The Flushing Mall is not known for its stores (at least not to anyone we know). What it is known for is its food court, whose alluring lineup of noodles, dumplings, pastries and shaved ice are something of a siren song for the foodie set. But not for long. Today we get the news-to-us news that this year is the mall's last. And what will replace it? Well, let's just say they are going to pave paradise.
A YourNabe report tips us off to the destruction, which is set to occur next year to make way for 600+ interim parking spots for the $850-million mixed-use Flushing Commons development nearby. “It was always part of the plan,” the president of TDC Development, which is behind the project, told the site Monday. “This is being done actually in concession to all the demand for parking closer to Union Street merchants.”
So if you are looking to get your Flushing Mall fix, you probably don't want to put it off much longer. The more you wait the less likely you'll be to ever visit this food mecca that Edible Manhattan editor Rachel Wharton describes as "a total treasure whether you're a foodie or not." And that's not all, "besides all the great food, they have a weird glass case full of weird Chinese Mets paraphernalia. This is what they're taking away from us!"
Truth be told though, as much as we want to be, we aren't too worried about this one. The food court is by far the best part of the mall (which is only ten-years-old itself and was meant to be temporary anyway), and we have a sneaking suspicion that most of the vendors, who now have cult followings, will be able to make it elsewhere.
Field trip to Flushing this weekend?
