Akademik

n.

A large, open-air retail mall that consists mostly of big-box stores.

"Less than a generation ago, shopping in the Sacramento area was like visiting a small-town chili parlor — the menu had few choices and relied heavily on some old favorites.

Today, the retail landscape is a smorgasbord of major malls, big-box power centers, upscale plazas and discount chains, each vying for the shopping dollars of the region's 1.75 million residents."

— Mark Glover, "Going with the Flow," Sacramento Bee, March 19, 2000