When Nika and Alban Corbett opened Curate Noir inside the Moorestown Mall in 2021, nearly everything else in the eerily echoing mall was shuttered around them.
Their new shop — a gift shop filled with products from Black- or Brown-owned businesses — was one of about five still standing in the mall during the pandemic.
At the time, New Jersey was still under an indoor mask mandate, and mall corridors across the state were quiet. Storefront gates came down and longtime tenants went dark, with some never recovering.
“It was risky because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Nika Corbett said. “There weren’t a lot of stores open yet, and we weren’t even sure if stores were going to reopen.”
Even before the pandemic, Moorestown Mall had been losing major department store anchors for years, including Sears, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s. Built in 1963, the Burlington County mall, like many shopping centers across the state, saw those losses accelerate as online shopping grew, forcing it to rethink how it could survive.
Today, where Sears once stood, there’s a Cooper University Health Care medical facility at Moorestown Mall. Trendy restaurants and entertainment options have moved in, and a 375-unit apartment complex is under construction next to Boscov’s, the mall’s last remaining department store anchor.
Inside the mall itself, a different transformation is taking place. A few familiar names, like Hot Topic and Claire’s, are still holding on, but many others have been replaced by offbeat, unexpected tenants — the kind of businesses you wouldn’t think to stumble across in a mall a decade ago.
In Moorestown, Ashley Toole, CEO of Crown of Sunshine, displays a variety of beauty products at Moorestown Mall on Saturday, December 13, 2025.Neil H. Davis | For NJ Advance M
A slime bar, children’s play areas, gaming spaces, a dog training facility, CBD-infused products and even a private 4D fetal imaging studio now fill storefronts once reserved for retail chains.
As malls change, decline and take on new shapes, a growing group of small businesses across New Jersey have made homes in shopping centers many had written off, seeing opportunity in spaces long held by big name retail.
“Small businesses play a critical role in keeping Moorestown Mall active and connected to the community,” said Lisa Wolstromer, senior marketing director at PREIT, the company that owns both the Moorestown and Cherry Hill malls. “Businesses like these foster a sense of place and reinforce Moorestown Mall as a space where commerce and community intersect throughout the year.”
Curate Noir is one of those businesses, Wolstromer added.
Right next to the food court, Curate Noir stands out with a bright storefront filled floor to ceiling with everything from candles and body lotions to notebooks, pens, children’s books and spices.
The storefront of Curate Noir, located inside Moorestown Mall, is filled with shoppers on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.Neil H. Davis | For NJ Advance M
What sets the shop apart from a typical gift store, Corbett said, is that every product comes from a Black- or Brown-owned business. Nearly every item has a story behind it, including handcrafted pens in front of the counter made by an 80-year-old New Jersey man.
The idea for Curate Noir grew out of the pandemic, when Corbett began noticing how many Black-owned brands existed online but lacked visibility, marketing support and access to customers.
The mall ultimately became a “one-stop shop,” she said, where customers could browse multiple brands in person.
“We hope people realize they don’t only have to shop online,” Corbett said. “They can come out, have a conversation, and actually experience shopping in person again.”
The idea took off, eventually leading the Corbetts to open a second storefront in Camden aimed at helping small businesses grow. Some of the businesses featured at Curate Noir have even gone on to open storefronts themselves.
While foot traffic in the mall is not what it once was and has declined over the years, that reality has pushed some small businesses to get creative.
“No one is really drawing people to the mall anymore, which is why businesses have to create experiences and be creative with what they’re offering,” Corbett said.
John Thomas, left, shows customers his handbags at the Christmas Market Pop Up in the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.Gavin Schweiger | For NJ Advance Media
To bring people in, Curate Noir hosts events including perfume-making parties on the first Friday of each month. The company has also partnered with PREIT, the mall’s owner, to organize over a dozen Black business expos and pop-ups, featuring more than 100 vendors, at both the Moorestown and Cherry Hill malls.
Nationally, vacancy rates at shopping centers climbed to nearly 6% this spring, according to commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. The vacancies have created more opportunities and flexible pricing for small businesses to move into malls, market analysts say.
It’s not just happening in New Jersey. Across the country, malls are increasingly turning to small businesses to fill long-vacant storefronts.
In Oregon, Portland’s Lloyd Center, once thought to be a “ghost mall” found new life as former chain stores are being replaced by art galleries, pinball arcades and pop-up markets. However, the mall’s owners have announced plans to demolish and redevelop the site into an open-air complex with housing, shops and entertainment venues.
At other malls, leasing agents are increasingly seeking unique small businesses out, offering kiosks, pop-up carts and longer-term leases, retail organizations say. Some tenants nationwide report leasing small storefronts for less than $1,000 a month.
To lower barriers, mall landlords are also offering flexible rent structures, turnkey spaces and simplified agreements, according to the ICSC, a global trade association for the retail real estate industry.
“Small businesses and short-term stores bring a sense of novelty and local flavor that resonates with shoppers,” said Stephanie Cegielski, vice president of research and public relations for ICSC. “Landlords continue to adapt their shopping centers to meet changing consumer expectations for variety, experience and convenience.”
Aquilla Daniels talks with people at the Christmas Market Pop Up in the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing earlier this month.Gavin Schweiger | For NJ Advance Media
The past three years, Aquilla Daniels has been hosting pop-up markets inside Hamilton Mall, a struggling South Jersey shopping center owned by Namdar Realty Group, where dozens of storefronts are now vacant.
Little remains of what the Mays Landing mall once was, and its future is uncertain. Local officials have acknowledged that whatever sense of what the mall used to be “is not coming back.”
Still, Daniels was determined to open Directors Inc. Creative Arts Center in 2021, a nonprofit art space inside the mall focused on inspiring creativity, healing and community through the arts. The center offers a safe space for youth and residents of all ages.
After a spinal cord injury paralyzed her, Daniels turned to art as a way to cope.
“I found art as a powerful way to express what words couldn’t,” Daniels said. “It became therapy for me. It gave me purpose and connection.”
That experience shaped the mission of Directors Inc., including programs like “Paint Through Pain,” which uses art to help people manage stress, depression and anger.
Felicia Buggs, left, talks with customers at the Christmas Market Pop Up in the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing.Gavin Schweiger | For NJ Advance Media
Daniels said the mall’s flat-rate structure helped keep costs manageable and predictable. And like Curate Noir, she has leaned into pop-ups to bring people into the space.
Every weekend leading up to Christmas, several vendors filled the empty corridors of Hamilton Mall, lining the walkways with tables selling art, food, wax melts, crystals, tumblers, ornaments, comics and more.
Daniels said her pop-ups draw a diverse mix of shoppers and give local businesses visibility they might not otherwise have. While sales can vary depending on the product, she estimated that about 85% of vendors walk away with positive experiences.
For Willingboro-based entrepreneur Felicia Buggs, mall pop-ups have been a launching point.
After losing her job of 13 years, Buggs turned a longtime love of jewelry and accessories into a small business called Unique Glam Jewels. It was inspired in part by the closure of Charming Charlie, a jewelry retail chain at Moorestown Mall.
What began as a hobby later expanded into custom artwork and a growing business, eventually leading her to host a pop-up event of her own this month in Westhampton, she said.
Buggs, who recently had a booth at a Hamilton Mall Christmas pop-up, said vendors typically pay a small fee to participate in pop-ups, which they often make back through sales.
“The small pop-ups really do help put us — crafters, artists, small businesses — on the map,” Buggs said.
Some malls, including Brunswick Square in East Brunswick, are pursuing development changes that add housing, services and entertainment to reenergize decades-old shopping centers. But small business owners say redevelopment alone isn’t enough. Regular local events, such as pop-ups and markets, also play a key role in bringing people back and supporting independent businesses.
“If malls are going to survive, they need a more strategic plan than what we’ve known as the norm,” Daniels said. “They need a more dynamic mix of retail.”
“People need a reason to leave home and have an experience they can’t get online,” she added.
