Totally Twisted Pretzels and the Shoe Dept. are the latest stores to leave the Schuylkill Mall.

The pretzel store closed Wednesday. Owner Michael Haspe said he was sad to make the decision but didn't have much of a choice."I didn't want to leave. It's just something I had to do," he said Wednesday.He said the foot traffic at the mall has declined and said the uncertainty of what will become of the mall were factors in his decision. Not having enough employees was also an issue."Our last day of sales was two weeks ago," he said.He made the announcement on a Facebook post Wednesday."Totally Twisted-Schuylkill Mall is now closed. We look forward to serving Schuylkill County once again. We are currently in negotiations with several centers within the area. We do plan on relocating the store with a projected August 2017 opening. Thank you for your business," the post reads.Fairlane Village mall was one of the locations Haspe mentioned. Nothing has been finalized, he said."We do love our customers. I don't want them to feel their business wasn't important," he said.Business during the holiday season was great but then declined again. He said the store reopened last year after it closed June 21, 2016. Haspe said he previously was focused on opening a store in Bloomsburg and wanted to devote his energies to that and let his previous lease expire in June."I almost feel the community has written the place off," he said about the perception of the mall.Haspe signed a 90-day lease on Oct. 31.A meeting was held Wednesday with employees of NorthPoint Development LLC, Riverside, Missouri, which purchased the mall earlier this year for $2.1 million. The closing date of the sale is Feb. 28, William G. Schwab, attorney and the bankruptcy trustee, said Wednesday.Haspe didn't discuss details of the meeting except to say it started at 9 a.m. and leases were discussed."They did welcome people to stay month-to-month," he said.He said representatives of NorthPoint did not say what they plan to do with the mall."It's a little bit frustrating just the uncertainty not knowing," he said.Tenants in the mall did ask about the plans, Haspe said, but little information was offered. He said the company said "they will be very transparent with the businesses."Phone calls to NorthPoint were not returned.Haspe said there is still hope for the mall but he can't be there right now."If it would remain a retail property, I do still believe that mall could be something. There's potential there. I love the Schuylkill Mall, I grew up going to the Schuylkill Mall," he said.An employee of the Shoe Dept. at the mall confirmed the store is closing March 5."We're not doing a liquidation sale," the employee said, adding remaining merchandise will be transferred to other stores.She said the employees at the store will be offered jobs at other locations.Schwab said he was unaware of the visit Wednesday by NorthPoint representatives."They have never told me any of their plans," he said about the property.He said, "70 to 80 percent of the tenants they have month-to-month leases already," he said, estimating there are 40 tenants at the mall.When the sale closes on the 28th, Schwab said he is no longer responsible regarding what happens with the leases.In buying the mall, the new owners did retain some of the leases for businesses.