As Dana Cassidy maneuvered his four-seater New England Patriots-themed golf cart through the concourse of the Aroostook Centre Mall, he pointed out the new businesses that have moved in.
On the right, a candy store. On the left, a wedding and prom gown boutique. An expansive overstock liquidation warehouse. A 33,000-square-foot trampoline park. A tarp-covered entrance where he says there will soon be a pool hall.
“When I bought it, we had 15 businesses, now I’ve got about 36 or 37,” Cassidy said.
The mall’s first local owner, Cassidy, who is 75 years old, bought the building in the summer of 2023. It was drowning in debt from unpaid utility bills, contractor bills and taxes. Two and a half years later, he says the facility — Maine’s third-largest mall — is debt-free, and on the way to turning a profit.
“The day I bought it, I looked at the financials for the previous year. It lost $1.7 [million],” Cassidy said. “Right now, I think if I was to take this year in reverse, I’m going to say I lost between $375,000 and $400,000 … next year it’s going to be in the plus.”
The turnaround stands in contrast with the Bangor Mall, the state’s second-biggest shopping center, which has shed tenants in recent years amid poor upkeep and legal troubles that culminated with a portion of the building being condemned in late January.
Cassidy’s predictions about turning a profit at Aroostook Centre Mall comes even as some of its most prominent tenants continue to pack up and leave. Bar-and-grill chain Ruby Tuesday closed in November amid its national struggles. Bath & Body Works, the body care and home fragrance chain, shuttered in mid-January as the company shifts away from malls. Both had been early occupants of the mall, which opened in 1993.
Fast-forward 33 years, 2026 is a much different era in consumer behavior. The malls in Presque Isle and Bangor, like others across the U.S., suffered under the rise of e-commerce. And 13 miles from the Canadian border, the Aroostook Centre Mall uniquely wavered as the Canadian dollar weakened and international foot traffic declined.
Porteous closed in 2003. Sears in 2013. KMart in 2016. Much of those vast retail spaces remain vacant. Cassidy doesn’t see the value in filling them with national retailers that will burden him with buildup costs and send their profits out of Aroostook County.
He’s focused — at least for now — on keeping business local.
“My concept in order to keep this alive is, No. 1: I put them in as cheaply as possible. No. 2, I help most of them, if I’ve got to give them $40,000 or I’ve got to buy this, or I do the buildup, whatever,” Cassidy said. “Everyone I put in is local. And local, in [my] 75 years, is solid. It’s true. It’s logical.”
Cassidy said he’s received letters of intent from several chain retailers interested in moving into the mall, among them TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby and Big Lots. But that’s a conversation for another day.
“Once I get back to even, which is going to be within the year, then if I feel like spending money, I might bring in a TJ Maxx or I might bring in a Hobby Lobby or I might bring in a Big Lots,” he said. “But until I get there, I need my base, my foundation to be solid as a rock.”
That foundation has expanded as more local businesses have opened or moved into the mall.
One of his first additions after purchasing the mall was a 24/7 gym, named Omni Fitness. The facility, which includes a cross-fit gym and tanning beds, has more than 700 members, Cassidy said.
Then there’s the trampoline park, which Cassidy said cost him $3.4 million to construct.
“I’ve had half a dozen days where I’ve run 1,500 people through,” he said. “Sometimes there’s four or five or six parties on the weekend, birthday parties.”
Catholic Charities moved its Threads of Hope thrift store into the space that was formerly Staples in the months after Cassidy bought the mall. Flannel and Barrel Couture, a men’s and women’s apparel store, relocated from Presque Isle’s Main Street shortly after.
A handful of other businesses have followed. There’s a bulk food store and bakery, a pregnancy care center, a shop selling the products of local crafters. Cassidy recently spent nearly $200,000 to construct a two-bay golf simulator that he’s looking to hire a manager for.
More is on the horizon. Shogun Japanese Restaurant, a hibachi grill located in the Stone Ridge Event Center across the street from the mall, is in the process of moving into the former Ruby Tuesday space. And Cassidy is in conversations to bring another restaurant to the shopping center, he said.
JCPenney, one of the few remaining anchor stores in the mall, has also signed a new lease that begins in April, Cassidy said.
Between the purchase price, debt and investments, Cassidy said he’s spent $15 million in his attempt to revive the mall. Has it paid off so far? He believes so, even if he’s yet to break even on the 525,000-square-foot relic of a previous consumer era.
“I didn’t do it to make money. I did it to reinstate the mall and give people things to do. End of story,” Cassidy said.
