June 8, 2020

Mohamed Helal has had a front-row seat to a time unlike anything The Empire Mall has experienced.

From his Custom One T-shirt and screen-printing kiosk, he has watched crowds all but disappear in March in the days leading up to a nearly two-month closure for the mall.

Once the Empire Mall reopened to the public a few weeks ago, Helal said he tried to keep his kiosks operating as well.

However, after a few days of little traffic, he decided to close the kiosks and continue his focus on his online store.

On June 1, he moved three of his four kiosks into storage as a safety precaution because of the vandalism outside the mall the previous night. He said he hopes to try reopening the kiosks again in a month or two.

In the meantime, he has found success offering same-day, free delivery as an alternative for frustrated customers who don’t want to wait for shipping, as many national retailers and delivery services are experiencing delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Helal, who has been trying to grow his online store over the past few years, the pandemic provided a sharp increase in delivery orders.

“We started to get more phone calls because, like most (of) the whole country, we have people (experiencing) shipping delays,” he said.

Helal owns four kiosks in The Empire Mall, including Custom One and Big Fan Arena, as well as locations at the Mall of America.

He started Custom One at The Empire Mall in 2014 while he was pursuing his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from SDSU. He expanded to North Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota but is now left with just the two remaining locations as the rise of online shopping has diminished profits at his kiosks. 

Helal said kiosks and stands in the mall face different challenges than permanent storefronts, especially when it comes to coronavirus-related safety precautions.

For instance, he can’t require customers to wear masks before approaching him. Installing plexiglass barriers around the kiosk would ruin the hands-on feel that kiosks inherently have, he said, as customers like to see and handle the products before purchasing them. 

He said he hopes other similar businesses might find success by emphasizing to customers the advantage of shopping local — especially when it comes to fast deliveries.

“My advice is to start running small online ads and to start offering same-day delivery for their services,” he said. “I think that’s what people need (to do). It’s more convenient, and it would help us prevent the second wave (of coronavirus).”