Galleria Mall owner and shopper thoughts on business ahead of Christmas

On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, the owner of and shoppers at the Johnstown Galleria said they are happy with the progress the mall has made recently.

Leo Karruli said he took over ownership of the Johnstown Galleria in September 2022, with only about 30 percent of the stores filled. He said that is now at about 80 percent.

“From what it was last year and this year, I'm very happy with the mall,” Karruli said. “Very happy with the people, customers who come and shop, and everybody.”

Karruli admitted he would have liked to see more customers on the Saturday before Christmas, called ‘Super Saturday’ or ‘Panic Saturday.’ His message was optimistic, though. He said he wants to spread the word that “The mall is not dead. The mall is back and alive.”

One shopper, Tom Somers, said he hopes the traffic will continue at the Johnstown Galleria.

“Definitely the Christmas season has bumped it up a little bit. There's a lot more people around,” Somers said. “If they can keep this up, I enjoy coming here, not just for the shopping but to walk around a little bit.”

Somers said he would recommend the mall for getting items off the list at the last minute.

“There's plenty of stuff here for whatever you're looking for at the moment,” Somers said.

Karruli said he is looking to continue growing the Johnstown Galleria by filling all of its store-space.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfnK6tuMSroJplnZa5rXnOsKWeql2Wu6V50qGmqaiVp3q1tM6unqGso2K8r3nBrqqippWowG6tx56YnWWfm3qktNGiqq2lkag%3D