Oneonta, New York’s Southside Mall is Killing It

Oneonta's Southside Mall is on the precipice of big things once again. It's seeing growth with new businesses of local and national origins either open new storefronts, or move existing businesses in.

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We've seen a local, authentic Mexican restaurant, Azul take over a storefront at the mall, a much more convenient than their last one for locals. Arts and crafts retailer Michael's is under construction as is 5 Below, a national discount store. There are frequent craft shows featuring local vendors. The public is taking notice, and crowds are beginning to return.

I have fond memories of the Southside Mall. When I was a teenager, I was hanging out at a friend's uncle's place on Goodyear Lake on a short vacation, and I purchased a Nirvana cassette at the long gone music store where Shoe Dept. now resides. I even worked as a mall Santa there in the early 2000s.

Today, along with this growth, the mall is keeping in line with the times by having an engaging and eye catching social media presence. It's obvious that someone at the mall is putting actual time and effort into posts. It's something that's needed, and that more local businesses should lean in to.

The posts themselves are informative and visually appealing. They give you an idea of what's going on at the mall without having to be there. The posts want to make you get up and check things out for yourself. All in all, they're doing their job.

But of course, there's a few negative Nancys or Nathans in the mix trying to tear down the good work that's being done. Comments this weekend on one of the mall's posts inspired this article. All of a sudden everyone is an amateur English teacher and expert on word usage and diction, feeling empowered to rake someone over word usage.

I'm going to quote a previous article of mine on this one: "During the holiday season, we're sure to be the best versions of ourselves, spreading cheer, joy, and positive vibes. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we acted like that all year long?" Can we start with being positive and uplifting on social media posts?

To the mall's social media manager, you and the mall overall are absolutely killing it. Like my dad used to tell me, don't let the turkeys get you down. As someone who is in the public eye, and gets dragged down the street daily for my work, I see you, and I totally feel you. Keep up the great work!