The decline of The Orchards Mall in Benton Harbor is no secret.
From the outside, the only signs of life are the droppings from the summer swarm of seagulls and the insects investigating overgrown weeds in the parking lot.
On the inside, just three businesses are open at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday – the Post Office, Born Champions Boxing Center and Doctor ZZZZ’Z Mattress Center.
Major outlets like JCPenney and Sears – along with every other national retailer – are long gone, and every other store is either boarded up, closed or abandoned. Because of this, the mall has earned a reputation of a place that is either permanently closed or not worth visiting.
So, how can one change the reputation of the mall?
“You can’t – the mall is dead,” said Doctor ZZZZ’s owner Norbert Zimpfer, who has been in the mall nearly 20 years. “The name Orchards Mall is dead. The mall is dead itself. There’s too many defects.”
Zimpfer said he doesn’t think the building can be remodeled, either.
“Every empty storefront has roof leaks,” he said. “The old Sears building is full of mold. … There wasn’t enough room on the roof for the seagulls so they started nesting on the ground, which made it even worse. There was a lot of dead seagulls this year, and nothing is stopping them from coming back even more next year.”
Despite all of this, Zimpfer said he is staying put.
‘A game of chicken’
In 2018, Vijaya Vemulapalli became the owner of the mall through Durga LLC. In 2019, anchor store JCPenney closed. In 2020, management was taken over by Bedi & Associates LLC. In 2021, it was reported that renovations would begin in 2022. In 2022, JoAnn Fabrics was the final national retailer to leave.
Aside from a Nigerian man named Femi introducing himself as a part owner recently, Zimpfer said he hasn’t spoken to the ownership in more than a year.
“I’ve sent them emails, I’ve sent them letters,” Zimpfer said. “We haven’t had heat or air conditioning in here for more than four years. … We have a leaking roof that doesn’t get addressed. We have no mall security. We have no maintenance. The hallways are dark after it gets dark outside. There’s so many things that are wrong here. The parking lot is not striped. Nothing is right here.”
He called plans for renovations and development “hot air.”
“There was a lot of chatter and interviews on local media,” Zimpfer said. “All the TV stations came in because of this new grandiose plan for a hotel and apartments. All that stuff they threw out. Not even for one item did they ever apply for a building permit.”
Zimpfer said he gets about two or three customers in the store a week.
“I’ve tried different venues of advertising,” he said. “I always get negative feedback that way. People in this county hate the mall. Period.”
So, why does Zimpfer stay in the mall?
“I’ve got another six years on the lease,” he said. “They said I can leave, but they want the remaining lease money. But what they’ve done here, I think I should be compensated. … So, we’re in a game of ‘chicken’ at the moment. Let’s see who can last longer. I’m not in dire straits when it comes to money. I can stay here longer.”
Now in his 19th year at the mall, Zimpfer said the store has remained the same as the mall deteriorated around it. He has been forced to close the store due to summer heat, and said he runs 20 space heaters in the winter.
“It’s not our fault the mall turned bad,” he said. “We’re still the same store with the same quality merchandise. … It’s not fun to be here, but it might be fun if people were still coming in at least.”
How does he deal with the solitude?
“I’ve been spending my time putting my stamp collection on eBay or watching Netflix,” Zimpfer said. “That’s about my only entertainment here.”
Zimpfer is waiting to either get bought out of his lease or find a buyer for the store.
“I’m ready to retire after 20 years in this mall,” he said. “There’s no way this mall is going to stay open like this for another six years. I would love to be out of here by the end of the year and just retire. … I just want to put my feet up somewhere on the beach and call it a day. But right now I’m here – I’m open every day. I’d love for people to come check out what we have.”
