Interesting review left by Mr. H. (Mr. Haberdasher) here on Yelp for the Glen-Lennox Shopping…read moreCenter in 2012. It's written from a local's perspective whereas for me, I'm just one of hundreds of thousands (millions?) who've passed (or are currently passing) through Chapel Hill over the years. During our time in Chapel Hill, Glen-Lennox Shopping Center has been the small L-shaped strip mall we pass to get to and from UNC's main campus, downtown Chapel Hill, and Carrboro. To date, we've visited for two restaurants: 1. Jujube - Asian food, opened in 2005. Yelp page: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jujube-chapel-hill 2. Bin 54 Steak & Cellar - upscale steakhouse, opened in 2006. Yelp page: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bin-54-steak-and-cellar-chapel-hill-2 The fact that both Jujube and Bin 54 have managed to stick around for 17, 18-plus years should tell you something. You can read my reviews for each of those restaurants on their respective Yelp pages, but in a nutshell, I thought Bin 54 was phenomenal and Jujube was fine. During our visits, Glen-Lennox's parking lot has been mostly full. Aside from the restaurants, we've had no other reason to visit Glen-Lennox - for example, for the dry cleaner, eye doctor, beauty salon, Sherwin-Williams paint store, kitchen and bath store - since we already go to other places for that stuff or haven't needed those types of things/services. There's a Bank of America ATM here plus two drop boxes, one for USPS and the other FedEx. No UPS drop box though. We go to another shopping center down the road for the drop boxes. This shopping center has been around since 1950. For the history of this place, I refer you to the aforementioned Mr. H's review plus https://glenlennoxvision.com/, the current official website for this property. The banner at the top of the site says, "Established 1950, re-established 2020." I don't know what they mean by that, but apparently plans have been under way for years to redevelop this property into something much bigger. It looks to be a modern mixed-use development, like many that have sprung up across the country over the past couple decades. As it stands today though, Glen-Lennox to me is the small strip mall with two (successful) restaurants. From highway 54 (Raleigh Rd), the property does go farther back into the woods (north) with a combination of old and new homes and apartments plus a fairly new, five-story, glass office building at the corner of 15-501 (Fordham Blvd) and Glen Lennox Dr: the Industrious at The Gwendolyn coworking space. There are new trails around here too. The shopping center is located on 54 at 15-501 on the east side of Chapel Hill, close to the Durham border. The closest interstate exit is I-40 exit 273: NC 54 - Chapel Hill, Durham.

Those who drive along Raleigh Road (HWY-54) are greeted by the eye-catching '50s Glen Lennox…read moreShopping Center sign. The Glen Lennox Shopping Center in Chapel Hill, NC has the honor of being the first suburban shopping center in Chapel Hill, NC and one of the first in the state after Cameron Village in Raleigh, NC. After WWII, the Glen Lennox Cottages were built for the returning GI's who were attending UNC. Due to the Glen Lennox Cottages being on the edge of town in the '50s there was a need for nearby retail and the captive audience made it very popular as well as its novelty, ushering in a new era of shopping. What was once the shopping destination in Chapel Hill in the '50s and '60s has now been eclipsed by the Glenwood Square Shopping Center, its younger sibling across the street, and all of the nearby shopping centers in the area. Despite the shortcomings, there is still a heartbeat in this shopping center. Currently all businesses in the center are in the service sector, which fills a niche in the area. There are restaurants, a kitchen and bath renovation shop, an optometry practice, a tanning salon, a beauty salon, Time Warner Cable center, and an investment practice. While the optical store may appear to be retail, in reality it is the feeder store to the optometry practice housed within. One of the differentiating features of this strip mall is that it was built with a second-story to house offices. In the center of the strip is the walk-up to the offices called the Lennox Building Offices; over time, a handicap-accessible entrance was added on the side of the building. Among the nondescript offices are medical practices as well as Amy's Alterations. Near Amy's office suite there is a small seating area that looks like it came out of a Mad Men set. This shopping complex, unlike other shopping centers built around the same time, has been capable of adapting to the changes over the decades and still draws people in. One of the factors that helped this property not decay was its affiliation with the ever popular Glen Lennox Cottages, plus the charm of this place lays mostly with its '50s Americana appeal.

During our time in Chapel Hill, from June 2020 through July 2024, my wife and I visited University…read morePlace for: 1. bartaco - one of our go-to restaurants, recommended https://www.yelp.com/biz/bartaco-chapel-hill-chapel-hill 2. Hawkers Asian Street Food - good https://www.yelp.com/biz/hawkers-asian-street-food-chapel-hill-5 3. Harris Teeter - better than the Meadowmont and Hope Valley Harris Teeter locations https://www.yelp.com/biz/harris-teeter-chapel-hill University Place used to be known as University Mall. When we first visited University Place in 2020, it was evident it was an old-school indoor American shopping mall that had seen better days. University Mall opened in 1973. It was cut in the same mold as malls across the country, the kind that have become ghost towns and been closing over the past 20+ years. However, it was also evident *this* mall was trying to change with the times and not just die out like the others. For example, the additions of tenants like bartaco and Hawkers, with outward-facing storefronts and outdoor spaces, give the property a more modern look and feel. Silverspot Cinema, with 13 screens and stadium seating, still brings a lot of visitors to University Place. Every time we ate at bartaco, I always saw folks coming and going from the movie theater. When I ran errands on Saturday mornings and drove by, I noticed the Chapel Hill Farmers' Market in the mall's parking lot. Currently, the farmers' market is open every Saturday 8am-12pm and every Tuesday 3pm-6pm. In the winter (November-March), the farmers' market is open Saturday only, 9am-12pm. According to a January 2024 video by the News & Observer ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huEoZCpBX-E ), plans are underway to transform University Place into "an open-air shopping center with 350,000 square feet of retail space" and "60,000 square feet of offices, apartments and hotel." The farmers' market will move to a large public lawn called the Commons (the Commons per ABC11). A new Chick-fil-A will open on the site previously occupied by K&W Cafeteria. Also according to ABC11, in a March 2024 report ( https://abc11.com/university-place-in-chapel-hill-construction-temporarily-close-mall-entrance-set-to-welcome-new-tenants/14561741/ ), a location of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is on the way as is a new parking garage, with local art, that will add 150 spaces.

Inside of mall is closed! Only restaurants around outside. No clothing shops even though they still…read morepop up in searches or on maps. Frustrating

good restaurants all in one village square (Merlion has wonderful variety of Asian/Singapore,…read morenoodles, seafood, - I'm really picky about Asian food & don't like regular Chinese restaurants)- & I wish I could eat here every week. Pazzo's is actually quiet enough to have a conversation even when the restaurant is full! I'm hooked on their Rainbow Trout stuffed with olives and artichokes...we take company here & have never had a disappointing meal. Very nice bar, too Lumina Theatre is so nice and this Village has music on lawn all summer (Sundays) & movies outside on Fri & Sat. Some nice stores (Bloom & Cottage Shop) so you can skip the shopping center.

This is just another dime-a-dozen preplanned village in the Triangle. Now, I love a lot of the…read moreshops in here--don't get me wrong. But the village itself lacks personality based on my few visits. It's out in the country--far away from downtown Chapel Hill. There are some office spaces, but mostly the village has restaurants and other businesses. Behind it is a neighborhood. Parking is plentiful, and it's decently designed so that it doesn't feel like the handful of shops/restaurants are swallowed up by the giant parking lot. However, the whole area seems to lack personality or anything to give it character.

Good selection of stores, restaurants and businesses, central location and adequate parking. Very…read morehappy to see new small businesses opening.

We did a little shopping here between a wine tasting, and a dinner reservation nearby. My biggest…read moreconcern is that the shop seem to be well attended, but also overpriced, and frankly, you can't even use the bathroom without talking to somebody who owns one of the establishments to get a code to use the restroom. Doesn't feel very inviting and the parking requirements. Here are such that if you even leave this establishment for five minutes, your car is gonna be towed and you're gonna get a bill for over $200. It just gives me the willies to come back.

We've been to Carr Mill Mall for a couple restaurants…read more 1. Tandem (New American cuisine) https://www.yelp.com/biz/tandem-carrboro-carrboro and 2. Thai Station https://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-station-restaurant-carrboro Both Tandem and Thai Station are good restaurants worth visiting. You can read my reviews of each for more info. We might come here for the other restaurants (e.g., Grata Diner, Venable Rotisserie Bistro), but other than that, there's not much for us here. Carr Mill Mall is a shopping mall with restaurants, a grocery store, and local boutique shops. The mall is named after Julian Carr, whom the Town of Carrboro was named after in 1913. It used to be a cotton and hosiery mill. The cotton mill was built in 1898. The original brick structures have been renovated and repurposed into the mall it is today. Like other converted developments across the country, the complex has an industrial/warehouse vibe and it's got some charm to it. The grocery store is Weaver Street Market, a local chain of cooperative (community-owned) grocery stores. There are four Triangle locations. The aforementioned Venable Rotisserie Bistro is presumably named after what the Town of Carrboro used to be called, Venable. The mall is located in/near the heart of Carrboro, within a short walking distance to a lot of local businesses. According to Yelp reviews from 2011 to 2023, this property has been strict with parking enforcement and quick to tow. Being from a big city like Atlanta, I'm used to it, but I wouldn't expect it in a town like Carrboro. I've personally never had an issue parking here and judging from the reviews, I wouldn't leave my car here to walk to another place off-site.

There is an outstanding selection of stores here, but please be cognizant about past security…read moreissues. It's best to go during the daytime in my opinion. I will say that security guards are numerous for the interior stores and security may have improved over the past months. Aside from this security issue, this is hands-down the best mall in the area in terms of store quality and interior design. Prices vary greatly depending on the store and what promotions are available during your visit, so I wouldn't necessarily pick this as a place to find good deals. However, you will have a great chance of finding trendy clothing and items you can actually use due to the variety of stores available here.

Went this weekend and it was busy.. I do like the fact that there is a mall nearby that is still…read morepoppin. The stores we went into had great service and the food court was loud as going strong! The bathrooms were clean.

Renaissance Center is the large shopping center across from The Streets at Southpoint mall. It's…read morenot to be confused with Renaissance Village which is another large shopping center nearby. I know Renaissance Center best for Best Buy and REI. My wife knows it best for Nordstrom Rack and Ulta. Renaissance *Village* is the shopping center with Target, Chick-fil-A, and Crumbl Cookies (our top three most-visited businesses there). My wife has also gone to Village for HomeGoods and I've gone for Harvest 18 (restaurant). We visit Renaissance Village way more than Renaissance Center for Target and Chick-fil-A alone. Both shopping centers are pretty standard. They're filled with chains and big-box stores. Here are some reviews I've left for individual businesses at Renaissance Center so far: 1. Best Buy https://www.yelp.com/biz/best-buy-durham-southpoint-durham 2. Moe's Southwest Grill https://www.yelp.com/biz/moes-southwest-grill-durham 3. REI Co-op https://www.yelp.com/biz/rei-durham 4. Ulta Beauty https://www.yelp.com/biz/ulta-beauty-durham Personally, aside from REI, I don't see a big reason to come here. But overall, this place is fine. It's a typical suburban shopping center. Active and busy too. I wrote this review because I noticed Renaissance Center had a Yelp page. Renaissance Village doesn't have one at the time of writing this. Maybe if I get bored, I'll create a listing for Village. Renaissance Center is located just off I-40 exit 276: Fayetteville Road, Southpoint, NC Central University. Same exit as Southpoint mall.

Are we calling this whole shopping center a single place? You know what, sure, let's. We will…read moreconsider this shopping center to be a singular entity, kind of like "Germans" or "Inuit Needlepoint Fans." If this is a good idea, then I surely have lost my head for what bad ideas are. The Renaissance Center has many stores of different varieties, which can surely combine in new and interesting ways. If, for example, purchasing new makeup fills you with a hunger for bison flesh, this is the shopping center for you. It is efficient, in a 'consumer whore' sort of way. Go for it.