Could the Mall of America get any better?
American Girl fans answered yes and mall officials listened.
Come November (just in time for the holidays) American Girl will call the massive shopping center home. Which means your kids have one more location to blow their allowance money on the mega-popular dolls and their mountains of accessories.
The new store is making headlines because, according to company execs, American Girl is very selective about where it sells its goods.
Company reps say the American Girl store in the Mall of America will span 20,000-square feet, feature two stories and include a doll hair salon, bistro and party rooms. It will be located near Nickelodeon Universe.
The closest store to Minnesota now is in Chicago, and the only other American Girl stores are in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta. Only one other store is set to open in 2008 — in suburban Boston.
LEGO
Not for nothing but Chicago is an incredible place to shop.
In fact, if you plan to visit the city with your children, not only can you hit up the American Girl Store along the Magnificent Mile, but you can also visit the Legoland Discovery Center, which is opening in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg at the Streets of Woodfield shopping center.
When the center opens on July 31st it will make history as the first of its kind in the United States. The 30,000-square-foot center will feature hands-on brick-building activities, a dragon ride, an exhibit room with displays of models made by Lego master builders, and a 4-D movie with special effects. There’s even a Duplo play area for younger visitors.
Company reps say the new Legoland Discovery Center is modeled after the Legoland theme park in Carlsbad, California.
BLUES
Finally… something for the older members of your traveling clan.
Actor Morgan Freeman just announced that he is opening his second blues club in Mississippi.
The award-winning movie star plans to open a Ground Zero Blues Club at the Pearl River Resort run by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Neshoba County. The original club is located in Clarksdale.
The new club will reportedly be located in the Golden Moon Hotel and Casino, one of the Choctaws’ two casinos near Philadelphia just outside the Mississippi Delta.
According to Freeman, the new club will feature blues music and the restaurant will serve catfish sandwiches and the club’s famous Highway 61 Burger.
Construction on the new club is set to begin this month with a planned completion date in October.