LloydMall set to celebrate 50 years

its grand opening in July 1973, when the biggest retailer in the building was The Bay.

Body Works and La Vie En Rose and what not. And then over the years

Dollarama came, and Urban Planet.”

LloydMall is throwing a birthday party, and everyone is invited.

The popular shopping destination turns 50 on July 20.

Although the LloydMall has grown and evolved over the years, some things haven’t changed, especially when it comes to communitymindedness.

“We always tried to be involved in things that are happening in the community—supporting the various non-profit groups, the schools, the hospital … anything like that,” said LloydMall general manager Kim Richer.

“We’ve kind of been the hub of the com - munity, as the meeting place, and we’ve been trying to build on that the last few years. Doing things like the Wild Rose amusements, and right now we have food trucks coming onto the property for the summer, and just doing things to invite the community to the mall.”

The LloydMall has come a long way since

“The Bay used to be on both ends of the mall, so then they became Zellers and, Safeway, Sears, Shopper’s Drug Mart. So those were our big big tenants and then with everything that happened with Zellers and Sears, we were able to expand the mall to make a bigger Safeway, a bigger Shopper’s Drug Mart,” said Richer.

“Then we were able to carve up the inside of the mall to bring in more fashion retailers— some more national names like Bath and

“I’d rather donate to something like this where it’s helping people rather than throw a banner up at an event. You know, everybody supports different things ... for us, supporting a sporting event isn’t really in tune with what we do--not many people can build this. If we can help out this way, that’s better than just throwing money at something.”

Kevin agreed, adding he and his family and friends enjoy many activities out on the water, so donating the time and materials to optimize the equipment for the Lloydminster Rescue Squad was an easy choice.

“We like to support things that support what we like. Our friends and family are out in the water and this and that, so if something ever happens ... we definitely want to support these guys that are going to come help and search and rescue. They are definitely helping a lot of people in a lot of communities,” said Kevin.