Del. mall imposes a curfew

NEWARK, Del. - Teenagers in the habit of whiling away weekend nights in Delaware's Christiana Mall are about to get a new crowd to run with: their mall-walking parents.

As of July 11, unaccompanied minors will be barred from Delaware's largest shopping center after 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights.

Christiana is the first mall in the Philadelphia region to move to a teenager curfew, which has spread into dozens of malls nationwide since its inception in the mid-1990s. No mall in Pennsylvania or New Jersey is considering a similar policy.

During the current economic downturn, Christiana Mall officials are gambling that turning away a significant subset of their customer base - the unsupervised, wandering teenagers who pile in on weekends - will, paradoxically, increase profits.

The move is intended to improve the environment for a better-spending adult demographic and by clamping down on the scattered juvenile troublemakers responsible for noise, shoplifting and fights.

"We have a large volume of teens in the mall here to socialize, not to shop," Christiana Mall general manager Steve Chambliss said. "It's my job to provide a family-friendly shopping environment in the mall and we can't have it, we don't have it, right now. This is how to get it back."

The International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade agency, counts Christiana as the 55th mall in the country to require chaperones at times for teenage patrons. Other malls on the list range from regional outposts in Tupelo, Miss., and Florissant, Mo., to the nation's largest, Minneapolis' Mall of America.

Though the idea first took root in the mid-1990s, most of its growth has happened lately. Thirty of the malls that now have curfews for unaccompanied teenagers began doing so within the last three years.

Erin Hershkowitz, a spokeswoman for the agency, said malls that adopt such policies may take a slight hit on sales to the younger set, but it is made up by increased shopping by adults who buy costlier items.

"What has to be remembered is the mall is there for commerce; it's not a hangout," Hershkowitz said. "It's a private property, and it's there for shopping."

Teenagers, she added, "spend a whole lot more time in the mall and a great deal less money than the average adult."

Malls that adopt curfews, she said, rarely relent.

Representatives for several Pennsylvania and New Jersey malls said their teenage patrons have generally been on good enough behavior - and are profitable enough customers - that turning minors away is not justified. Officials at the two largest malls in Pennsylvania, King of Prussia and Millcreek Mall in Erie, said no curfew had been seriously contemplated at either facility.

"Teenagers are an important segment of our customer base," said Robert Hart, general manager of the King of Prussia Mall. "Some of our more successful stores in the mall target teenagers. Fortunately, we have only had a negligible quantity of customer incidents regarding teenagers."

At Christiana yesterday, mall employees and frequent shoppers at the mall said they are familiar with rowdy, sometimes drunken, young crowds on Friday and Saturday nights.

"Something needs to change because it's not good for business," said Megan Black, 17, of Middletown, Del., who was working at a cosmetics kiosk. "Security tries, but they can only do so much. People who come here that have never been here before and see this atmosphere, and this environment, would never come here again."

Teenagers hanging out in Christiana's food court said they resented the new policy and would look for other places to congregate.

"You can't hang out with your friends with your parents there," said Mary Comeau, 15, of Hockessin, Del. "It's just not really cool."

Parents were not universally thrilled about the situation, either.

Debra Kaye, of Hockessin, Del., called it unfair for teenagers such as her 14-year-old daughter, Olivia, who is now allowed to go to the mall on weekend nights with friends.

"I don't think that's fair for the ones who come in and abide by the rules and don't cause any problems," Kaye said.

Comeau said the mall was easily the most popular weekend spot for her and her friends.

"That's basically it. We don't have anywhere else to go," she said.

On July 11, they will have no choice. Mall security guards will check IDs at the doors, and customers under 18 will be required to stay with their chaperones, who can escort only four teens each.

Chambliss, the Christiana manager, predicted businesses that cater to a younger audience, such as Hot Topic or Pacific Sunware, may lose some sales initially but will rebound.

"The mall is open 80 hours a week, so this is only 10 hours out of it," he said. "We don't think this is going to keep them from making money."