By Benjamin Rothstein

DOVER — The Dover Mall, a commercial centerpiece for the capital city, will grow.
Management for the Simon-operated shopping center has announced that two stores will be joining its lineup: Furniture & More and Insomnia Cookies.

The former opened its doors last weekend, while the bakery is set for this summer.
“We’re super excited that they’re here,” said Virginia Rinehart, an area director of marketing and business development for Simon. “I think that (they will be) a great addition to the area.”

She said the cookie giant will open up shop in the mall-owned Dover Commons, which sits adjacent to the main building.

Its location directly across from Delaware State University is also a nice bonus, she noted, as Insomnia gets its name in part from its overnight hours, as some locations stay open as late as 3 a.m.

Another recent development in the mall was the closure of its AMC Dover 14 movie theater in March. Though Ms. Rinehart could not give details on the future of the now-unused location, she did say the facility is always looking to add retailers.

Meanwhile, the food court — including eateries like Sbarro, Sarku Japan and Charley’s — is seeing much success, as its varied selections add to the mall’s appeal. Ms. Rinehart said the site wants to be a destination — a place where people come to shop, eat and enjoy themselves — and variety, in both shopping and refreshments, is a massive part of that.

She went on to say that the Dover Mall has been seeing growth recently due to its management’s efforts, especially after the pandemic.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of customers coming back, a lot of customers are looking forward to getting back to the brick and mortar,” she said. “I think everybody’s just trying to get back to normal. They want to come in and actually see the product.”

And the mall’s staff realizes what the center means to the Dover community.

“I think it’s good that we’re adding some great things to the community, bringing new businesses to the community. To us, that’s important,” Ms. Rinehart said.

“In the area, you don’t really see a lot (of) new coming, so we want to make it really important, put emphasis on it.”