Pierre Bossier Mall store manager: ‘It is dying’ | 3 Investigates

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Have you been to the Pierre Bossier Mall lately? If your answer is no, you’re not alone. Fewer and fewer people are going to the mall, and more and more stores are leaving.

KTBS counted approximately 32 empty spaces throughout the mall. Recent defectors over the past few months include: Lids, Footlocker, Zumiez, Hot Topic, J&W Music and Nail Works.

Over in the food court, they’ve all left except for one dessert shop. The Asian place left most recently, before that it was Subway, Canes, a pizza shop and a couple other places.

“It is, it is dying,” said Dennis McCoy, a regular mall-goer and walker.

The ceiling has holes and stains from leaks that haven’t been fixed in years. And when it rains, buckets are placed all over the mall to catch the leaks.

Ryan Solice had been the manager at Hot Topic in the mall for close to 20 years. KTBS caught up with him as he was packing up and closing down.

“Over the years, no AC, that’s been about a four-year struggle. We have roof leaks, a lot,” said Solice.

The mall manager on site told KTBS she was not authorized to speak with the media and said any questions would have to go to the owners corporate office. KTBS reached out to owners Kohan Retail Investment based in Great Neck, New York. No response was received. 

KTBS discovered Mehran Kohansieh, who goes the name of Mike Kohan, owns close to 50 malls across the country, including Mall St. Vincent in Shreveport. Decline has been documented at that mall as well.

Some critics have called Kohansieh a mall scavenger as he scoops up declining properties for a fraction of what they used to be worth. But what happens after he takes over is more comparable to a slum lord. Lawsuits, overdue taxes, foreclosures, unpaid electric bills, serious maintenance and structural issues. 

Back in Bossier City, the exodus at Pierre Bossier Mall continues.

“They going up on the rent,” said McCoy as his reason for leaving. 

Other store managers told KTBS they see less business so they want the rent to be lowered to make up for the lack of customers in the mall.

It’s undeniable that less money is going into the businesses that are left, the managers say. 

“Over the years, I remember even weekdays would be pretty good, weekend would be packed. Now weekdays are nothing and are okay compared to what they used to be. We’d have days where we would do 4,000 or 5,000 on a weekend, now hopefully get 1,500 or so. It’s gone down tremendously,” said Solice.

KTBS was also told that over the past 12 months some mall employees did not receive paychecks on time. And some of those paychecks have also bounced.

What does the Hot Topic manager see in the future for the mall?

“I don’t think there is much of one for this mall honestly. Because everything else is leaving and everything that is in here is mom and pop. No national retailers are expanding into here so I don’t see it going anywhere,” said Solice.

Why is Kohan Retail Investment able get all these properties? The short answer is fewer people go to brick and mortar malls because of online shopping. The properties drop in value and he grabs them for investment purposes, not for rehabilitation.

The future is not bright for the malls in Bossier or Shreveport. Many of Kohan’s properties end up closed or having the power turned off. Sometimes they end up at a tax sale after foreclosure and some have been demolished.