Great Mall Of The Bay Gets New “Street Corner” To Cater To Shoppers, Mall Employees

The Great Mall of the Bay has just become a little more convenient for shoppers and mall employees.

May 2 marked the opening of a new Street Corner franchise at the mall.  Street Corner, which exploits small and underused spaces in shopping malls, universities and other environments, sells many of the items not usually found in the mall – everything from cough drops to aspirin to bags of chips – all the things needed to sustain shoppers on an outing, or help mall workers get through their shifts.

“Mall employees are virtually a captive audience, so the goal is to bring them the convenience of a street-side shop without the need to leave the premises, while serving the needs of mallgoers too,” said franchise owner Alex Teko of Sunnyvale.   In addition to chips, candy and bottled drinks, the Great Mall store sells a variety of sundry items and over-the-counter remedies and cigarettes, and will soon offer lottery tickets.

The 624 square-foot Milipitas store, located between Dave & Buster’s and Wells Fargo Bank, is the 46th in the Street Corner chain, based in Topeka, Kan.  The company has franchisee-owned stores or kiosks in 19 states.  Seventy-three percent of Street Corner stores are minority-owned, and the company has repeatedly been named by USA Today as a top franchise for minorities. 

“This is our first store in Northern California, and our hope is to use the Bay Area as a stepping stone to gain a foothold in the Northwestern U.S.,” said Street Corner CEO Peter LaColla.

Street Corner’s other California stores are in Palm Desert, Santa Ana, and Glendale.  For more information on Street Corner, visit www.streetcorner.com or call 785-272-8529.