It's lunchtime Tuesday at the Akers Shopping Center strip mall in Gastonia, N.C., and in the southern part of the mall, outside the former Hobby Lobby, the only sight and sound is a plastic bag rustling in the wind. On the sidewalk were ant mounds, trash – including a used sweet and spicy tuna salad can left on some stairs – and vacant stores that count for about a third of the shopping center's retail offerings.
