With shopping bags in hand, visitors to the city's first outlet center often take selfies. Empire Outlets opened in May on the Staten Island waterfront, and while there are plenty of Instagrammable photo opportunities, even some shoppers say it's hard not to notice empty storefronts in the picture.

"I mean, it's not really finished yet, but I like some of the stores," one woman said.

Just 25 of the 75 store locations were filled when Empire Outlets opened. Six months later, only 11 more are occupied, including the location of an anchor tenant, Nordstrom Rack.

Outlet officials insist the site is 80 percent leased, but it still feels a bit empty. The fourth floor is closed off, and an entire wing is still under construction.

"It's haunting," one shopper said. "The structure is kind of spooky."

The less-than-full occupancy heading into the all-important Christmas shopping season is raising some questions about the commercial health of what is suppose to be a shopping Mecca. 

Real estate expert Tim Savage says it's not uncommon for large-scale retail developments to take time to roll out.

"If you look at the infrastructure, it's there. So the prospect for success is there, given the proximity to Manhattan, given the number of tourists who come to New York, given the ease of getting out to Staten Island," Savage said. 

Empire Outlets says it's not worried, claiming an average of 500,000 visitors a month.

Outlet officials blame the empty storefronts on construction that's still not finished and expect to continue welcoming new retailers into the spring. It's changed leasing agents, but insists the vacancies were not a factor.

Part of the frustration with this site stems with its lack of food and beverage options. While there are some small chains like Starbucks and Wetzel Pretzel, larger, more popular eateries like Shake Shack have been rumored to be opening for months and still haven't yet.

"If you're hungry after you just finished shopping or whatever, like, you might want something to eat, but then you can't find anything," said one shopper.

Empire Outlets says the burger joint is set to open for the holiday season, but couldn't say exactly when.

Officials here add that three more stores will be open by Black Friday, but as its first Christmas approaches, Empire Outlets will have to wait before celebrating full occupancy.