The Shops At Willow Bend: Plano, Texas on DeadMalls.com

THE SHOPS AT WILLOW BEND: PLANO, TX

J. Nagle's Commentary:

User submitted September 29, 2022

The Shops at Willow Bend is a shopping mall located in Plano, Texas. Originally touted as an upscale mall, it is now slowly dying and bleeding stores and is currently anchored by Neiman Marcus, Macy's, Dillard's, and Create & Barrel.

Willow Bend opened in August 2001 at 75% occupancy. At the time, the anchors were Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Foley's, and Dillard's. Immediately, trouble arose from the start.

For one, the mall failed to cater to both genders, sticking more to stores that strictly catered to women. Second, it opened a month before the 9/11 attacks, which afterward caused the economy to go on a downward spiral. However, what prominently killed Willow Bend was the other malls in close proximity to the mall that contained more entertainment options, diverse selection, and pumped up more fanfare - especially Stonebriar Centre in nearby Frisco, which today, has nearly all of its anchor spaces filled and is booming with life.

Willow Bend's main rivals are Stonebriar and Plano's own The Shops at Legacy, along with the Allen Premium Outlets (a Simon mall) in Allen and Galleria Dallas and NorthPark Center in Dallas.

Early upscale tenants at the mall were Escana, Burberry, Bruno Magli, Armani, Montblanc, Nicole Miller, Diesel, D&G, and Loro Piana, among many other stores. All of these have now closed.

In 2004, Saks Fifth Avenue was added as a fith anchor. However, Willow Bend's slow, hardly noticable downward spiral would begin that same year with the closure of Lord & Taylor. Foley's rebranded to Macy's in 2007.

Another blow was handed to Willow Bend in 2010 with the closure of Saks, leaving the space vacant. The old Lord & Taylor was coverted to Crate & Barrel, accessible outside the mall.

As of 2022, the old Saks has been demolished to make way for a series of restaurants.

However, Willow Bend began to bleed many name-brand tenants since the shuttering of Saks, including bareMinerals, AVEDA, Zales, Origins, Crabtree & Evelyn, A'gaci, Victoria's Secret, Brookstone, Gymboree, Janie & Jack, Everything But Water, Apple Store, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Sephora, Anthropologie, Forever 21, and many more.

In 2016, if you would have told me Willow Bend was a dead mall, I would have harshly refuted you. But if you told me now, I'd wholeheartedly agree.

Today, Willow Bend's corridors are dead, lacking life, and mostly consist of mom and pop or furniture stores. Neiman Marcus' cafe on the first floor has been indefinitely closed, and the suits in the displays of Brooks Brothers are wrinkled, showing their age. Anthropologie and AVEDA are the most recent closings to take place, with Anthropologie relocating to the bustling and more posh Stonebriar (found in the Nordstrom wing).

Willow Bend's food court has also greatly suffered, once boasting the likes of Chick-fil-a, Sonic, and a swimming shop, all of which are gone. Four, non-name brand restaurants occupy the space. California Pizza Kitchen is still open and is located next to Macy's. The restaurants in the former Saks wing have also done little to bring in business. The Crayola Experience, near Macy's, is somewhat busy, but nothing seems to draw to this mall.

As of 2022, Willow Bend's final remaining name tenants are the following:

ANCHORS: Neiman Marcus, Macy's, Dillard's, Crate & Barrel (outside mall)

INLINE TENANTS: Allen Edmonds, Apricot Lane (I'm putting them here, they're decently popular), Bath and Body Works, Belmont Jewelers, Bosphorous Mediterranean Grill, Brighton Collectibles, Brooks Brothers, California Pizza Kitchen, Cellairis, Claire's, Crayola Experience, Express, Foot Locker, Francesca's, H&M, J. Jill, Johnston & Murphy, Journeys, Lenscrafters, Lids, L'Occitane, Loft, Lovesac, Lush, MAC, Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, Swarovski Crystals, Sweet & Sassy, Terra Mediterranean, Vineyard Vines, Wetzel's Pretzels, and Z Gallerie.

Only time will tell what Willow Bend's future holds as a mall, but it looks very grim - especially once you see it in person.

Pablo's Commentary:

Posted March 29, 2006 (user submitted)

The Shops at Willow Bend opened shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, just in time for the economy to gown downhill. It was a very expensive project of the Taubman Co, and was touted as an ultra-upscale shopper's paradise, which fits with the surrounding affulent community. They even offered to buyout the 2 year old Home Depot across the street and knock it down, because it didn't fit their idea for this "upscale" area. Home Depot declined and still operates a thriving store there next to a successful Costco.

It was targeted to be an upscale "fashion oriented" mall. They were very selective about who they would have as tennants. No Sears, Mervyn's, Kohl's, Beall's or movie theatres for example.

At the grand opening, it was less than 70% leased. Many of the original stores were the "first and only" location in the state of Texas. A few years later, most of those stores were gone.

The "deluxe" food court lost several tenants, including two full service fancy restaurants, which are still vacant today.

Foot traffic is always weak, even on Friday and Saturday nights when most other local malls are packed. Many small shops have gone under, although management is quick to cover up those shops with wallboard so it looks as if there was never anything there to begin with. I suppose that gives a better impression than seeing a bunch of vacant storefronts.

I would point to these primary factors for the lack of success of Willow Bend:

Opening right after 9-11
Having no entertainment venues.
Having only "expensive" stores, no moderate priced stores.
Having nothing for men. Okay, there is a Sharper Image and a Brookstone, but that's it fellas. There is absloutely no reason for a man to go to this mall. Everything is geared towards women. While most malls target females, they do have stuff for guys, such as RadioShack, Sears (tools, electronics, applicances), arcades, sporting goods stores, electronics stores, etc. Willow Bend has none of these.

If you're going for a fun day of shopping with your wife/girlfriend, do you think most men will want to go here or to the other malls where they can "run off" and do man stuff, and meet up with their honey later?

Saks Fifth Avenue was to open in 2004, but was delayed for more than a year for "unknown reasons." It is open today.

Of the 5 anchor stores, Lord & Taylor now sits vacant, victim of The May Company's decision to close several stores, even before the Federeated merger. Rumor has it Sears is interested in that space, but management doesn't want "that kind of store." Penney's is also too "low brow" for them, but I don't think Penney's is even interested.

There aren't any other major department stores in Dallas, so I guess they'll just let it sit vacant until they change their minds about Sears or Penney's.

In the past year, management has been more liberal about who they let in, including more "non-traditional" tenants such as doctor's offices, military recruiters (under discussion) and a sales office for a nearby luxury car dealership.

This isn't exactly a dead mall, at least not yet. I know from firsthand information that the Neiman-Marcus and Dillard's are profitable. I assume Foley's must be making money as this store is not slated for closure due to the merger; it will soon become a Macy's.

Bottom Line: Willow Bend could go either way. If new management were brought in, along with new thinking and more variety, I'm sure this could be a success story. As far as the whole mall closing, I find it unlikely simply because it really is a great location, and too many people (including the government) have too much at stake.

Sidenote: The first ever "upscale" Wal-Mart Supercenter just opened diagonally across the freeway. Fake wood floors, wider aisles, huge wine selection, no guns, no big automotive section and no fabric department.

Links:

www.shopwillowbend.com - Official Web Site of the Mall

John Lewis’ Commentary:

User submitted in 2023

If you want a current picture of Willow Bend, just go to their website and look at the mall map/directory. Then note a large number of blank {read: unleased) spaces and you'll learn what's happening rather quickly. 4/13/22

Vik Jasrotia’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2021

Mall is still dead even after the reboot. The new restaurants and entertainments options have not brought any extra traffic to the smaller stores inside. Apple left the mall and moved to the Galleria because of a County violation. News broke yesterday that the malls loan is delinquent and they are in the process of building a new 10 screen movie theater.. The idiot owners did not choose to add a residential or townhome component which would have done wonders for the mall and the area. It is not going to end well.

MG Mg’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2019

I would remove this from the dead malls list. It was thriving when I went there just a few weeks ago. The rise of the surrounding area with Austin Ranch being a huge factor, has made this mall firmly planted into the alive category.

Andrew Dunlap’s Commentary:

This mall has a Neiman Marcus, Apple Store, Brooks Brothers, Macy's and Dillards. It opened 5 new restaurants and a Crayola Experience. It's not dead

Alan Heerwagen’s Commentary:

This mall is making a comeback and is adding some outside retail space.

Nick Marsh’s Commentary:

User submitted May 2014

The Shops at Willow Bend is hardly a dead mall. I\'ve been there on vacation to Texas. They have a huge Apple Store and Macys. The article has some good info about the mismanagement of the location, but I can honestly tell you it is not a dead mall.

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Sheila Stough’s Commentary:

User submitted Jul 2008

I agree with the post on the mall except one thing it did not open in 2001 as in 9-11, I was having lunch at Mall that day and they closed the mall for the day after our lunch. It had been open a while maybe a year.

Matt Hammer’s Commentary:

User submitted May 2008

The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, TX did not open "shortly after September 11, 2001" as you state in your article. The mall actually opened August 3, 2001. I know because I was first in line that morning as I waited to go to the third ever Apple retail store.

BC Richards’s Commentary:

User submitted Dec 2007

I was in that mall shortly after it opened and again 6 weeks ago. I could see the first signs of decay from the too high standard set by the original management. I understand the location was selected because at the time, many had high hopes for development of the town of Frisco, just to the north. The title New Paris of Texas was tossed around a lot. It hasn't turned out that way. The mall has, from Day One, been targeted to well heeled Frisco housewives with lots of disposable income and lots of time to spend. So the upper middle class, almost wealthy, demographic the mall was hoping for never really made it to the area. And the point that the mall has little or nothing for men is still very true. I was getting some glasses made and spent an entire hour wondering the mall. I think I went into 3 stores. There simply wasn't anything else for me as a single male, to do.

The fact that Stonebriar Centre is just a few miles north and services a much broader demographic can't be helping matters any. The Shops at Willow Bend was too closely pegged to the upscale development of Frisco. However, as Frisco's development plans are taking a decidedly more plebeian turn, the likelihood of the demographic the mall was planned & built for ever appearing is pretty remote. If it is to survive, the customer model will have to be completely rethought. Not likely. It will take a few more years, but like Frisco's hopes of being a new Paris, The Shops at Willow Bend will have deserved it's place on this website.

Rich’s Commentary:

User submitted Aug 2007

Although this mall is "not dead yet", there are still some excellent reasons to give this one a try. First off, the Dillard's is not "picked over" and always has the best selection during their sales. There is also an excellent Apple store if you're a Mac devotee. There's ton's of covered parking so your black Bimmer won't fry your hand when you head out and the food court, while partially unleased, is never crowded. There's a Great Clips that never has a very long wait and best of all...a Home Depot right across the street ! However, the #1 reason to visit this mall..the talent is incredible...this is where the "newly busted" in Dallas seem to congregate to show off their new guns and tote a nail polish in a Nieman's bag around all day. It's like a fashion show...my bu
ddies and I have spent a few hot summer days at lunch just cruising the aisles checking out the awesome ladies Dallas is world famous for.

So kick off the flip flops, put on a clean T shirt and head on over to the West Side where the beautiful people live !

R