I had written a while back about the Battlefield Mall in Springfield, Missouri. There were plenty of nostalgic memories brought back with it, and many readers reached out to me letting me know this. So I decided to share a few more memories from another Mall I enjoyed going to. While I did enjoy my times at the Factory Merchants Outlets in Branson, times at the Mall weren’t always the brightest. Not personally, but more so for the state of the businesses that occupied it.
Factory Merchants Mall opened in Branson, Missouri in 1988. While the sign and entrance way were clearly visible from “The Strip” (W 76 Country Blvd), the location was set back off the road a bit. Still this didn’t keep shoppers away, because as far back as I can remember this place was packed. While the “Red Roof Mall” might not have been as popular as the Battlefield Mall, it was a great place to go to kill time before a show, after a meal or in between trips to one of the many fun activities around town. It set on 32 acres and was a double decker mall, as well as many of the stores being double sided as well.
There were plenty of stores that came and went over time at the Factory Merchants Outlets. Many of these stores i could have cared less about, as most of my time spent there as a kid, I wanted nothing to do with stores that sold grown up things like shoes and kitchen accessories. By far my favorite place there was KB Toys. I would always find so many awesome things in there especially during the early 90’s. Despite only liking a couple of stores, Factory Merchants Outlets was always a staple stop on trips to Branson with my family.
I didn’t visit much during my teenage years, but made it back around 2006 for the first time in many years. The mall looked the same, but the crowd and many of the stores were gone. I was very curious as to what had happened. There were three more outlet malls that had since opened and I assumed it had shifted a lot of the crowds away from Factory Merchants. This was also near the time of a downturn in the economy, as well as people slowly beginning to order more merchandise online.
I tried to track down some info on what exactly happened, but couldn’t find much. From what I gathered it came down to dwindling crowds, businesses leaving, and Simon Property Group wanted out of the lease early, which was supposed to run until 2021. I believe the city of Branson know has control of the property now, and it was announced that the area would be converted into a baseball complex. Now I like baseball as much as the next person, but when I go to branson that's the last thing I would care about. Just another childhood casualty I guess. Luckily I was able to take some pictures, down a gallon of A&W Rootbeer and hit up KB Toys one last time before it closed for good. LONG LIVE THE RED ROOF MALL!
Do you have any memories of Factory Merchants Outlets? Please share below in the comments. Also if you liked this article, as well as all the other content on the site, please spread the word on social media and consider Showing Your Support.
Do you have any memories of Factory Merchants Outlets? Please share below in the comments. Also if you liked this article, as well as all the other content on the site, please spread the word on social media and consider Showing Your Support.