American Dream mall reopens, seeking to regain momentum

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — When the American Dream megamall opened in New Jersey last autumn, visitors could only gape at its unfinished signature attraction: a massive DreamWorks-themed waterpark with room for up to 5,600 bathers.

A year and a global pandemic later, Benkos Quinones, his wife and two small children had the place largely to themselves as the mall officially reopened Thursday after a six-month closure due to the coronavirus crisis.

“After everything that’s been going on, we just wanted to have some family time together,” Quinones said as his wife and two small children splashed in the waves behind him. Only a few dozen others cavorted in the cavernous space.

“Of course, I was concerned," Quinones said about the risk of being in a public place with the virus still circulating. "We asked ourselves a lot of questions, whether we should really go forward and buy tickets to this. But we went for it.”

The owners of the massive entertainment and retail complex in the Meadowlands sports complex are hoping others share family's sense of adventure.

Already bucking a bleak outlook for malls nationwide when it opened last October, American Dream was days away from a splashy opening of its retail outlets in March when coronavirus fears shut down operations.

It was terrible timing for a project that had seen numerous delays since its initial approval, under different ownership, in 2003.

In the months since it shut down in March, the retail landscape has changed dramatically.

At its reopening Thursday, only a few dozen of the complex's planned 300 shops appeared to be open for business. It isn’t clear how many will eventually open their doors. The mall's restaurants are months away from opening, as New Jersey continues to restrict indoor dining to 25%...