Missoula’s iconic Southgate Mall has been a bellwether for the city’s economy. Numerous establishments have opened recently.

Mall Manager Tim Winger is very excited about the many new arrivals in the mall from around the country, as well as right here in Missoula.

Mary's Mountain Cookies man buying cookies
Ashley, Townsquare Media
loading...

“Another local vendor much like Elote and Zootown (Hardware) is Mary's Mountain Cookies, and it's their second location,” said Winger. “They've been downtown for a long time and they opened a second location out here where Café Dolce used to be right in our center court, offering cookies and milk for me; there's ice cream and they have a great espresso machine, so they serve coffee. They opened recently and we're very excited to have them as a part of the Southgate Mall offerings.”

READ MORE: Check Out Missoula's Exciting New Mexican Bar & Restaurant

He also mentioned a new jewelry store that has opened.

Pandora store in mall
Ashley, Townsquare Media
loading...

“In the former Kay’s Jewelry space we have a great global brand jewelry store called Pandora which a lot of people are excited about and if you haven't seen the remodel it's really, really nice; they did a great job.”

Winger said the regional reach of Southgate Mall brings in customers from a large area, encompassing western Montana and Idaho.

“I think the biggest reason for all this stuff happening is the health of our city and the health of Western Montana as well. We're getting a lot of shopping visits from Missoula and then the surrounding area which kind of goes in a big circle about two to two and a half hours away. So as a result, we've opened a couple of very large stores like Hobby Lobby.”

As the summer begins, Winger said he is certain that Southgate Mall will continue to bring in new customers and economic benefits for all of Missoula.

Stores Missoulians Want at Southgate Mall

With so many changes happening at Southgate Mall, we asked which stores Missoulians would love to see come to the mall, here's what they said:

Gallery Credit: Ashley

Entertaining Street Names You'll Find in Missoula Montana

Gallery Credit: Ashley

More From Newstalk KGVO 1290 AM & 98.3 FM