On a rainy morning, Toringdon Circle turned out to be one of those small blessings where the timing…read moreand the weather line up just right. I pulled in early and was grateful to find a parking spot close enough that I didn't have to make a full dash through the rain, just a quick hop from the car to the sidewalk. There aren't many spots here and on a busier day I imagine it could be a bit of a scramble, but on this morning it worked out perfectly. Ruby Slipper is the anchor of my visits and it's excellent as always, even if it isn't a huge space. It has that warm, local feel that makes a rainy morning feel a little less dreary, and it's the kind of place where a good cup of coffee can reset the whole day. Once you're parked, you can wander a bit and find plenty of places to eat, shop, or take care of errands without having to move the car. It's the kind of plaza where you can stitch together a morning without much effort, especially when the weather isn't cooperating. Even with the tight layout, it's a convenient stop and a pleasant one, especially when you manage to land a close spot and start the day with a good cup of coffee. [Review 266 of 2026 - 4577 in North Carolina - 25455 overall]

Toringdon Circle Shopping Center probably gets overlooked a lot, but it has a lot to offer. A…read morenumber of excellent food establishments are here with a wide variety of genres here. You have Midwood Smokehouse, Viva Chicken, Hickory Tavern, and Bahn Thai. Not only are there lots of places to eat, there are a number of realty agency offices here as well as Pike's Nursery and then the LA Fitness center next to the center. There's even dentists offices and a Trek Store. A wide variety of businesses, I'm sure a lot of people come through here for various reasons. I still remember when Johnston Rd Extension didn't exist (also 485) but since this shopping center is located right off of the exit, it is pretty easy to get to - I just say that it get's over looked due to the large shopping center across the way (485) closer to the heart of Ballantyne. The other great thing is that this shopping center has access to the greenway. There's plenty of parking and since it's a shopping center, plenty of traffic going around so that your car is less likely to be targeted by opportunists. Fair warning: the shopping center is centered around a round-a-bout so just take your time and don't panic.

For my daughter's second birthday, we looked for a Build-a-Bear to get her birthday bear, and this…read moremall is where we landed. We moved from the Richmond, VA area less than a year ago so we're still discovering all the places. My husband and I are GenX, so we are the Mall Rat generation - lost in a sea of the hot trend of "Town Centers", so we always check out malls to try to find ones that aren't on their last leg; filled with one-off trinket shops. We were in awe of this mall! It is full, it's big, it's lively, and it's got an awesome food court! It's like we stepped into a time warp and landed in the '90's; we felt like teenagers again! All the good stores are in here. The only thing I didn't see - and I may have just missed it - was a music store. I miss the old days of going and listening to new albums on headphones and talking to people as we dig through the CD racks. I got some of my best music recommendations that way. And with the resurgence of vinyl, that mall really would be a prime spot for a record store! If anyone ever decides to build a nursing home for us GenXers, just use this mall. All you have to do is take out the Southern Lion and put little rooms in there. You don't have to change anything else! 'Cause let's face it - we're not gonna go easy, so there better be a Spencer's and a Cinnabon wherever the youngin's put us.

While technology can be a wonderful it is also has casualties which is a shame for the current and…read morefuture children. I mean does any over 40 remember growing up to one of the best experiences of their childhood called a MALL? I do and sadly those days are slowly yielding way to Ecommerce, outdoor shopping centers designed for ease of access and speed, and new societal norms. Located in a safe area off of I-485 Carolina Place is a very nice place to take the family while shopping for all those modern needs or even for us older folks, a step back in memory lane. I mean gone are Radio Shack, Merry-Go-Round, Aladdin's Castle, KB Toys and Suncoast to name a few replaced by empty units or some places that have been able to maintain their leases like Belk (for those southern folks), Gamestop, Dicks and well you get the point. The main take away is I feel is the place is safe and has great natural light. I took my daughters and got their bathing suits at a place that will remain nameless one for $80 the other $60, but alas the discount brought both to $50 total. I'm ignorant of pricing at retail stores and how it works during the season but that was just weird to me. We wondered around, picked up some Auntie Anne's pretzel bites (our favorite) to nibble on while I took them to several stores which they loved including Hot Topic and Claire's. I really like the layout here, wide open. My favorite place to take my girls is the food court. We saw a huge line and while I hoped it was for multiple restaurants, nope I knew what it was for. Sarku had over 30 people in line while all the other stalls had one or two customers. All in all it took us roughly 20 mins to get our food. I'm curious what would happen if I dropped another Sarku in the food court? Anyways, they were SLOW but as always really good. So, when you're there I highly suggest Double Chicken Teriyaki w/ fried rice along with an extra scoop of sauce on the top. The chicken is nice and caramelized with a nice soy kick and fried rice, need I say more? All in all, I still cherish the mall and Carolina Place is holding up the tradition! While I wish all the units were filled, such as life these days. If you'd like to make a day of fun activities with the kids, I think you should consider stopping by, just make sure you hit the food court while doing your shopping!

On Rea Road, sandwiched between I-485 and Ballantyne Commons Parkway, this is a large shopping…read moreplaza. I've been here a bunch of times so I'm surprised that it managed to miss my reviews until now. Anchored by the Target in the center, the top end has the Regal cinema that used to draw a crowd but in the post-COVID era, who knows. Michaels, Ulta, GameStop, Harris Teeter are the main tenants in the big building but there are other structures that have professional offices, sporting goods, vitamins and supplements, restaurants, bubble tea and clothing. I think there are three Starbucks locations here plus fast food Wendy's, Chick-Fil-A, Firebirds, Smashburger, Nothing but Noodles and banks. The driving routes do a good job of keeping the higher speed traffic away from the areas where people are walking, so that's a good thing. And at Christmas time, this place is a zoo. [Review 19943 overall - 3430 in North Carolina - 916 of 2023.]

Service. The "Managers" in this store are bitchy, and Rhonda at the checkouts talks to the…read morecashiers like they are slaves. She's very uneducated, and it really shows in the tone and words of her voice. I do not think she should be so rude to employees and customers too. The "Managers" love her domineering demeanor, and I've seen them encourage it! There are no helpful or courteous management staff at this store

This cozy shopping center is tucked into the corner of Ballantyne Commons and Community House. It's…read morepacked with food options for the nearby office workers in this huge commercial area of Ballantyne. Another Broken Egg for that morning fix. Poke Bar, Ghengis Grill and Be's Noodles and Banh Mi make good lunch options for the slave-to-the-grind. Or round out the evening with sports on a patio at Gibson or Grape & Agave, a wine and tequila place. (Porque no los dos?) There are also some services including dry cleaners, shoe repair (don't see that often), nails and hair-dos. Not to mention a few schools of art and music which I think are aimed at kids. At the far end is a AAA for the ride. Getting in and out of here can be a bit stressful. Because of the location it's best if you're headed west on Ballantyne Commons when you leave out of here. Alternatively, north on Community House will lend itself to an easy out. I'm unfortunately not usually doing either of those, so I will suffer through U-turns and fast jumps out into traffic.

Charlotte is well dotted with these smaller shopping plazas and this one is just as good as any…read moreother. The Genghis Grill and Skillets at one end are probably the biggest draws for now. The two story building will eventually have retail shops - expect the usual discount hair cut place, a consignment clothing shop and a financial services office. Maybe they'll even get an H&R Block?

Excellent shopping shopping center in excellent condition. Centered around the main anchor Publix…read moreGrocery store which features a drive-through pharmacy, there is also a bank, Walgreens https://www.yelp.com/biz/walgreens-charlotte-14and a fab barbecue joint https://www.yelp.com/biz/city-barbeque-charlotte. Another building has a pizza place, nail salon and hair salon. Easy entrance from both Johnston Road and Providence Road West though departing and going in the opposite direction will require some creativity. The parking lot is in great shape and is well lit at night. [Review 16543 overall - 3170 in North Carolina - 53 of 2022.]

Wonderful shopping experience and great restaurants & food selection! Love the Fable Shop & Gelato…read moreshop is delicious, too! I work there in our office: New York Life Insurance Company. Need protection? Let me know! DM me. Very important value with Whole Life Insurance, too! There's a vast selection of places to eat. The service is great!

Updating my review because two stars is still deserved. Even in the middle of the day, this tightly…read morepacked shopping plaza is a serious pain-in-the-bumper for parking. They have a small number of ground-level spaces and a decent sized parking deck, but it's difficult to navigate and even if the traffic is light, it is difficult to get through here and find a parking spot. All it takes is one person to get into their car and suddenly, ten of us are all waiting for that one guy who stopped to wait for that space. Annoying as heck. I have given up on trying to find spaces on the ground floor and just go right to the parking deck. It's not worth it. Lots of great restaurants here and that's why I keep coming back.

Visited here for the Annual Tree Lighting. Parking was tight but we found a spot. I would suggest…read morehaving clear paths for the vendors. Very hard to determine beginning/end of lines. No adults were around supervising the children swinging on the fence around the tree. The snow was cute at the end of the countdown.

This massive shopping center in suburban Charlotte is chock full of Main Street shopping,…read morerestaurants, condos and apartments. You could easily never need to leave as I think that they pretty much have everything. Indian, froyo, sushi, burgers, juicing, Italian, tacos and subs for a start. Fancy sit down and fast casual. A gigantic Harris Teeter, hair salon, dance academy, fitness center, dentist and even a mattress store. Lots of parking and the place is quite well laid out to keep the traffic moving at the right speed. [Review 11568 overall, 1348 of 2019.]

This is a nice shopping area in South Charlotte. There's a variety of food , treats , skin care,…read moreHair care, nail shops and clothing options as well as activities.. I quite enjoy the local events such as 5K races, or vendors that are able to set up near the fountain.. There is plenty of parking in the area. It's clean and a pretty safe area. Happy shopping!

It's a great place to shop, it really is, but however The people who shop there and work there…read moredidn't make me feel welcome! I didn't get one smile from anyone! I think it has something to do with that AK high school racial incidents! I don't think I'll returning anytime soon!

I was here for a Yelp event at Postino, but I showed up early enough that I had time to wander, and…read morehonestly I'm glad I did because this whole area is far more impressive than I realized. Ballantyne has been developing at a pace I clearly haven't kept up with, and suddenly there's this whole little district with a mix of restaurants, an outdoor amphitheater, a big open grass lawn where people can sprawl out or toss a ball, a playground tucked off to the side, and that general sense of activity that makes a place feel like it's actually being used and enjoyed rather than just built for show. Since I still had time before the Postino event kicked off, I walked down to Olde Mecklenburg for a beer. It was a bit too cool to sit outside in their beer garden, which is usually the move, so I settled inside and it was exactly the kind of comfortable, familiar brewery vibe that makes you want to linger for a second round even when you know you shouldn't. Parking is three hours free, which is generous for a place this busy, but you do have to register your car. If you stay longer they'll charge you, and if you don't register at all they'll be less than thrilled, so it's worth taking the extra minute to do it right. The whole setup makes it easy to spend an afternoon here without feeling rushed, which is probably why I ended up enjoying the pre‑event time just as much as the event itself. [Review 323 of 2026 - 4583 in North Carolina - 25510 overall]

This place has something for everyone. Many different restaurants for every tastebuds. It's great…read morefor families, date nights or a night out with the girls, or even solo if you prefer to do your own thing. I went on a Monday morning when the businesses were just opening so had no prob finding parking. However I can imagine on wkends or special events it can get insanely congested. There are a few spots on the street for free but good luck snagging one of those. There is plenty of parking that's 3hrs for free so that does help. Since I went early in the wk I didn't even use up 3 full hrs of parking, but just be mindful of busier times, that 3hrs can go by quick.

This part of Ballantyne has a few good shopping centers, some of which are not so great for parking…read moreand some of which are really good. Ballantyne Commons East falls into the latter group. This widely laid out plaza has a central parking area surrounded by two chevrons and then another small group of outbuildings. There are two main entrances to the plaza, both have traffic lights. John J Delaney Drive to Johnston Road / US 521 at the southwest and Delaney onto Ballantyne Commons Parkway at the northeast. Lots of shopping here includes an excellent Harris Teeter and Rite Aid, then a bunch of restaurants include Fox & Hound, Zapata's, Bad Daddy's, Librettos and JJ's Red Hots. I've never had a problem finding parking here.

Yet another Ballantyne-area shopping center built around a Harris Teeter. So there's that! And it's…read moreactually one of the better locations in town. It has a wine bar and some nicer accouterments in the fresh-foods area. On the same side is a tanning place and personal trainer for ladies. There's also a Banfield veterinarian. Across the way is a pharmacy, a pet supplies store, several restaurants including Sheng Ramen, the stand out over here. There's apparently even a Ballantyne location for JJ's Redhots. Plenty of parking. A gas station on the far backside and a rather large Carolina's Health building.