June 16, 2025 • 5 mins
“Are malls really making a comeback in 2025—or are we just chasing nostalgia?”In this laugh-out-loud episode of The Ben and Skin Show, hosts Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina Ray dive headfirst into a hilariously passionate debate sparked by a USA Today ranking of the Top 10 Malls in America. What starts as a simple list quickly spirals into a nostalgic rollercoaster of memories, jokes, and unexpected revelations.From Richardson Square Mall’s golden era—complete with arcades, pet stores, and the first Chick-fil-A—to the surprising resurgence of Redbird Mall (now featuring LEGOLAND, a Sea Life Aquarium, and even Meow Wolf), the crew explores what makes a mall truly iconic.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's going on in Dallas?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Top it is? You can't even dispute it. There are
tops in the city.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
And fort Worth and really all the other song No,
fort Worth is eleventh.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Eleventh, the Populace. Yeah, not a top not a top ten. Yeah,
the song would be fort Worth is a top ten
city if it was. You've heard fort Worth is the
top eleven city. Yeah, that's a great thing. It's a
good boogie song. USA today does a thing it's called
ten Best and they break this out every a couple
of months. He's had the ten best things of something,
(00:45):
you know, and it's just us say today, I don't
know what. It didn't really matter.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Did you just explain rankings to us?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
I was explaining the rankings and how the rankings are determined,
because you know what's going to happen. If I don't
do that, we'll start talking about it. And now I'm
gonna get asked, where's the coming from?
Speaker 5 (01:00):
Where is this coming from?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Covering the tracks? But they're taking on best mall. They're
taking on the best mall. In twenty twenty five, there
are the ten best malls. And I can tell you
that two malls crack the top ten. Now has anyone
looked at this? Does anyone know?
Speaker 5 (01:19):
I know what one of the mall?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I think I know what the two malls are, but
I have not looked at the list.
Speaker 6 (01:23):
I know one of the malls. I have not looked
at the list. I am surprised by the list because
I do know malls were really still a thing. I'm
assuming I know what the second mall is. There's only
ten malls.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I would like for each of you to write down
the two malls you think are on the list, all right.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Just to see.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Okay, wait, I want to make sure I understand we're
talking mall like m A l L, not m A
U L.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yes, this isn't like Violet. Yes, ten malls. It's not
the tiger. Just going to town on the antelope. I
saw lion king over there the weekend. Fantastic.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
See the musical Fair Park, Firepark Music Hall. It's really good.
Speaker 7 (02:03):
Did you highly recommend?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (02:04):
I cried. Then the lions are people, right, they're not like, yes.
Speaker 7 (02:08):
But their costumes to make them look like lions. It's
you have to see it.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
They didn't have live animals on set, no walking with
well no, no, they're not.
Speaker 7 (02:19):
No, but they have girafts where they're like walking on stilts,
but there are people like it's really freaking is a musical, yes,
but it's lion king.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
What if they had animals singing, that'd be amazing.
Speaker 6 (02:30):
It's hard to do what I want, okay, So that
is okay wants okay. So when a mall like when,
first of all, back in the eighties, when Skin and
I were coming up in America, like Richardson Square, mall
was the center of our universe, having a mall with
an arcade, a movie theater, Fletcher's Corny Dogs, Dino's Pizza,
the first Chick fil A we ever saw, fun and games,
(02:51):
funny games, Piccadilly Cafeteria Forever twenty one, the piercing the goda,
I mean.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Spend How lucky you were we? Yeah, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
We had we were We could ride our bikes there, dude.
It was bad ass.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It was.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
There were two record stores in the mall, two different
records stores store.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
Yeah, we got to have pet stores.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah. We got our dog Sandy at that mall. And man,
the mall used to be everything, yeah, Kevin. And then
as mall started going away, they started dying. I'll never
forget the first time I went into a mall that
was dying, like Valley View, and it's like, oh my god,
we're gonna get robbed in here. This is not safe
right now, so the stores are closed or.
Speaker 7 (03:32):
A zombies gonna pop out somewhere right right.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
So so I love that there's still ten thriving malls.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Yeah, well the top ten on the list, whatever ten
is in New York. Number nine is in Virginia. Whatever
number eight, though, is in DFW, and also number three
on this list DFW.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
I'll let's just see what you what you all wrote down?
Speaker 7 (03:52):
Okay, Christina, Galeria and north Park.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Skin I blanked on the name of the mall, and Frisco.
It is called Stone, that's what it too. Okay, Yeah,
I put Frisco, Stonebrier, and north Park. I put Frisco, Stonebrier,
and Galeria.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
All right, Christina and Ben each get a point. So
Galeria no North Park on the list. Galeria number three,
how about that?
Speaker 5 (04:17):
All right? Is listed in Dallas, Texas.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
I always called the Galeria Addison, but I don't know
where the line is.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
We're Farmer's Branch, right, very strange.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Here's what they say for the best selection of souvenirs
had to Texas Treasures of the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop. O.
Might I just do that at the airport, the large
endoor ice ice rink is always in it.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Now, that's legit.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Number eight though on this list, you guys didn't see
it coming. You're gonna make a trip out there just
to see what's going on.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Redbird.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
They've added Lego Land, a sea life aquarium, of course, gentlemen.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Grapevine Mills. Yeah, that's where too, Yeah in the mall.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Yes, I did not know that they have an escape room,
which I've never done.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
I'm I'd like to do that one time.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I'm trying to think. I have not really done Grapevine Mills.
I've only gone in that one entrance where Lego Land
is and done Lego Land and left.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
There too.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Yes, Well, malls are back, baby, Okay.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
No one else had two malls on the list, Dude,
I think I had two badass malls that didn't even
make the top ten. Mall of America Number two, number
one of Ventura Mall in Florida. Have you ever been there, Christina?
Speaker 5 (05:29):
No, I don't think so. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, all right, there you have it.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
H Congratulations to all the great malls of America,
What's going on in Dallas?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Top it is? You can't even dispute it. There are
tops in the city.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
And fort Worth and really all the other song No,
fort Worth is eleventh.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Eleventh, the Populace. Yeah, not a top not a top ten. Yeah,
the song would be fort Worth is a top ten
city if it was. You've heard fort Worth is the
top eleven city. Yeah, that's a great thing. It's a
good boogie song. USA today does a thing it's called
ten Best and they break this out every a couple
of months. He's had the ten best things of something,
(00:45):
you know, and it's just us say today, I don't
know what. It didn't really matter.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Did you just explain rankings to us?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
I was explaining the rankings and how the rankings are determined,
because you know what's going to happen. If I don't
do that, we'll start talking about it. And now I'm
gonna get asked, where's the coming from?
Speaker 5 (01:00):
Where is this coming from?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Covering the tracks? But they're taking on best mall. They're
taking on the best mall. In twenty twenty five, there
are the ten best malls. And I can tell you
that two malls crack the top ten. Now has anyone
looked at this? Does anyone know?
Speaker 5 (01:19):
I know what one of the mall?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I think I know what the two malls are, but
I have not looked at the list.
Speaker 6 (01:23):
I know one of the malls. I have not looked
at the list. I am surprised by the list because
I do know malls were really still a thing. I'm
assuming I know what the second mall is. There's only
ten malls.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I would like for each of you to write down
the two malls you think are on the list, all right.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Just to see.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Okay, wait, I want to make sure I understand we're
talking mall like m A l L, not m A
U L.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yes, this isn't like Violet. Yes, ten malls. It's not
the tiger. Just going to town on the antelope. I
saw lion king over there the weekend. Fantastic.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
See the musical Fair Park, Firepark Music Hall. It's really good.
Speaker 7 (02:03):
Did you highly recommend?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (02:04):
I cried. Then the lions are people, right, they're not like, yes.
Speaker 7 (02:08):
But their costumes to make them look like lions. It's
you have to see it.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
They didn't have live animals on set, no walking with
well no, no, they're not.
Speaker 7 (02:19):
No, but they have girafts where they're like walking on stilts,
but there are people like it's really freaking is a musical, yes,
but it's lion king.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
What if they had animals singing, that'd be amazing.
Speaker 6 (02:30):
It's hard to do what I want, okay, So that
is okay wants okay. So when a mall like when,
first of all, back in the eighties, when Skin and
I were coming up in America, like Richardson Square, mall
was the center of our universe, having a mall with
an arcade, a movie theater, Fletcher's Corny Dogs, Dino's Pizza,
the first Chick fil A we ever saw, fun and games,
(02:51):
funny games, Piccadilly Cafeteria Forever twenty one, the piercing the goda,
I mean.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Spend How lucky you were we? Yeah, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
We had we were We could ride our bikes there, dude.
It was bad ass.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It was.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
There were two record stores in the mall, two different
records stores store.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
Yeah, we got to have pet stores.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah. We got our dog Sandy at that mall. And man,
the mall used to be everything, yeah, Kevin. And then
as mall started going away, they started dying. I'll never
forget the first time I went into a mall that
was dying, like Valley View, and it's like, oh my god,
we're gonna get robbed in here. This is not safe
right now, so the stores are closed or.
Speaker 7 (03:32):
A zombies gonna pop out somewhere right right.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
So so I love that there's still ten thriving malls.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Yeah, well the top ten on the list, whatever ten
is in New York. Number nine is in Virginia. Whatever
number eight, though, is in DFW, and also number three
on this list DFW.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
I'll let's just see what you what you all wrote down?
Speaker 7 (03:52):
Okay, Christina, Galeria and north Park.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Skin I blanked on the name of the mall, and Frisco.
It is called Stone, that's what it too. Okay, Yeah,
I put Frisco, Stonebrier, and north Park. I put Frisco, Stonebrier,
and Galeria.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
All right, Christina and Ben each get a point. So
Galeria no North Park on the list. Galeria number three,
how about that?
Speaker 5 (04:17):
All right? Is listed in Dallas, Texas.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
I always called the Galeria Addison, but I don't know
where the line is.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
We're Farmer's Branch, right, very strange.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Here's what they say for the best selection of souvenirs
had to Texas Treasures of the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop. O.
Might I just do that at the airport, the large
endoor ice ice rink is always in it.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Now, that's legit.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Number eight though on this list, you guys didn't see
it coming. You're gonna make a trip out there just
to see what's going on.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Redbird.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
They've added Lego Land, a sea life aquarium, of course, gentlemen.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Grapevine Mills. Yeah, that's where too, Yeah in the mall.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Yes, I did not know that they have an escape room,
which I've never done.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
I'm I'd like to do that one time.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I'm trying to think. I have not really done Grapevine Mills.
I've only gone in that one entrance where Lego Land
is and done Lego Land and left.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
There too.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Yes, Well, malls are back, baby, Okay.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
No one else had two malls on the list, Dude,
I think I had two badass malls that didn't even
make the top ten. Mall of America Number two, number
one of Ventura Mall in Florida. Have you ever been there, Christina?
Speaker 5 (05:29):
No, I don't think so. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, all right, there you have it.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
H Congratulations to all the great malls of America,
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