As we all know, the Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, IL has been gradually declining since about 2017 or 2018 (give or take a couple years) with many of their anchor stores and pop culture stores closing.

Easily the biggest hits the mall took was when Round1 had to close in October 2020 and Cinemark having to close in January 2021.

Many people such as myself loved taking in a movie at Cinemark as well as playing the Japanese rhythm games on Saturdays, along with having dinner at Red Robin or the food court, shopping at places like Hot Topic, Spencer’s, Hot Rags, Fye, etc., all of which have also closed (except Fye, but it’s set to close this month). Round1 was also a popular hangout place amongst anime and convention fans, and Cinemark popular amongst movie lovers. It would also be nice to get back the other said pop culture stores, but the biggest comeback would be Cinemark and Round1, at least to start with.

But in more recent news, the village of Bloomingdale has managed to acquire ownership of the mall, and is envisioning it as a green community gathering area surrounded by restaurants and entertainment, which you can read about here. https://www.dailyherald.com/20240108/news/a-new-rebirth-bloomingdale-moves-to-complete-acquisition-of-stratford-square-mall/

Considering how highly popular both Cinemark and Round1 were, let’s encourage the village officials to try to get those two places brought back. Especially considering they fall into the entertainment category, and how beloved and frequently busy they were. It will probably take the right communciations and/or funding, but Cinemark recently bought back the recently closed Regal in Warrenville, so it’s worth a try.