Oddities Abound at Trumbull, CT Hawley Lane Mall

For years, small enclosed malls have been slowly disappearing off the landscape replaced by large enclosed shopping malls with entertainment components and lifestyle centers, strip malls that feature something for everyone.

I believe small enclosed malls have a place and so do the owners of the 462,000 square foot Hawley Lane Mall in Trumbull, CT.

This mall has been through cycles of success, failure, extreme failure, and now success.

However, the owners of the mall should have unified the mall in a user friendly way and there are several oddities and unique aspects of this mall.

At one end of the Hawley Lane Mall is one-level Kohl's Department Store which features clothing, small appliances, home textiles, toys, and greeting cards.

It opened in the mall in 2000 after taking the lease of Caldor Department Store, a northeast discount store similar to Wal-Mart, which was an anchor of the mall since its opening in 1971.

At the other end of the mall is a one-level HomeGoods, a T.J. Maxx-style home furnishing discount store, opened in the mall in 2005 after taking the former Waldbaum's Supermarket, which was similar to today's Super Stop & Shop Supermarket.

Between Kohl's and HomeGoods, there is a main hallway of shops connected to the outside through two "mall entrances" near the exterior entrances of both of these anchor stores.

One of the unique aspects of the mall is its Dunkin' Donuts which has a mall entrance in the middle of the seating area.

This entrance connects the eatery's exterior entrance, its primary one, to a small corridor leading shoppers to Kohl's.
A similar situation occurs with Quizno's Sub Shop which shoppers walk past in order to get to HomeGoods.

Other stores in the hall include chains such as Payless ShoeSource, People's Bank, H&R Block, Radio Shack, Dress Barn, and a Miller's Hallmark card shop.

Independent stores include T.J.'s Wine and Liquor, Joyce Leslie, a children's clothing store, Crystal Nail's, Anthony's Hairstylists and Wigs, and Hawley Lane Opticians.