AVENTURAL, Fla. – There is signage at every entrance to remind shoppers at Aventura Mall to keep their distance, but also to tell them that the mall missed its guests.
In some ways, it was back to business Thursday at one of South Florida’s largest indoor malls, but it is a slow reopening with deliberate action taken to keep everyone hygienically safe. There are hand-sanitizing stations placed throughout the mall and plenty of reminders on the floor about social distancing.
But not all stores welcomed shoppers Thursday; some remained closed. Mall representatives tell Local 10 that some of the shops are still putting their individual plans in place.
Anchor store Bloomingdale’s opened Thursday and Macy’s will open Friday. There has also been a change in mall hours, too, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Scrolling digital signs throughout the mall lists the changes that are required of shoppers while in the mall, such as wearing face masks or facial covering at all times and keeping a distance between yourself and other people.
Every mall employee must wear a face mask, too, and is provided the proper personal protective equipment or PPE.
“It’s all the new coronavirus practices and stuff, but I like it, Maybe this will be a nice new normal,” shopper Anthony Kemp said.
Shopper Varda Zinger said she was told to put her masked back on after only having it off for a second to talk to someone. “There is security that walks around. I took my face mask off for a second to talk to somebody, they couldn’t hear me. They said you have to put your face mask back on.”
»To find out which stores that are open, visit www.aventuramall.com for a constantly updating list.