How has Stonestown continued to succeed?

Hello, good people of Reddit.

I have a compliment that emanates from a criticism. But it is the highest order of praise given the current circumstances for retail. My question is: what is the secret?

The compliment is that Stonestown mall appears to be bustling. I have been there many a time since the pandemic. The parking lot is always full. The criticism, a faux complaint, is that it is a hassle to go there for anything. It is crowded around the clock. This weekend, a friend from out of town said to me as we waited to depart, having gone to San Jose and back to run a trail race, it would take us longer to get through the traffic by the Trader Joe’s than it took to get down to San Jose.

If you read the headlines, everyone says retail is done for. Online has taken over. Shopping centers are shuttered throughout the nation. My elderly father lives in suburban Washington, D.C., and White Flint, which was a nice place, is awaiting redevelopment.

How has Stonestown done it? Is it proximity to a college campus? It is great management? Is it just good cheap food?

Addendum. Wow. Thanks to all for the great replies. I wonder if other operators study Stonestown. They would want to do what is working. Some aspects probably cannot be replicated. But its example, I would expect, would inspire others.