Yes, indeed, “Peak Mall” was approximately 1983. The movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” captures that era when the mall was the place to be, and most malls had similar food courts and collection of stores (Hickory Farms, Foot Locker, Gap, MusicLand etc.).
That era is gone. Amazon.com killed a lot of the specialty retailers while the department stores that anchored the malls were taken out by WalMart and Target and Costco.
I miss the ‘80s, though. It was an optimistic, stable time. Reagan was in the White House. The World War II-vet generation, by then in their mid-late 50s/early 60s was still pretty much running the country. Later when the baby boomers like Bill Clinton came in in the ‘90s, that the country really started to go to hell.
The Blues Brothers didn’t help the malls in the 80s, either. (“I see the Pontiacs are out early!”)
Let’s also give Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure it’s due...especially Genghis Khan destroying the sporting goods store while Beethoven is rocking out in the piano store on the keys!