Where the Prices Are Low, and the Customers Few

Luz Garban, 21, pulls down a girls dress at her fathers shop at the Mega Mall on Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square. John Konstantaras/Chicago News Cooperative

Depending on how you look at it, the Discount Mega Mall at 2500-14 North Milwaukee Avenue is either an eyesore or a hot spot for the frugal.

Jeorge Sandobal deals in 100 percent leather cowboy boots; Will Lopez outfits any car with speakers that have enough bass to rattle your liver; and Ludwig Tanchez custom airbrushes any surface that takes paint. All sales are final, but the prices are almost always negotiable.

That flexibility would seem to make the mall more attractive to consumers than a giant discount store like Wal-Mart. On the whole, “discount stores as a sector are doing well,” said Neil Stern, a senior partner at McMillanDoolittle LLP, a retail consulting firm based in Chicago. But this Discount Mega Mall is not.

Vendors — who rent their booths for a weekly rate depending on their size and location — say business has been pathetic.

“Before, you couldn’t walk it was so crowded,” Mr. Lopez, 23, said of the weekend crowd a few years ago. “Now it’s dead.”

Mr. Sandobal gave two thumbs down when he was asked about the economy. “Everybody is losing money here,” he said.

Mr. Sandobal has been in the same booth for more than 17 years, but his sales have never been so poor. “They are down 80 percent” from two years ago, he said.

The same sentiment could be heard around the mall. Vendors said sales of jewelry and clothing were down 50 percent, electronics 75 percent. The only person who reported rising sales was Mr. Tanchez, who said his airbrushing business had benefited from word-of-mouth and the fact that every T-shirt he paints is a virtual walking billboard.

In operation for nearly two decades, this mall has for years been the subject of a community fight over redevelopment plans: park vs. mall. In 2005, it was shuttered for numerous building code violations, and in 2007, a blaze destroyed a large section, which has not been reopened.

For Jasmine Jimenez, 28, who owns a hot pink, Marilyn Monroe-themed business, the mall was a new beginning after she was denied a small-business loan to open a storefront shop. Ms. Jimenez said she paid $200 a week in cash for her current space. She opened in March after being laid off from her job as a loan officer with Home Depot.

“It’s just a struggle,” Ms. Jimenez said. “No banks are giving out loans, and I get denials right and left.”

The sole customer at ABC Electronics on Monday morning, Luis Rivera, haggled with Scott Chung, the manager. Mr. Rivera, 30, wanted to buy two sets of Kicker audio speakers for his car, and have them installed that day — $300, then $250, sold. The price was a fraction of what a major chain would charge.

As Mr. Rivera waited for his car to be outfitted, he ambled around the mall with his 2-year-old son, Isaiah. At a nearby stall he bought Isaiah a miniature plastic M4 assault rifle for $5, down from $10. Outside, they shared a lemon-flavored ice.

At Kids Clothes #405, Lucas Garban, the 49-year-old owner, pointed toward the empty aisle. “I will wait it out,” he said. “Maybe next year it will be better.”