NOVI, Mich. – The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has ended some businesses permanently and it’s likely to have a severe impact on malls when it’s all over.
In Metro Detroit there are two malls reopening on Thursday. At 11 a.m. both Great Lakes Crossing Outlet and the Twelve Oaks Mall will open their doors.
Somerset Collection and Lakeside Mall will open Friday at 11 a.m.
READ: Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, Twelve Oaks Mall reopening: New hours, COVID-19 safety rules
Local 4 went to Twelve Oaks Mall on Tuesday where the cleaning staff was hard at work. They sanitized everything before opening up.
Thousands of employees have been out of work but many will be able to take a step toward getting back to normal.
Everyone at the mall will be required to wear a mask. The mall’s general manager, Dan Jones, said they’ve removed the play area and the seating in the food court.
MORE: New tool shows Michiganders where their region is in Gov. Whitmer’s reopening plan, and why
Seating in the mall has been cut by 50 percent and there are reminders everywhere reminding people to practice social distancing. People won’t be able to just walk into a store, they’ll have to make an appointment.
Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills has the same management company as Twelve Oaks, so you’ll see the same safeguards in place for the stores and restaurants there.
To start, the new hours will be from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. but don’t expect all the stores to be open on Thursday. Management thinks it’ll be anywhere between 40 and 70 stores to start and then more will follow.
READ: Why we can’t really calculate the true coronavirus (COVID-19) ‘death rate’ in Michigan