3 Beloved 90s Mall Restaurants That Have Disappeared In NJ

If you were born in the 90s or earlier, then you understand the feeling of nostalgia I'm referring to when I talk about the days when we'd used to spend an entire Saturday at the mall.

It was once the center of our social lives. For me as a 90s baby, I spent the majority of my middle school weekends there. Parents wouldn't dream of dropping their 12-year-olds there for the day now. It's not so much any specific mall's fault as it is how dangerous parents perceive society to be these days. Can you blame them?

Was there anything better than getting lost in stores like PacSun, Limited Too, or the Discovery Store for the day? As I got older, I would shop at stores like Charlotte Russe, Wet Seal, Delia's, and Zumiez.

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If you're wondering what any of those are, chances are you're probably older than me. You definitely remember stores like Sam Goody and GadZooks, though! You probably ran up and down the mall when there was a Radio Shack in there, too.

A time to be alive, wasn't it?

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Sure, you miss all the stores, but what about the food court? So many flavors of childhood lived in the food court that now only exist (for the most part) in our memories.

Three specific restaurants that were once found here in NJ malls seem to stick out more than the rest. I'll start with one that I always enjoyed.

3.) Ruby Tuesday

I was a weird kid who was obsessed with soup and salad. You couldn't ask for more than that salad bar! Sure, there are some Ruby Tuesdays still in existence today, but for many people, that dining experience is a thing of the past.

2.) Hot Dog On A Stick

It was your quintessential grab-and-go snack during the 80s and 90s. You need something quick to fill your tummy? Grab a "hot dog on a stick!" Let's just call them what they are, people... they're basically corn dogs... right? I'm actually not sure. I've never had one.

1.) Orange Julius

Was this store and those drinks and smoothies not the epitome of the 90s? An Orange Julius drink was THE TASTE of that entire decade. If I'm being even more precise, it was more popular from the mid 80s to the mid 90s. Regardless, everybody loved those drinks.

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Now, the Orange Julius delight hasn't exactly gone away forever. More like it's ✨ evolved. ✨

Believe it or not, Dairy Queen currently owns the Orange Julius brand. You can still get the original flavors at any participating DQ. You can check out that list HERE.

Okay, okay... before I go, I had to throw in a bonus one for the boomers.

Bonus: Harvest House Cafeteria

Okay, so this one's not really 90s, but since it's for the boomers, I had to do it. Harvest House Cafeteria used to once live inside Woolworth's Department Stores. Believe it or not, there was a Harvest House in the Cherry Hill Mall during the 1960s. This sit-down eatery was more of a restaurant style dinner rather than counter service. Who doesn't love a good buffet? A thread on Reddit reveals an old ad for Harvest House in Cherry Hill that features a turkey dinner for $1.19 per person. Check it out HERE.

Are there any other 90s mall restaurants you wish would make a comeback? Let us know on the app.