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Both the New Sudbury Centre and the Southridge Mall are opening to patrons as of 11 a.m. today (Friday, June 12) as part of the Stage 2 loosening of COVID-19 restrictions in Ontario.
Meanwhile, the Rainbow Centre Mall is taking more than a week longer to reopen — the downtown mall will open its doors to the public Monday, June 22.
Brenda Folz, marketing director with the New Sudbury Centre, said the mall will be operating on reduced hours for now (11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends).
She said the mall has also increased its cleaning schedule, and there will be more hand sanitizer stations. Patrons can also expect to see physical distancing decals and modifications to the washrooms.
In some cases, people may have to wait before entering a store which is limiting the number of customers in their unit at one time, so Folz encourages patience.
“The food court at this time is going to be a takeout-only,” she said. “That’s in line with government legislation.”
Folz said a “good percentage” of the mall’s stores are opening today. She has a running list of mall stores and when they’re reopening up on the New Sudbury Centre’s website — check out that list here.
“I was in yesterday and was able to speak to quite a few of the managers, asking what their opening day was going to be,” she said.
“Everybody was smiling and excited to be back and excited to welcome their customers back. I think everybody is ready for today, and we can’t wait to see all the customers again.”
Southridge Mall general manager Ryan Bouchard said the reopening of stores is on a tenant-by-tenant basis, but said the majority of the mall’s stores will be open as of today.
The South End mall will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
“We have measures in place to promote social distancing and keep everybody safe,” he said. “We’re doing extra cleaning. We have extra access to hand sanitizer and reduced hours, and there’s no seating in the food court or the mall.”
More information on safety measures being implemented at the Southridge Mall is available on the mall’s website.
Robert Green, property manager with the Rainbow Centre Mall, said the downtown mall — which also has an office complex that remained open during the pandemic — is taking a bit longer to reopen its retail area as tenants make safety modifications.
When the mall reopens June 22, doors to the retail area of the mall will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. It will be closed on Sunday. Hours at individual stores will vary.
In addition to increased cleaning and physical distancing protocols, the Rainbow Mall is taking measures one step further — people entering the retail portion of the mall will receive a verbal screening with questions about whether they’ve been ill, ect.
“We’re seeking to be at the top of the curve in terms of putting the health and safety of people first,” Green said. “We don’t just want to do the bare minimum. We want to be the leader.”
As in every mall, the seating in the food court will remain closed, as will two of the mall’s larger tenants — the Downtown Movie Lounge and World Gym. That’s because all gyms and movie theatres remain closed throughout the province under pandemic restrictions.
