small, but the stores are the ones my wife likes and I appreciated it was basically a straight shot from one end to the other.
My boys immediately got excited when they saw Cinnabon as we entered (they actually saw the sign from the parking lot before we even got to the door...). We quickly found the stores my wife wanted to shop and we also went to the food court to get some lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick, some corn dogs, a pepper jack cheese stick, an American cheese stick and a Philly Cheese Steak next door.
Service was quick, but the tables were dirty (where's all the disinfection???) and there wasn't a high chair for my little guy. The bathrooms, especially the family ones, were clean and spacious. My boys marveled at the little toilet and sink.
There's a "play area" on the second level next to the closed second floor of Forever 21 ( the first floor store is still open). It's basically a carpeted area that is enclosed by vinyl covered foam walls with a beat up half arch climbing/sliding thing, a small plastic bridge and 4 small plastic things on the floor that look like it would open a kids lip if he fell on it.
However, it was a great time for the kids to run around, be silly and get some energy out. As I approached it, I thought to myself that it was a breeding ground of bacteria and colds and, as I expected, my 3 year old got a runny nose and green moco after playing there...Oh well, maybe it's still too early to unmask...
The hand sanitizer station by the play area was empty, too, so bring your own hand sanitizer.
On the way out, we hit Cinnabon. The smell was great, but they ran out of the 6 pack of medium rolls. So we had to order 3 large ones (oh, boo hoo, pity, pity...). My boys ate like champs after burning all the calories from lunch at the play area. In the car, they asked if we were coming back. I said to them, "I thought you didn't want to go shopping with mama and wanted to stay at home and play?"
They responded in unison, "Oh, but we didn't know this was what a mall was like. We like it when mama shops and we get to eat and play."
Hmmmm. If only they had a bar that served hot wings that was next to the play area. Yup, then dada would love this mall, too... read more