East Brook Mall in Mansfield, CT Reveals Decades-Long Transformation

Sometimes a shopping mall can take on a transformation on its own and the one at East Brook Mall shows the changing needs of its community which includes Tolland, Windham, and New London Counties in Connecticut.

According to The Caldor Rainbow Web site, the mall opened April 24, 1975 and newspaper ads in the Hartford Courant told customers to come and "be in the center of everything" with a mall located in Mansfield near the Willimantic/Mansfield town line.

Anchored by Caldor Discount Store, Sage-Allen Department Store, and a A&P Supermarket, the mall truly had a variety of everything.

The ad stated that "over 30 outstanding stores and shops under a climate controlled roof in a lovely a la natural décor. From fashion to cosmetics, plants to appliances, supermarket, and everything you need for the family in one easy stop."

Stores included Books Unlimited, Bruce Too, Cricket, C.V.S., Eastern Horizons, Fayva Shoes, G.C. Lawson Farms, Gerald J. Lipee Jewelers, I Natural Cosmetics, Leighton's, Lessenger Real Estate, Music 'N More, Papa Gino Restaurant, Flenn's New York Delicatessen, Sackett's Hallmark Card and Party Shop, Savings Bank of New Britain, Shetucket Hayness Co., So-Fro Fabrics, The Connecticut Aquarium, The Hoot, The Plant Store, The Weathervane, Tubridy's, and Wahner 5.

Acres of free parking were advertised near Route 195 and Interstate 84 (now known as Route 6 after the original highway plan was cancelled).

While the ad stated the stores would be open "six nights 'til 9:30", today most close at 9:00 p.m.

The 37,000 square foot Sage-Allen store, which takes up 15 percent of the mall's space, went out of business and was replaced by a J.C. Penney Department Store while A&P Supermarkets became a T.J. Maxx Department Store.

Caldor would briefly become an Ames store becoming converted into a Kohl's Department Store while Tubridy's closed and The Hoot moved allowing the creation of a Cinema North theater.

This means that today the mall is anchored by Kohl's, J.C. Penney, T.J. Maxx, and the Cinema North Mansfield Movieplex which features eight screens.

Two of the oldest tenants, Papa Gino's Pizza Restaurant and The Hoot are still located in the mall.

While The Hoot moved to a larger and more visible location next to J.C. Penney and Papa Gino's converted its outdoor entrance into one entering into a new entrance tower area, both still pay homage to the mall's early days.

The new entrance towers were built at the mall entrances, two on the north side and two on the south side, and are part of a renovation project to give the mall a look with more natural light, and a Cedar wood accent.

One of those entrance towers allows new mall access from the back of Kohl's, formerly Caldor/Ames.

Kohl's invested money into the building by cutting off 25 percent of the space to allow a left-end driveway to the new rear entrance.

This rear entrance removed the former orange Caldor labelscar on the building and cleaned up graffiti that used to be on the backside of the building.

During the mall's history, several dollar stores have opened, relocated, and closed.

While one would think that a dollar store would do well in a discount-oriented mall, apparently shoppers would rather have the convenience of shopping chain stores to save them a trip to nearby West Farms Mall in West Hartford, Buckland Hills in Manchester, or Crystal Mall in Waterford.

Currently, the mall also features two outparcel buildings: The Savings Institute Bank and Trust branch with drive-up ATM and an Applebee's Grill and Bar.

They are located in the Kohl's parking lot abutting Route 195.

Today's East Brook Mall appeals to the discount shopper and its biggest weakness is the fact that shoppers must physically go outside the mall to access T.J. Maxx which is in the same building as the mall.

T.J. Maxx was the former A&P Supermarket, which also never was directly connected to the mall.

Today the East Brook Mall consists of Kohl's, J.C. Penney (with salon and catalog desk), Cinema North, T.J. Maxx, Olympia Sports, Radio Shack, a health wellness testing laboratory, Fashion Bug/Fashion Bug Plus, Payless ShoeSource, Famous Footwear, Subway, EB Games, Papa Gino's, Eblens, A.T. Nails, Cutting Crew, Asian Bistro, GNC, FYE, an Armed Forces recruiting office, Smith Keon Jewelers, Bank North, and a number of vendors in the middle of the mall including seasonal crafters and cellular phone companies.