In the latter half of the nineties, I worked at the least-cool Canadian record store chain in the “new” wing of Devonshire Mall in Windsor, Ontario. Opened in 1985, it created a buzz, as it had Windsor’s first big food court, a new trend at the time, bringing with it “exotic” offerings like Mrs. Vanelli’s pizza, New York Fries, Orange Julius and the Made in Japan Teriyaki Experience. My store was on the edge of it and, when not ringing up copies of …Baby One More Time or Dance Mixes ’95 through ’99, I had a great view of it all.

Before the shops opened, mall walkers did their tours in HVAC comfort. Later, packs of teens would take more languorous laps. Older groups would populate the food court tables, where they’d sit and talk...