After months of waiting, the new Palm Beach Outlet Mall finally opened its doors on Feb. 14, On Valentine’s Day. The grand opening as well as the grand ribbon cutting ceremony began at 9 a.m. Special events such as the Open Hearts Charity event preview were held on the opening day and all proceeds went to 20 local charities. Mario Lopez hosted a Celebrity Style Fashion show on the following day, Feb. 15^th. Models graced the runway dressed as celebrities while Lopez spoke about the clothes and its particular style.

The process of building the mall came under much scrutiny when many thought that the site would not be finished by Valentine’s Day. There are more stores to look forward to that are such as Forever 21, Tommy Hilfiger and Toys “R” Us.

One of the downfalls of the mall is that there are only few places to grab a bite to eat. Also, the items sold at outlet malls tend to have a lower quality that items bought at other stores. This makes a difference in material and cut of the fabric. Sales at outlet malls may also not be as good as most shoppers think.

“When you factor in sales and discounts at regular stores, the average savings at outlets is 38 percent,” Linda Humphers, editor at Value Retails News, told Consumer Reports.