We Counted How Many Stores are Still Open at this Struggling Mall in NJ

It wasn't that long ago that shopping malls truly defined New Jersey.

If you were an adult and you needed something, you went to the mall. If you were a teenager and you wanted to hang out somewhere, you went to the mall. If you wanted to see Santa or the Easter Bunny, you went to the mall.

Sadly, we've seen many anchor stores disappear over the past few years. Practically every mall had a Sears and/or JCPenney store — many of those have closed, leaving big empty spaces. Also gone are many mall standards. Music stores, book stores, KB Toys, Suncoast Video, Radio Shack... the list goes on and on.

As those stores have faded away, so has some of the draw and nostalgia of visiting a mall.

And while many are still successful in our region, a few are struggling. One of those properties that has seen better days is Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing.

• READ MORE: A Look Inside a Sears Store in NJ that Closed Almost 7 Years Ago

If you're thinking this is going to be another article that just bashes the mall, it's not. I've said this before and I'll say it again: I believe that mall can still be extremely successful. Neighboring malls in Deptford and Cherry Hill seem to be thriving while this one certainly needs a fresh coat of paint (and a new roof).

The mall's perception these days is probably its biggest hurdle. Ask anyone in the area about Hamilton Mall and there's about a 90% chance they'll say something negative about it.

However, there are quite a few stores and restaurants inside the mall that seem to be doing pretty well.

• READ MORE: Hamilton Mall JCPenney Store Closing (2019)

I recently was wondering exactly how many stores are still open in the mall, so I decided to stop by and count them. I visited around lunchtime on a Thursday afternoon — not exactly when you'd think there would be a big crowd — and it was actually a little busy. I was quite surprised by how many people were in the food court and how many places there were to eat.

So let's take a walk around and then I'll reveal how many businesses are open inside.

For the sake of saying so, I did not manage to get any pictures of the food court area, where most of the shoppers were, so those pictures might appear to be a bit lackluster. But again, the mall was fairly busy and up on the second floor, the big skylights made the mall look rather cheerful.

Counting Macy's and the furniture store in the old JCPenney space, regular stores, the restaurants and snack spots, and the smaller businesses that are along the mall's walkways, I counted 44 stores that were open.

That number, honestly, surprised me. Again, the perception is that "the mall is empty" -- but that's not the case.

Sure, the mall isn't exactly bustling and the number of closed stores appears to be outnumbering the ones that are open, but it's certainly not as drab as many think.

I left the mall that afternoon with this thought: it really wouldn't take much to turn the place around.