Oh... malls.

I kind of feel bad for younger kids these days. I guess the malls aren't gone completely, but they aren't the cultural hub that us Gen X'ers enjoyed in our youth. My lazy adulthood makes me do way too much shopping online, but if I want something right now, I'm not afraid to go to a store and buy it.

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But then there were all the things around the malls. More stores, restaurants, arcades... all kinds of stuff. You didn't just go to the mall back in the day for a few things. You went for the day. Or at least a couple hours. You didn't waste a trip to the mall. And these days, people kind of yearn for the stores they loved back then.

There's one store people seem to miss more than all the others.

I'm not saying that malls are on the verge of a huge comeback overall or anything, but I'm surprised nostalgia hasn't been kinder. Even if that nostalgia doesn't translate to dollars, it does turn itself into a pile of memories that are completely seared into our minds forever.

Three young women in a cafe after a shopping
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When I took to our social media pages to try and see what stores people missed the most, there were two MEGA standouts. People overall seemed to have a really bizarre fascination with Chess King. As though it must've set the standard for Miami Vice level cool back in the day.

But if I had to pick one store out of the hundreds of comments that people really wanted the most? Deb. People freak over Deb, apparently. It seems you can still buy some version of their items online, but it doesn't look like it's the same as it used to be. But every other comment online was that people wanted Deb back. Crazy...

Which of these stores would you bring back?

All the Mall Stores Mainers Miss

We all miss these places.

Gallery Credit: Jason Stewart

Stunning Old School Shopping Bags

This is a huge chunk of Maine's past.

Gallery Credit: Jason Stewart

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Gallery Credit: Jason Stewart

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