MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A Central Valley mall is booming after years of decline.

"Literally overnight, things have exploded. It has been a night and day difference with the foot traffic," Nanette Villegas, the marketing manager, at the Marketplace at Merced.

While the mall in Merced is still under construction, a few stores are slowly starting to open just in time for holiday shopping.

The first was Burlington Coat Factory, which opened last Friday, followed by Shoe Palace on Saturday, and then Boot Barn, which had its soft opening on Monday.

"It's been amazing. We've had people sitting out in front of our mall just waiting to come right in the doors at 10 a.m.," shared Michelle Swanson, Store Manager at the Boot Barn in Merced.

The surge in visitors was so unexpected, the food c

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