What Weird Things Are Malls Doing to Survive? Mall Talk Wants to Know.
Paige Weldon and Emily Faye, two LA-based comedians and aficionados in the ways of Southern California mall culture, aren’t particularly interested in dead malls. This feels refreshing during a time when most people—at least online—are more interested in malls dying than living.
That’s not to say that Mall Talk, their podcast on Forever Dog, doesn’t blend the past with the present—malls are, after all, one of the few common threads that connect our childhood memories in some form. But as their tagline says, Paige and Emily “don’t think hanging out at the mall should stop in adulthood.” They invite comedians like Jamie Lee, Brandon Wardell, Frankie Quinones, and Atsuko Okatsuka to talk about their mall memories and, importantly, their current mall-going habits—as well as highlighting the guest’s favorite store.
Below, the gals chat with Very Famous about their favorite LA malls, their ideal day at the mall—candy and Barnes & Noble are involved—and the bliss of the perfect Madewell shirt, unexpectedly on sale.
Tell me a little about your background as mall lovers. Why did you start a podcast about them?
Paige: We started the podcast because we both go to the mall all the time.
Emily: The local favorite place, which is The Americana and The Galleria, which we talk about a lot on the podcast, we were already talking about it in our real life all the time. We would go there to hang out and do whatever on weekdays, and we’d always text each other mall updates, so then we were like, “Hmm, maybe people might want to hear this.”
Paige: I feel like the mall is this thing—we both spend a lot of time there and like it—but I do feel like when you tell someone else that, they say, “Oh yeah, I also love the mall.” So we were like, “Let’s see if this can take.”
I mean who doesn’t love the mall—I guess there are some people, but I don’t know if you want to talk to them.
Paige: It comes up every once in a while. We’ll start the podcast, and the guest’s first thing out of their mouth will be, “I actually hate the mall.”
What do you do with the people who start out saying they don’t like malls?
Emily: We try to get to the bottom of why they don’t like the mall, what it is they don’t like about it.
Paige: We kind of psychoanalyze…
Emily: But then we always get to, well, did you hang out at the mall when you were younger, and they always did. Even people who don’t like the mall now, they have a history with the mall.
What is your ideal day at the mall?
Paige: I’d want it to be a Tuesday afternoon, when school is in session, when nobody is there. I like a day where I don’t particularly have anywhere to be before or after, I’m just going to walk around. Then you can just relax and peruse. I think it would also have to include a meal at some point—I’m thinking of The Americana, and there’s not a ton I like to eat there. Often, I will go to the In-N-Out that’s on the outskirts.
If I’m there long enough, I’ll need a snack as well, and hopefully, a store I like has a sale or something. I think Emily and I share this, we both like to sit at Barnes & Noble and write.
Emily: I think my ideal day at the mall would be to, first, find a great parking spot, then get a bag of candy from the candy store just to walk around with. I would just walk around picking at it. Definitely at some point get a savory snack like a pretzel or a sandwich at a good place to just sit for a little bit. Of course this is a week day.
Then, look around Barnes & Noble a little bit, and definitely a sale. It would be great if Madewell was having one of their 40% off sales. Then I went in, and there was a shirt that I really liked, and it was like $20 before even the extra 40% off. And I feel really good about that shirt.
How do you guys feel about the fixation on dead malls, the kind of internet community around them, is that something y’all are into? Or is it more about the here and now?
Paige: I’ve definitely seen the Dead Malls Reddit, but it just kind of bums me out.
Emily: I guess I’m interested in the phenomenon of the dying American mall, but the whole abandoned malls thing, like I’m genuinely not that interested. I’m more interested in how malls are thriving in an age of the internet—like what are they doing, who’s there. Because it’s easy for businesses to die out now with the internet, so what leads to the mall continuing to be a place where people will go.
Paige: I was at the Westfield in San Francisco, and it’s a huge mall, and it was interesting to see that they had a whole coworking space in the back of it. It’s interesting to me how malls are trying to stay afloat by having some other business come in and use the space so the rest of it can thrive.
Emily: I feel like, you know, malls are dying, it’s the same old story. People just aren’t going there anymore, but every mall that’s thriving has some weird, distinct thing. It’s either really fancy, or it has art installations or it has rides. Something weird.
Tell me about your favorite LA mall!
Emily: It definitely is the one we talk about a lot, which is The Galleria and The Americana, which are technically two totally separate malls, but they’re right across the street from each other.
I think it’s why it’s our favorite—you get the more classic indoor mall experience at The Galleria. but then you also get the super-new, fancy, kind-of kitschy, outdoor faux European facade of walking around outside a mall at The Americana. You can get both of those in one day.
Paige: You’re not going to find Hotdog on a Stick at The Americana.
Emily: Or like a Hot Topic or a Gap or a Uniqlo. You will never find those at The Americana, but you will find those at The Galleria because that’s a truly classic Pacsun-next-to-a-Tillys-across-from-a-Zumiez sort of mall.
What’s surprised you about the guests you’ve had on, their mall memories? What has it been like to connect with people through malls?
Paige: I think what surprised me at first was—I figured everyone has mall stories—but I feel a number of episodes have started to turn into an interview about someone’s childhood, where they’re now telling us the story of where they grew up and their family situation through mall stories. I think that’s what surprised me, is how sometimes it gets weirdly deep.
Emily: People will immediately, without a second thought, be like, “OK, there was the nice mall, and then there was the other mall, and the other mall was the one where we all hung out but the nice one was the one where…” All these things are at the top of their minds, these very specific dynamics are just there.
Totally! Malls connect people from so many different backgrounds. Most everyone has a mall experience. What’s your favorite food court stop, though I know that’s a very mood-based thing.
Paige: In terms of food, there are the classics, Sbarro and Hot Dog on a Stick are what you’d think of in terms of mall classics. But I get more excited when a mall has something weird.
Emily: I always get excited about a Cheesecake Factory. I’m going to have so many choices, whatever I have is going to be a decadent pasta-and-chicken dish.
Are there any future plans you can talk about for the podcast?
Emily: We definitely have some special episodes that will break the format a little bit that we’re planning.
Paige: We really want to do a special episode where we go to Ontario Mills and go to the Rainforest Cafe. That’s definitely one coming up soon, and that one will probably be just us. Forever Dog, the network we’re on, is starting to have monthly live shows at The Lyric Hyperion in LA, so we’ll have one of those some Friday. Follow us and we’ll post.
Follow Mall Talk at @malltalkpod on Instagram, and find Paige Weldon here and Emily Faye here.
