“Quail Springs kind of is at the front of these conversions,” Parrack said. “It’s done out of necessity. There were pretty good holes opening up at Quail Springs. They had to do something and there aren’t enough tenants for all the spaces out there.”

Bring in the fish

Wesley Haws is a newcomer to the mall industry. He turned a passion for aquariums into Blue Zoo Aquarium, which opened its first location on Aug. 1, 2019, at NorthTown Mall in Spokane, Washington.

“Malls are going through transition,” Haws said. “People are shopping online and people are looking for experiences instead of buying things. They want that Facebook photo to show their friends and they want something they can take their kids to. Malls are looking to have more experience-based businesses and they’re willing to help with the expenses in building these places.”

The first Blue Zoo in Spokane was on track to hit 180,000 paid visitors for its first year just as the pandemic was starting to shut down retailers across the country. Haws chose Quail Springs because it, like NorthTown, is owned by Brookfield Properties and the city is among 62 identified by consultants as not having an aquarium nearby (the closest aquariums are in Jenks and Dallas).

Management at Quail Springs Mall moved some tenants to other locations while others, including El Chico restaurant and The Gap, ended up closing, to make way for Blue Zoo next to the Von Maur department store and Round1 next to J.C. Penney.

Blue Zoo took over eight spaces on two floors of Quail Springs Mall. Spanning over 22,800 square feet, the aquarium includes sharks, clownfish, lionfish, pufferfish and an octopus. Interactive experiences include touching and feeding stingrays, birds and reptiles.

Pirate, mermaid and diving shows are included with all-day admission passes.