Allen Premium Outlets has only one vacant storefront that’s being carved into two for new yet unnamed tenants. A year after eight people were killed at Allen Premium Outlets by a mass shooter, it’s a sign that the city and shoppers have continued to support a shopping destination marked by tragedy.
Their city’s history will forever include the tragedy, but Allen’s legacy was strengthened by what followed, said Allen Mayor Baine Brooks.
“We’ve always been a strong Allen, but today we’re stronger,” said Brooks, who was elected unopposed on May 6, 2023, the same day as the shooting.
There are few, if any, physical reminders that the outdoor shopping center was the scene of terror one year ago, as a 33-year-old gunman wearing tactical gear and carrying a semi-automatic rifle stalked through the center, shooting indiscriminately at shoppers, both adults and children, before an Allen Police Department officer killed him. Eight people were killed and seven more wounded. The youngest victim was 3.
Blood stains have been removed from the concrete sidewalks. Broken glass and bullet holes have been repaired. Shoppers walk by the scene of the shooting, bags in hand, with little indication of the horror that took place.
“Bad people do bad things, and bad people do bad things in good places,” Brooks said. “I see this incident being a part of Allen’s history. History is what happens to you, but legacy is what you do with it. And honestly, I believe that the legacy of this event will be a stronger Allen and a safer world.”
That day, Allen’s first responders saved lives, and now they’re helping to train others in the state, he said. The Allen Police Department put on a 45-minute training event for the outlet center’s store managers recently.
The mall remained closed for 25 days after the shooting, and once it reopened citizens rallied.
In the following months, neighborhood groups sponsored shopping trips. The Allen Fairview Chamber of Commerce organized “cash mobs” to promote spending at the shopping center. Residents agreed to show up to a business and spend a minimum of $20. Lunch meetings were held at the mall. Group lunches were scheduled at Fatburger.
“Allen Premium Outlets is doing well. Occupancy is 100% with strong traffic and sales. We are grateful for the continued support of our shoppers, retailers and the Allen community,” said an emailed statement from the outlet mall owner, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group.
Hired security officers and Allen police vehicles are visible throughout the open-air shopping center with brand outlets that include Karl Lagerfeld, Coach, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, West Elm, Vineyard Vines, Nike Factory Store and many more.
Business moves ahead
The shopping center is a major asset for the city’s tax base.
Built in 2000 and expanded in 2018, the outlet mall had the city’s second-largest assessed taxable value of $155.36 million last year, behind the Village at Allen’s $169.54 million.
Any shortfall in sales tax allocations to the city for the 25 days that the mall was closed in May 2023 is hard to discern from Texas comptroller data because of delays in collections and distributions.
Any lost sales taxes didn’t prevent the growing suburb’s total tax collections from increasing 7.5% in 2023 to $58.4 million. Allen residents didn’t have to go far those days to shop in their city. With anchors including Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods and TJ Maxx, The Village at Allen is across N. Central Expressway and Watters Creek Village is 3.7 miles to the south.
Stores that were prominent locations in the path of the shooter are still there.
Others that were already in the works before the tragedy were opened by summer and fall, including Build-A-Bear, 50 East and Tommy Bahama.
Aldo moved into a bigger store and Puma expanded into a new location on May 31, the day the mall reopened.
The Original Penguin outlet store is the newest store at the mall. It opened April 5. The men’s apparel brand with mid-century roots says it was a wardrobe staple back in the day for Frank Sinatra, Dean Market and Arnold Palmer and is now worn by PGA players Jake Knapp, Mason Andersen and Cameron Smith.
The outlet center’s mix of stores can keep shoppers occupied for hours.
Some move on faster
Store sales associates confirmed that business at the center has rebounded and is good, but there’s an attitude to let it go. Don’t dwell on the shooting.
“People need to stop talking about it,” is a definite sentiment at the property, said Vivian Georges, a sales associate at Zwilling Factory Store. Shooting victim Elio Cumana-Rivas was killed outside the store. Marcus Kergosien, manager of the Zwilling, said he speaks with the Cumana-Rivas family from time to time. He went through the recent training with the Allen Police Department.
“It’s valuable and can save lives. I want my staff to go through it,” said Kergosien. Sales are up 50% from a year ago at the store that sells luxury knives and cookware.
Other sales associates said they discuss the shooting among themselves but not with customers. One new employee said the reaction she received from coworkers and family when she said she was taking a job at the outlet center was an immediate, “Oh, that’s where the shooting was.”
Days before the first anniversary, there was no visible tribute to the tragedy at the 120-store property.
Allen Premium Outlets will unveil a permanent memorial at the property Monday morning.
Georges and other sales associates who didn’t have permission to be quoted on behalf of their employer, said customers aren’t asking about the shooting. Allen Premium Outlets draws from the region and many shoppers visit from out of state and other countries.
“Driving here I thought about it,” said Sing Hui Lee, 41, a lecturer at the University of North Texas’ international studies program who came to the outlet mall Wednesday to buy gifts.
“God works in mysterious ways,” she said. “I was planning to come here that day, but I ended up doing laundry and cleaning. Then I was too tired, and it’s a long drive from Denton.”
Lee said she is a fan of outlet malls and has been shopping at Tanger Outlets in Fort Worth and Grapevine Mills since moving to Texas in August 2022.
Lee said she’s alert to any danger “really everywhere.” As for her visit to the Allen outlet mall: “It’s my first time here and I will be back.”
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