THUNDER BAY --Kathy Skirving knows most of her customers by their first name.
The owner of Crock-N-Dial Sandwiches for 20 years and working in Victoriaville Centre for more than 30, know matter how busy the mall gets she still sees a lot of familiar faces every day.
"This is like family," she said.
With the city sending out a letter to nearby businesses asking for comment on whether to demolish the 36-year-old mall and turn it back into a street, Skirving said it's frustrating to hear. The mall loses money every year but all this talk about demolishing it isn't going to help.
"Trying to get potential businesses to come in here? It's not happening," she said.
"Talking about tearing it down isn't going to bring anybody in."
Skirving said her business, which just spent $20,000 on renovations last year, wouldn't be in the mall if it wasn't viable. She'd rather see the city try and revitalize the downtown south core.
Doug Miller remembers watching the mall being built. He's been heading there ever since to hang out with friends and enjoy the local businesses.
"To shutdown this place would be a disaster," he said.
City manager Norm Gale said Wednesday that no decisions would be made this year. The letter, which was sent Jan. 4, was asking stakeholders to comment on the idea of demolition as an option after several people in the are brought it up.
