M&Ms will fill one of the most conspicuous vacancies in the Mall of America: the former two-story American Girl space.

Imagine a wall of M&M-filled tubes that you can use to create your own mix, similar to the crayon and marker wall at the Crayola store on the third floor of the Bloomington Mall. Then a personalization station where you can have your name or photo printed on the candies. There will also be a three-story glass elevator to a third-floor observation deck that is still being designed and stations for Instagram photos.

“We’re really excited,” said Patrick McIntyre, director of global retail for Mars Retail Group and a St. Louis Park resident. “The Mall of America is a fantastic opportunity for an M&M experience store.”

The brand also announced on Thursday that it is moving its “experience store” in Orlando from the Florida Mall to the Walt Disney World Resort and opening a store in Berlin. The brand already has stores in Times Square in New York City, Las Vegas, London and Shanghai.

Mars Inc., the parent company of M&Ms maker Mars Wrigley Confectionery, wanted to open a flagship store in the Midwest and considered Chicago as a location, McIntyre said. But the Mall of America is a year-round destination in the Twin Cities, where Mars was founded. Plus, the space is one of MOA’s most prominent — it’s accessible to both the mall and the Nickelodeon Universe theme park.

According to McIntyre, each store has a different character depending on its location, and the MOA store will pay tribute to both the Midwest and the company’s roots.

Members of the Mars family were among the first settlers in the Newport/Cottage Grove area. Franklin Mars introduced the Milky Way candy bar in Minneapolis in 1923 before moving the company to Chicago a few years later.

Jill Renslow, MOA’s senior vice president of corporate development, said the M&Ms store is “definitely the direction that fits our strategy.”