Chico Marketplace facts for kids
| Location | Chico, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°43′46″N 121°48′19″W / 39.729425°N 121.805284°W |
| Address | 1950 E. 20th Street |
| Opening date | 1988 |
| Developer | James J. Cordano |
| Owner | Centennial Realty |
| No. of stores and services | 65+ |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (2 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 528,397 square feet (49,089.7 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in J. C. Penney) |
| Parking | 2,607 spaces |
| Website | https://www.chicomall.com/ |
Chico Marketplace, once known as Chico Mall, is a large indoor shopping mall in Chico, California. It first opened its doors in 1988. Today, its main stores, called anchor stores, are J. C. Penney and Dick's Sporting Goods.
A Look Back: The Mall's History
The Chico Marketplace opened in 1988. When it first started, it had four main anchor stores. These were Troutman's Emporium, Gottschalks, Longs Drugs, and Sears.
Early Changes and New Stores
Soon after opening, the Longs Drugs store changed. It became a J. C. Penney store. This J. C. Penney store moved from another shopping area nearby. Because of this, Longs Drugs opened a new store in Paradise. When the mall first opened, it had more than 95 stores. It cost over $4 million to build.
Big Changes for Anchor Stores
Over the years, some of the original anchor stores closed. After Troutman's Emporium closed, its space was taken over by Dick's Sporting Goods in 2012.
Another original store, Gottschalks, also went out of business. In 2009, a new store called Forever 21 opened in its place. However, the Forever 21 store closed in 2020. This was part of a plan to close many of their stores across the country.
The last original anchor store was Sears. On June 6, 2017, Sears announced it would close its Chico Mall store. It closed in September 2017. This was part of a plan to close 72 Sears stores nationwide.
Today, Chico Marketplace continues to be a popular place for shopping and fun in Chico!
