Golf Mill Shopping Center in its current state is sadly a perfect representation of a "dying mall". I went on a Friday night to watch a movie there and the place is practically a ghost town, barely any stores are left in the mall itself besides a bath and body works and an AMC. Small selection to choose from, sad to see because when I was a kid, Golf Mill mall was popping and had a ton of stores to go to. The good news is, that it's supposed to get a more modern update in the years to come to save the mall, but for now, do yourself a favor and go to Gurnee Mills or Woodfield Mall instead, read more

We returned to do what we normally come here to do, that is, mall walk in inclement weather. I give 'em 1.49 stars for being a pretty good venue for such, but that's about it. Not much has changed from our last visit, except they are down to one food court restaurant, and it is a new merchant, K-Mom. Best of luck to them. There are still about 10 other merchants in the mall itself. AMC Cinema, JC Penney's, Ross for Less, and Ulta are still active. They're hanging tough! read more

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** Convenient ** ** Clean ** ** Ghost Town ** It is truly unfortunate. Many I'm sure have said this, the death of the mall is a total bummer. If it wasn't for the few select stores (Target, Burlington) and theater anchoring it, this place would be bordered up. The likes of Chick fil a gives this place hope. Speaking of hope, there is talk of renovations which is exciting. I look forward to seeing what great things Golf Mill has in store for us. The space is massive on such busy intersections, it's worth doing something amazing! read more

Golf Mill Shopping Center - Shopping Centers Near Me - Niles, Illinois

Not a shithole cool Pokémon store Fun Nice amc I like the target Also has joyride Cheap Pokémon Nice bus service read more

Golf Mill Shopping Center - Dapper man at the mall - Shopping Centers Near Me - Niles, Illinois

I was looking for a Bath and Bodyworks and this happened to be the closest one. The mall is so depressing. There are very few stores, and one or two food options in the former food court. Santa was in the center with not one visitor. I am uncertain why this mall remains open, there are hardly any stores with only mall access. It is unfortunate ! read more

This is just one more unimpressive mall in the suburbs of Chicago that used to be really great back in the day. There were too many empty storefronts and a mostly unimpressive collection of other stores to shop in. The best store we found there was the comic shop. I don't recall the name at the moment but we spent quite a bit of time there and I spoke to more than one of the employees while we wandered around. The people at work there were really wonderful and I feel bad for them being here where their store could fail because the mall is doing so poorly. read more

Ghost town but has a few decent stores, like target and also amc... don't go here honestly

It's your typical JCPenney but they didn't have a large suit section for men and almost no white gold hoop earrings. I'm not complaining, and white gold, hoop earrings are very specific but they had a very large jewelry area but only 3 pairs of white gold hoops. Still a pretty solid store and I'd hate to see any JCPenney go out of business. We need to support these stores. read more

There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this mall. It needs new stores ASAP. Good place for teens tho. Good teen center and Ross.

This mall sucks. No good stores except maybe Ross and Victoria Secret. I've never come to this mall when it is super busy, and I don't know if it even has a peak time because I honest to God have never seen a lot of people here, EVER. The only thing salvaging this mall is the AMC theater within it. This mall used to be decent, but other than the department stores, now all that's in here is mediocre brands that no one has ever even heard of. Many stores have closed in this mall, like Gamestop and the Disney Store, and now all that remains are barren storefronts. I really would love to know how this mall is surviving after all of these years... I thought the HIP mall sucked, but at least they have gotten BETTER stores as years pass, unlike this mall. read more

Pretty dead in here. I'd hope it could revive, but who knows. At least it has Pasttimes Comics in it.

Photos with Santa - manager there gave us total weird vibes trying to take photos with his cell phone!

I will begin here, I do love this mall. But over the years, times have changed in this location. A lot of stores have left, many changes have come to the Golf Mill. The JC Penny is still a great location, especially when the sales ae happening. The Ross is welcome addition. The Target and Kohls have been the anchors for this location. I do miss the Aunt Annie's shop, it was right of the corner near the center court. It was sad to the spot empty. The food court has trimmed down it choices. I believe a Taco Bell was there but I didn't see this time. Ulta is a nice addition, the store front really catches your eye. There was a lot more stores, I am not sure if the Express is still there, it was my go to store. It always good sales. Bath and Body Works might still there, I didn't look this time. It is large location with plenty of space but with a lot of empty store fronts, it takes a lot away. I remember this mall being full on weekends. One of the few remaining indoor malls. I do love this location, but something must be done to bring it back to the glory days of before. The comic book shop outside of JC Penny is definitely a amazing addition. It has a a lot to choose from and at decent prices. Despite the changes, I will be back soon. read more

Golf Mill hasnt been the same since my high school days. It's totally dead now full of silly 2nd generation milenials with nothing better to do. At least when I had hung at the mall kids were kids.....not in 2019. I just came out to burn off time before going to work tonight and it's like blah..... disappointed in this mall. Management needs to step up to get anchor stores to move in to draw crowds. At this point shopping malls are a thing of the past and you can sit home asking Suri or Alexa to order everything from pizza to a movie on Netflix. I'm just not feeling this place since half the stores I used to frequent are either getting ready to close or already closed and their spot sitting empty for a new tenant. It's a sad sight seriously. read more

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So sad how this mall has gone downhill when I was younger I was here every weekend and let me tell you business was booming, I used to drop so much cash here cause there was so much to buy and not anymore. The only thing here left that is good is the Gloria jeans that somehow is still open along with sarku Japan in the cafeteria which is a fantastic combination I highly recommend. It makes me sad when I see such a beautiful piece of land go down hill the way golf mill has I cry in my car when I'm here. This will be gone soon I bet. read more

This is the worst mall I've ever seen. More stores are out of business than in business. The food court only has one restaurant. Please don't waste your time going to this mall. I'm surprised it's still in business. One section of the mall isn't accessible to the rest of the mall. That part only had 3 open stores in it. read more

This mall is dead. I wish I could give it zero stars. My friend thinks it's the worst mall in Glenview. 35 closed stores? Geez, that's horrible! What is a mall without stores! It was so much better before 2015 when Sterling bought it. Now we have crap stores that are empty almost all the time. I bet that in about 5 years, this mall will be demolished. Absolutely pathetic. We used to have GameStop, Disney Store, Rap, even Arby's and McDonald's/Taco Bell! Now half of the food court is occupied by a trash beauty company that is only about for women and they don't care about men. They have TRASH restaurants now like Sarku Japan. Believe it or not, you may not like it, I kind of like the Ginza buffet, but it's too expensive. $100+ for just a little buffet? Crazy! My god, they killed the mall in 1986 when they enclosed it. And why does Golf Mill have a seperate section with a completely different store and very dark lighting? That kills the mood of the whole entire mall. Overall like I said, I wish I could give it zero stars honestly. Oh and I have one more thing to say. Golf Field Mall is 100 times better than this s**thole of a mall that I honestly want to sue so bad. This sucks. EDIT: The Finish Line closed. What A Shame. EDIT 2: Payless closed. More Shame. Sterling, please improve your mall management skills. read more

This review is mostly about the Poutee restaurant inside the mall that serves Poutine, but I'll make a few comments about the mall. The mall itself is rather lackluster and not as busy as a mall should be. Most stores and kiosks are boring and full of crap nobody buys (I think they have an entire store devoted to jeggings...seriously an entire store devoted to jeggings.) The food court is full of weirdos that stare at me as I walk around, mostly old folks lounging around, the occasional young couple, Jehovah witnesses having bible study and a class of kids that go here when they get out of karate. Definitely not your standard mall fare. After work I've been trying the restaurants in here while I wait for the bus. One of which was "Poutee", a restaurant devoted to poutine, a Canadian favorite of french fries covered in gravy, cheese curds and beef. Coincidentally I had been looking for restaurants in Chicago lately that serve this delectable sounding dish, but there weren't any close to my area. The lady at the register was friendly and we chatted a bit, she said she loved my watch. I ordered a large "poutee" and a soda. It took about 10 minutes for my order to be ready since she made it fresh. I was a bit hesitant while waiting since I'm not a real big an of cheese and I didn't know what kind of curds they were going to use. Finally my food comes out and to my delight it was mozzarella cheese curds, perfectly melted with the hot, fresh out the fryer fries. Everything tasted fantastic, the gravy especially. My only regret was not grabbing a spoon since there was a lot of gravy left after the devouring of the fries was over with. The mix of flavors was great especially the beef, cheese, and fries. I definitely look forward to trying it out again one day. read more

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It hurts me to see how super dead this mall is. I had so many fond memories of coming to this mall as a child--checking out all the cool stores, running around their fountain area, and getting a Cinnabon with my grandpa. Today, Golf Mill is a shell of what it used to be. The only stores that keep me coming back are Express, Victoria's Secret, and sometimes Bath and Body Works. They have plenty of spaces for lease and a fair amount of stores closing down. This space really needs to be revitalized to be more beneficial to the community. read more

This mall is laid out very strangely. In the morning, people walk around here for exercise. The stores here are nothing fancy like the ones you would see on Michigan Ave. They are your basic go to everyday stores like Sears, Target, and Kohl's. I ended up here because I was checking out the Scrubs Outlet. read more

Target Kohl's Ulta GNC Embroidery shop Tailor shop Value City Furniture Theatre Grocery Shop Bath Body Works read more

Golf Mill reminds me of that dirty dish rag in the corner... it's old, it's worn, it's dusty, and it's definitely seen better days. The only reason I drop by this building is to go to the AMC movie theater or Target adjacent to it, which are not associated with Golf Mill. The stores within are dated, the air will mess with your allergies, and by the way, do NOT get sucked into using the photo booth by the movie theater! It's eaten our money twice now. Wtf! read more

Golf Mill is a middle of the road indoor mall, with no upscale stores. The only larger department stores are Target, Sears, Kohl's and JC Penney and the Kohl's closer to my house in Lincolnwood is much nicer than this one. I really only come here for JC Penney because I like them and there's no other one in the area. I'm sad that this mall has really gone downhill over the years. There are now a lot of empty stores and only Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works are worth the walk through. Even the food court is not worth your time. On the plus side it's in a good location and there is plenty of parking all around it. read more

Pretty sad excuse for a "mall" lots of vacant space and the stores that remain that are not corporations, are pretty much cheap looking clothes that verge on the tacky side...I guess this so called mall is prime example of the theory that malls really are on the decline.... I cannot imagine that online shopping is the only culprit.. maybe the rents are too expensive here...etc The mall is uninspiring and unaesthetic .. so maybe more effort should be placed there....for now looks like I will have to commute all the way to Schamburg to get a dose of a "real" mall. read more

Golf Mill is husk-like corpse in comparison to when I was a kid. Loved going to Game Stop, Waldenbooks, Mr. Bulkys, and the Disney Store...all long gone. Now there are mostly empty storefronts. Anchor stores pale in comparison to non-Golf Mill counterparts. The only reason to go here is the theaters. Honestly. Tons of parking, never crowded, and they're clean. read more

This mall has just been getting more worse over time .... the stores that are in here are like somewhere in the foreign areas in Chicago . This mall doesn't even have popular brands for women's clothes besides express everything else is for other ethnic background , nothing wrong with that but just mentioned this mall to my teenagers they complained and almost cried from embarrassment of NOt IN STYLE, NOtHInG IS COOL HERe they rather drop dead than to be here ! Even McDonald's is gone ! But tbh the only way I come is eyebrow threading in the center of the mall and Santa for the holidays !!! Come on Golf mill do some upgrades and The new Ulta isn't cutting it because half the food court is gone over this new Ulta being built here inside a mall???!! Just weird to all of us and others too. Oh and I just noticed no one has reviewed this place since 2014 so yeah that's sad Buisness here . read more

Golf Mill Shopping Center - My son found Santa this year Thank God we did there's nothing else to really enjoy here besides good old Santa! - Shopping Centers Near Me - Niles, Illinois

This mall truly was a gem years ago. Easy to walk especially with kids. Had some great little stores. But they let it die completely. So very sad and a good example of not taking care of things. They should either knock it down and rebuild something else or put in a Costco and change it back to an outside mall. Very sad. read more

Sephora employees at the JCPenney were extremely rude and not attentive when I asked questions. They rolled their eyes and made it seem like I was a burden asking to be rung up when using a gift card. I also asked to purchase two sweaters with my Sephora order and they did not want to take the handles off. I work in hospitality, it was a memorable experience, not in a good way. read more

Whenever I come here, I feel sad. Probably because it is like the ghost of malls past. Old vacant stores.... half empty food court... half of which are kind of the same thing....The sad remnants of what used to be a McDonald's. Even the arcade is gone. Probably because half the games were broken. But I digress. Coming here makes me sad. Probably cuz it's not the "alive" mall I remember from my childhood. One of these days I expect it will be gone, which is also very sad. I think there's a handful of stores that are OK on their own.... like Target, Sears, Ross etc. However as an indoor "mall" everything dosnt come together right anymore. read more

This mall has a rich history. Look it up on the internet, specifically the theater in the round from many decades ago- fascinating, wish I could have seen it. Personally, I have been coming here consistently since I can remember, mid 80s. I've seen Cyber station arcade, Spencer's, Babbages, KB Toys, Woolworths, and Sears when they had a decent video game selection. My brother and I preordered Mortal Kombat 1 for the sega genesis in 93 in this mall, from a radio shack- for some reason. I ate at the McDonald's, Sbarro's, Taco Bell. We'd catch a movie at the Golf Mill theaters. All of those places have left golf mill, some have gone bankrupt internationally. Brick and mortar in general, but this mall is pretty much dead at this point. You can't even walk from one end to the other because they not only closed the Sears but they barricaded both of Sears' mall entrances closing whatever was on each side off from another. They could have gutted the store and then left it open for people to walk through, maybe even put kiosks in the now vacant spot. That's probably the problem though, kiosks and new businesses don't want to operate at this place any more. The AMC is a great theater for those in the area. The Ginza buffet is a good but expensive option. Also, the Ross seems to get customers too but the mall itself will likely close eventually. I hear rumors that they are going to tear it down and put apartments in the big lot. That would be a shame but what can you do? I give this place 3 stars (generous) for the memories and because I'm hopping it can turn things around. In the meantime go to Old Orchard, Northbrook Court, Woodfield, or the Outlet Malls if you want a good mall going experience. read more

What has happened to this place? Half of the food court is Ulta Beauty and what is left is a subway and a couple of Korean/Jap/Chinese. I remember when the food court was awesome as a kid with Sbarro, Taco Bell, MCD's, Arbys, Great Steak, and Panda. They all closed down and that was disappointing. I also liked that arcade that they use to have. The AMC movie theater is awesome to go to and it attracts alot of people. JC Penny, Kohls, and Target are still there. Alot of empty stores and with Sears closing the customers have to go outside to get to Kohls and Target and Vice Versa. The management needs to get their act together. read more

An example to all mall owners of what happens when you 1. Demolish most of the food court (it had Subway, Panda Express, McDonalds, etc). 2. Rent the area where most of the restaurants were to a beauty store 3. Allow the 3 remaining restaurants to all be Japanese / Korean, i.e. very low selection. This was how this mall started dying. Not amazon, but the incompetence of its management. Who wants to go to a mall where you can't eat? Now about a third of the stores are empty. Most of the good brand stores are gone. There really is nothing to do there unless you still want to watch movies in a theater. Even the people with the small desks selling phones ,perfumes, etc are gone. not worth their time anymore. Sad. Soon to be shut down, no doubt. read more

Perhaps a bit of background might enlighten some of you young whippersnappers. Golf Mill was opened in 1960 as a middle class, middle-of-the-road OUTDOOR shopping center. It was originally anchored by Sears and an Evanston-based store called Lords (which was replaced by JC Penney). It never had the upscale pretentiousness of Old Orchard, which was designed to appeal to the more affluent North Shore shopper. Golf Mill catered to the demographics of the growing, blue collar suburb of Niles; and to a lesser degree, Morton Grove, Chicago's northwest side, and some of the new developments that were being built south and west of Glenview. It did not try to market to the carriage trade. It catered to the working class "white ethnic" people in Niles. Although it was not as elaborately landscaped as Old Orchard, it featured a nice rotating wooden "Mill" wheel, reflecting pond with goldfish, and shelter area for shoppers to use as a rest and meeting area. For the first 15 or so years, Golf Mill was a very successful center. It was near new residential housing developments, and was a natural mecca for local shoppers. It was said that the Sears store there was the busiest Sears store in the US, and it was a bustling center that brought serious tax revenues to Niles. Occupancy was at or near 100%. During that period, they added a movie theater and a theater in the round on opposite sides of the shopping center. Concurrently, the Golf and Milwaukee area experienced a huge retail boon in which a lot of additional strip malls and stand-alone stores opened on all of the arterial streets, resulting in a grossly over-retailed situation - and Golf Mill's fortunes started to turn. In 1978, management decided to convert the shopping center into an indoor mall, a tricky proposition because the sores were not really arranged to accommodate an indoor format. It was decided to have separate North and South wings, connected only by expecting shoppers to walk through the Sears store in the middle of the mall to get to each wing. The expansion was completed, but the storefronts were never even vaguely near capacity. Management added a Kohl's (originally a "MainStreet" store) and a Target store on the north end. People did shop at the two stores, but they didn't walk to the south end to visit Sears and Penny's. The theater in the round was closed to accommodate the expansion of the mall. And the original movie theater was converted into a fitness center, and a new multiplex cinema was successfully opened at the west end of Golf Mill. Demographic change occurred in Niles. Many (not all) of the old Polish and eastern European immigrants died and were replaced by a mix of Asians, Muslims, Hispanics, and some African Americans who did not have the same shopping habits as the original residents. The North Mall became relatively empty, and the South Mall also lost quite a few stores. The management has allowed some marginal retailers, martial arts facilities, and general office-type businesses (like an insurance agency) to open in the mall. Half of the food court stores are empty. But the mall is only about 65-70% occupied, even if you include these marginal businesses. And the place looks tired and out-of-date. Successful shopping centers usually have a lot of teenagers roaming the stores on weekend. It is not happening at Golf Mill. So, we presently have a successful Kohls, Target, and movie theater. Sears and Penney's are not faring well [although that may be caused by stupid corporate management decisions at both]. Everything else looks sad. It was recently announced that the owners of the mall have put it up for sale. I do not know what the future will bring, but something is needed before Golf Mill enters a mall death spiral. read more

This mall recently completed what I've read was a $8 million renovation. In a nutshell: disappointing. I grew up with this place - I came here back when it was an outdoor mall (that dates me). This place will never have the size of a Woodfield, or the cache of Northbrook or Old Orchard Mall. It is what it is - a middle class suburban shopping center. With the $8 million, they put in new lighter floor tiles on one half of the mall (from Sears to JC Penney), and skylights. They redid the entrance to the food court, and slapped on a snazzy new Golf Mill logo. It is lighter and brighter - but only on one side. The half of the mall that is a ghost town (from Sears to Kohl's) looks untouched. Beyond cosmetics, the problem with this mall is the stores. The anchors are Sears, JC Penney and Kohl's. For me, the most valuable store here is the Target. It's not a Super Target, but it's clean and has everything I need. And although I haven't yet been there, there's a Kerasotes 12 theater that's supposed to be top-notch. But stores like Rave, Northgate, The Wave and 5-7-9? Not so much. A lot of the shops just seem sad. Seattle Sutton Healthy Eating looks like the single most depressing place ever. Even the Waldenbooks has a poor selection of merchandise, as Julia A. noted. There are positives: Bath & Body Works and Gloria Jean's, namely. Now, if they could add a few more - like Sephora's, Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic... PS - please bring back the children's play area. Winter's coming. read more

I almost feel guilty coming to pile on Golf Mill, but I can't help myself. Walking through this place yesterday was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Not to be a snob, but this place is a complete dump. There is really nothing redeeming about it besides the food court and, according to others, the movie theater. Walking through the deserted corridors of this mall, filled with no-name stores selling clothes and toys made in China, I felt like I was walking around in a mall from a video game, or perhaps one near Chernobyl. All of the national stores remaining looked like they were near closing and a few looked like they hadn't been updated since the 90's, featuring old signs and layouts that I hadn't seen in years. What's the opposite of nostalgia (i.e., remembering things you have no interest in reliving)? Oh I know, it's Golf Mill. I feel like I could write a doctoral thesis about this place. It would touch on suburban decay, sprawl, the commercial real estate boom and bust, and white flight hitting the suburbs, but this Yelp review will have to do. In short, I would never go here again voluntarily. read more

Meh. I've experienced better is absolutely correct. This was sad and everything that everyone else said was correct. The only decent places were JC Penney and Express. I just don't see how everyone else is staying in business. It was just depressing. read more

This is the only mall I know of with a walk-through anchor department store. There's a reason for this. It makes the design of the mall a real pain. Despite good attempts at including local businesses, the Niles Free Bus to and from here, an excellent Target, and a good kids' play area, half of the mall is dead. The other half is just OK. Between all the empty space and the outdated directory, I'm never sure what's here and so seldom visit. The web site is also outdated, listing a place I know hasn't been here in at least 3 years as a current store and offering dead links to the web sites of shops within the mall, as well as invalid phone numbers. One are where it does shine is community involvement. Concerts from local groups and the high school band, events for local charities, and seasonal events like pet photos with Santa make me want to come here...just not to shop. I hope Golf Mill gets its act together soon, because it has tons of parking and plenty of potential. Let's hope the next remodel eliminates the need to walk through Sears to get to half the mall and brings back some of the unique features (like the mill theme and the cool fountain). The updated movie theater is a step in the right direction, at least! read more

This mall has degraded over the years. Used to be mcdonalds and tacobell in the food court now they are gone and 80% of the stores were not open at 11am on this Saturday morning. It is like walking through a ghost town. The food court food selections is an embarrassment to what a mall is supposed to be. I only come here because of my business related work...otherwise I wouldnt be setting a foot in here. I was here last week and Panda express didnt have the signature crab rangoons before that sbarros wasnt even serving pizza or calzones with no explaination why as I was sitting I watched the oven get worked on. Would be nice to give people written notice . The last few times I have been here the Le Pita place has been closed. Its not shuttered up yet maybe they dont want diners to stop coming here completely. The sarku japan place is horrible with customer service. They give us glaring stares . The people in the mall are not the best either. read more

Golf Mill Shopping Center - Ghost town...food court area...taken on Saturday at 1139 AM - Shopping Centers Near Me - Niles, Illinois

Man, does anyone else who grew up here feel like its their duty to donate their time to saving the dirt mall? Jesus, is this place getting depressing. I went there while over at my moms house a few weeks ago to go get flip flops at the Wet Seal, and....they took out the Wet Seal? Really? Yikes. This place is unrecognizable to the place I sat around at with my first high school boyfriend. Who is shopping at the Sword store? If anyone want to get together to donate their services to this clearly misguided company, lemme know, my ass is on board. P.S. Does anyone remember when the food court got hit by lightning? it was clearly a sign of things to come. read more

Look, nothing stays the same. Golf Mill has been through a rough patch, but I was there today and really enjoyed it. The stores ARE different than what you might find in other carbon-copy malls, but I enjoyed the variety. We found what were were looking for and had lunch. There were plenty of people there and it did not feel deserted at all. They have a teen community center, which I have never seen at any other mall. The food court was great with a good variety. After lunch, we just spend some time browsing and strolling. We plan to go back soon. I gave Golf Mill an extra star for the lockers! It was great to not have to carry our coats and gear the whole time we were there. I do wish they had a book store though. read more