The Galleria Mall is easy enough to make fun of. God knows that I have: in the six years and several months since I have moved to Dufferin and Dupont, the low-end shops and depressing lighting have regularly featured. The recent closure of the Galleria's Zellers, and the failure of Target to set up a shop in the space vacated, seems to underline a grim fate. (A dollar store next to the Zellers was offering its goods at 10% off.)
And yet, the Galleria celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. The Price Chopper has been expensively and impressively remodeled, the LCBO and drug store remain useful, the new Dollarama nice, the smaller stores inside the mall proper and attached outside remain open and apparently still attract consumers, the old Portuguese and Italian immigrants continue to sit on the benches and at the mall's restaurant, treating the place like a community haunt. The place still could stand to be refurbished, but it has a lot of potential and is still a good first place to stop.