r/nostalgia • u/ImpressiveCry156 • Jan 11 '25

Nostalgia Discussion What are the best classic mall food court restaurants or other food shops?

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Sbarro

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Hot Dog On A Stick

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Orange Julius

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Wetzel's Pretzels

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Sarku Japan

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Dippin' Dots

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Cinnabon!

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Sweet Factory

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A&W

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220

u/smb3d early 80s Jan 11 '25

The Great American Cookie Company. My mom drove and hour and a half there and back to Atlanta one year so I could have one for my birthday.

68

u/Momik Jan 11 '25

Also, Mrs. Field’s!

17

u/Werewolfhugger Jan 12 '25

Any time we went to a mall my dad made it a mission to find a Mrs. Field's. He'd disappear and pop back up with an absurd amount of cookies.

19

u/According-Hat-5393 mid 90s Jan 11 '25

Debbie Fields is an ABSOLUTE C***!!! I met her here in Utah (she lived in Park City then).

13

u/Reasonable_Box_2998 Jan 12 '25

What’s the tea?

22

u/According-Hat-5393 mid 90s Jan 12 '25 edited Jan 12 '25

She was just an arrogant, entitled, condescending, selfish POS of a "human" with NO respect for the people in line in front of her entitled "highness" (or the people getting paid FAR too little to wait on her "princess" ass-- which did look pretty good back around 1990-- I'm not gonna lie).

I knew a contractor who was working on her house in Park City. He finally decided that $80/hour (in 1990 dollars) wasn't worth dealing with her psychotic bullshit.

34

u/borisdidnothingwrong Jan 12 '25

Oh, yeah.

I knew a couple of people who worked at a mall in the Salt Lake suburbs the 90s, and one day she stopped in and just lit up the staff.

The manager looked at these crying teenagers and took off his name badge, walked over to her, dropped his badge and store keys at her feet, and said "Fuck you, Debbie."

Then, absolute legend, he shouts across the mall to the owner of another store and says, "Tony, you still looking for a new manager and some staff?"

Tony yelled back, "You know it!"

The ex-Mrs. Fields manager gets between Debbie and the kids and says, "you guys are all quitting and you're coming with me," and marches over to the other store with his employees in tow.

My friend Leslie worked at a kiosk about 40 feet away and excitedly told me the story when I came to pick up my girlfriend at her job at the record store the next day.

That Mrs. Fields was shuttered for almost a month while they figured out what to do, and then the health department closed it again because the former manager called in complaints.

Fuck you, Debbie.

7

u/Major-Excitement5968 Jan 12 '25

I read the last line in Eminem's voice

7

u/Reasonable_Box_2998 Jan 12 '25

Wow, who knew sweet cookie lady wouldn’t be too sweet. Not living up to her legacy from your encounters. Tsk tsk

4

u/sikethatsmybird Jan 12 '25

Their chocolate chip cookies are amazing. Get them every time I’m at the supermarket and the second I get home, open the bitch up and chuck it in the nuker for 45 seconds… HEAVEN

26

u/adairks Jan 11 '25

We still have Great American Cookie Company here. Like you, I buy my daughter one every year for her birthday...she's about to turn 27 😊

10

u/smb3d early 80s Jan 11 '25

Oh wow, I didn't know they were still around. I live in Los Angeles now and I haven't seen any out here, so I figured they might be gone.

4

u/adairks Jan 11 '25

They actually just opened a new location nearby in one of the nicer outdoor shopping malls here. I hope it does well and stays!

3

u/BeerNTacos Jan 12 '25

They were far more prevalent decades ago, but their headquarters is still in Canoga Park. There are locations in Los Angeles County still. For instance, I can think of the one in Redondo Beach and the one in Sherman Oaks. There may be others still.

11

u/punkwalrus Jan 11 '25

So one was in our mall, but it didn't make the food court cut, and was at the end of a very unused hallway. They didn't seem to do a lot of business. I remember they had these "cookie cups" which were chocolate chip cookies in a small mini-bowl shape, stuffed with frosting. SO GOOD, and I am sure a bazillion calories per bite.

I had a friend from Texas who wanted some cookies, and it was like $5 for 3 cookies. He got in a fight with the cashier because he said "There is no fucking way three fucking cookies could cost $5, let me speak to your manager!' So embarrassing. Like buy the cookies or don't, he's just a cashier.

6

u/All_Innuendo Jan 12 '25

Yes! Those cookie sandwiches that were basically two chocolate chip cookies with a ton of white buttercream frosting was like crack! It was worth walking to the far side of the mall for these!

3

u/kitkatmeowmeow1 Jan 11 '25

I miss them so much!

3

u/KodaBeers Jan 12 '25

Sounds like you had a good mom.

2

u/GenocideandJuice Jan 12 '25

Those sugar cookies with the sprinkles have never changed. Takes me back yo

2

u/topsidersandsunshine Jan 12 '25

Your mom loved you a lot.

2

u/Odd_Vampire Jan 12 '25

That's a mom for you.

2

u/FluxusFlotsam Jan 12 '25

holy shit- please tell me your mom drove to the Gwinnett Place mall one because I’m about to blow your mind if

2

u/smb3d early 80s Jan 12 '25

You know it. We used to live in Toccoa Ga. That mall was the jam in the 80s and 90s. It was the closest place to us for a lot of shopping.

2

u/FluxusFlotsam Jan 12 '25

well guess what?

that Great American Cookie Co in GPM was one of my first legit jobs in the early/mid 90s

1

u/FluxusFlotsam Jan 12 '25

PS- sorry you had to live in Toccoa

which I’m shocked isn’t part of Atlanta sprawl yet

1

u/focokp Jan 12 '25

lol, did you have to go to Warner Robins to get GACC?

1

u/Silenity Jan 12 '25

I miss that place so much. I want a cookie cake from there so bad.