American Dream, the North Jersey mega-mall, has been opening in fits and starts for the past year and a half (and the pandemic didn’t help), and now they have announced the opening of stores on The Avenue, the upscale portion of the mall.

On Sep. 17, 20 of the planned 80 stores will open with brand names like Saks Fifth Avenue, Hermes, St. Laurent, Tiffany, Dolce & Gabbana, among others. More store opening announcements are expected in the near future.

The mall, which has been in development for almost 20 years, is about 80% open with attractions like the Dream Works water park and the Nickelodeon Universe theme park up and running. The indoor skiing attraction, Big Snow, opened this past October.

According to NJ.com, the giant Ferris wheel will also be opening around the same time as the stores on Th Avenue; it is expected to give riders a birds-eye view of the Manhattan skyline.

Ken Downing, creative director of the 3.3 million square foot mall, told NJ.com that the opening of the luxury stores is timed to coincide with other events in the area:

“We loved the idea of looking to Fashion Week and the Met Gala and knowing there’s going to be a large concentration of local, national and potential international press. The glitterati, designers with models and muses. We want to build on the energy of what is happening in Fashion Week.”

The Sea Life aquarium and Legoland Discovery Center also opened recently at the mall.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.

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