I loved Yu and J’s Grilled Subs in the Miller Hill Mall. I loved that is was independently owned. I loved the tang of the bulgogi sauce (and wish we had more Asian alternatives in Duluth.)

… but the lights are out …  I hope those tasty recipes will appear in a summer festival cart or a food truck or some other wonderful venue. Please let me know.

And in the meantime — is the loss of shops cyclical, always a summer changeover? Or is the loss of Younkers, the shortened hours of Sears, and other turnover a sign of a need for a new mall vision?

• Leveling the Younkers and putting in condos that could overlook the creek as well as offer instant indoor access to restaurants, books, shopping?
• Remodeling the Younkers as micro-apartments with the same benefits?
• How about adding a hotel, à la the Mall of America?

All of these ideas presume that the way to save the mall is to push the shoppers next to the shopping, which is to say: it remakes the mall as part of the cityscape, instead of the escape from the city.

That said, I do think that a view of the creek would be cool, too.  Not quite as cool as a view of the lake, but cool.

Are there other ideas?