expansion. The first phase divided the former Federal's/Robert Hall Village anchor store into a new mall concourse, which featured soft seating areas, planters with ficus trees, and skylights. Stores present in this expansion included The Limited, Casual Corner, Lane Bryant, The Gap, and Herman's World of Sporting Goods, along with a cluster of restaurants that included Elias Bros. Big Boy, York Steak House, Hot Sam Pretzels, Great Hot Dog Experience, Morrow's Nuts, Mrs. Fields, and Olga's Kitchen. The second phase, featuring identical decor, consisted of a new wing extending westerly beyond the first phase of expansion, adding several new stores along with a Hudson's department store. After the expansion was complete, the mall featured over 105 tenants. One year after this expansion, Knapp's also filed for bankruptcy and sold its location at Lansing Mall, along with ones at Meridian Mall in nearby Okemos and Westwood Mall in Jackson, to J. C. Penney. After York Steak House closed, its space was used to create a food court known as the Picnic, which opened for business in August 1984. Included in the food court were nine restaurants, seating for 299 patrons, and new planters. As they were adjacent to the Picnic, many of the restaurants added in the 1979 expansion were considered part of it as well. 1980s to Mid-1990s Another expansion to the mall was announced in 1986 and completed a year later, consisting of a new wing anchored by a Mervyn's department store. The opening of this store was part of that chain's entry into the Michigan market, which comprised several other stores across the state including a second Lansing area store at Meridian Mall. Construction of this wing required the demolition of an original outparcel, the Lansing Mall Theater, which was the last single-screen cinema in the Lansing area. Lansing Mall's expansion, extending northerly from the Picnic, consisted of fifteen new storefronts including Lerner New York (now known as New York & Company) and LeRoy's Jewelers, along with relocations of Waldenbooks and three other existing tenants. In addition, Taco Bell joined the food court. Many store closings ensued at the mall in the early 1990s, including five chain clothing stores and a T.J. Cinnamons bakery all in late 1991 and early 1992. Despite these closures, the mall also gained Champs Sports and a dollar store, and its occupancy level of 92 percent was higher than the average occupancy rate