03/03/2026
Farewell, old friend. I missed ya and didn’t even know it.
This is the unfortunate reality of online shopping. Fifty-two years of shopping and unforgettable memories of family times, friendship adventures, and life when walking into the mall was an epic event.
Many families chose this exact mall every Christmas season because the Santa scene was absolutely stunning, and the line was nowhere near as long as the line at the Galleria. The smell of Chick-fil-A would hit your nose as soon as you walked through the doors. The cookie place smelled like Grandma’s kitchen.
Walking into the bookstore was like opening a world of words that spread like fire in a wheat field. I didn’t realize how much I missed picking up an actual book and holding it in my hand while reading the back cover. Kindle is easy. More progress, you’d say. But we don’t get the same feeling from an electronic book that we get from a real one.
The cover artwork is embossed and raised. You can feel the art. You can’t feel that from an electronic version. It’s much easier to carry books with you now, but I miss the smell of ink on paper. I miss holding the book and watching the pages get thinner and thinner as I reach the end. There’s a feeling of accomplishment there that you don’t get when you can’t physically hold it in your hand.
To a kid in the ’80s–2000s, the escalator was exciting. I’m from North Alabama. We didn’t have a mall there with an escalator.
The Easter Bunny also had a place there every year, and some of those setups were scary. I mean, think about it, y’all — some of those mall outfits were cheaply made. But at Brookwood Mall, you could expect a higher standard.
Macy’s was a store you could walk through in the 1990s and think it was for rich folks. Then I got approved for my very own Macy’s card, and I felt so special. My very own department store credit card. Moving on up, y’all.
Cold Stone Creamery set up shop there, and I went with a good friend of mine. When all was said and done, I remember thinking, I can mush ice cream up myself and fold in chopped-up Reese’s Cups and save a whole lot of money. Back then, you could get a half gallon of ice cream for $2 and a two-cup pack of Reese’s for $1. It cost me $5 for one scoop and the mush! And that wasn’t even in a cone or a bowl!
That was back when I was making $7 an hour, working part-time as a nanny and going to community college. I about peed my pants. I had to work almost an hour for that tiny bowl of mushed ice cream.
That was the moment I understood why my Momma was always trying to get me to try the store-brand cereal. She knew something I didn’t. Add up how long you have to work to pay for it — it makes a big difference in what you choose.
Sometimes I would take the children I nannied for to walk around the mall on a rainy day to burn off energy. Why? Because walking the mall was free. Going into the bookstore, looking around, and reading a children’s book together was free. Sharing a cookie wasn’t expensive, but it was a memory I hope they cherished like I do now.
We’d ride the escalator like we were at Six Flags, pretending it was the Mind Bender roller coaster. See, simple things meant something back then. It’s the simple things I remember most now.
Times are moving fast — faster than we even realize — and we are so disconnected from each other. Now more than ever, we keep losing history for progress. I’m not so sure the progress is worth losing the heart of a mall culture that lived for 52 years.
Farewell, Brookwood Mall.
Who else is saying goodbye?
