The center will be located in the old Macy’s building.
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — Two men are hoping to infuse the Maplewood Mall with some new flair.
Toua Xiong and Steven Thao are opening a new shopping experience in the old Macy’s building, the Pan Asian Center.
“I’m excited because we have such a large community, and we’ve been operating Hmongtown for the last 22 years,” Xiong said.
Xiong is the president and CEO. He said they’re moving into the mall because they’ve outgrown their St. Paul space and believe there’s a demand for the goods they plan to sell.
“We’re not focusing just on our people, the Hmong community, we are naming as Pan Asian Center because we would like to have this inclusive for every single person,” Xiong said.
He said they bought the Macy’s space in March, ordered 600 palettes of goods from China before the tariffs hit. Xiong doesn’t know what impact tariffs will have on his new business venture, but he wants to push forward to create a space where cultural heritage thrives.
The Pan Asian Center will open in phases. The bottom floor will be filled with nearly 60 vendors and several retail items such as clothes, furniture, household goods, international toys, and jewelry.
“What we have also learned since COVID the big chains, it’s a struggle for them to survive… what we do know if it’s based on small business models, it will survive because we know the small businesses, they can afford the rent,” Thao said.
Once they get approved to start construction, they’ll build hair, nails, and skincare salons. The top floor will be filled with around 20 food vendors, and they’ll convert the storage room into an event center.
“According to our architecture, it should fit at least 3,000 people once we’re done building this up,” Thao said. “In China or Hong Kong where they have or even Japan, where they have malls that are very modern, but it still has a little bit of a culture mix in there, that’s what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
Thao is Xiong’s general partner and oversees construction while working with investors. He said they have a certificate of occupancy to use the open floor plan like Macy’s, but they can’t start construction yet. That’s why they must open it in stages. Thao hopes the whole center will be open in a year.
Xiong said they also bought the old Sears building at Maplewood Mall and plan to turn it into a supermarket, a children’s entertainment center, and an herbal spa.
Xiong said they currently own at least half of the mall, but his goal is to own the whole mall with the exception of JC Penny and Kohl’s.
“We’re here to make sure all the tenants are here at Maplewood Mall are here for a long time and get the business they want to get, so they will continue to stay with us in the long run,” Xiong said.
He said, despite some businesses closing, they believe their concept will bring in more mall foot traffic.
Eventually, Xiong said they would like to build apartments, a hotel, and maybe an assisted living center near the mall.
Xiong said Maplewood Mall is the best place for him to start this new business venture because of its location and size. He hopes to bring more life into this mall, like it was 20-30 years ago.
The Pan Asian Center will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, May 3 at 10 a.m..
link
