The Cotton Exchange holds a lot of history in its eight 19th-century buildings. Each of the eight…read morebrick buildings originally served a different industrial purpose. For instance, the Sprunt building started as a flour mill and a hominy mill. The structure was renovated in 1919 and became the central trading office for cotton bales, eventually growing into one of the world's largest and busiest cotton-exporting companies. The bales left the Cape Fear River port's docks to be shipped directly to England, Europe, and other parts of the United States, and remained fully operational until 1950. After the shipping port declined, the complex was abandoned and deteriorated to the point that it was scheduled for complete demolition. Fortunately, local developers stepped in to save the buildings, preserving the original architecture, heart pine beams, and exposed brickwork. The marketplace officially opened in 1976. It was the very first successful "adaptive reuse" historic preservation project in the state. Today, the Cotton Exchange is a wonderful, bustling mixture of locally owned restaurants and specialty shops. While exploring the multi-level halls, I really enjoyed viewing the built-in hallway exhibits filled with vintage photographs, educational storyboards, and antique tools tracing the complex's port history. I have since learned of a few treasures I missed while visiting, so I am already planning a return trip to find the rest and explicitly check out the Wilmington Walk of Fame installation out in the courtyards! It is a fantastic destination for exploring downtown, offering a large parking lot where merchants will validate your parking ticket with a purchase.

Didn't really see any shops that interested me here. Of those I did stop into, the people were…read morefriendly, but the prices were a bit overboard. And I was surprise with the lack of local goods (eg olive oil place is all imported but no info on the labels). I parked in their lot because I figured I would easily find something I'd like, support local, and validate my parking. Probably could have enjoyed a light meal here but not my kind of place - too tourist trappy.

Great place and customer service !! Love the selection of gifts items and wasn't super expensive.read more

Sandalwood Shoppes is a store filled with products and clothing from local artists. These artists…read morerent spaces for their goods. They sell items that fit the coastal atmosphere of the area. It's not your typical touristy shop, but an elegant shop. You can buy clothing, glass art, children's clothing, jewelry, wall artwork, skincare products, purses, kitchenware, fun tea towels, etc. As it's the Christmas season, you can buy some cute ornaments that represent the area. You can book a private event. I was there recently with a group of women from my community, the 'Shelmore Mermaids'. We sipped on drinks and enjoyed some snacks while shopping in the store. Some of the items on hand are pricey, others are reasonable, so take the time to look around. There's something for everyone. It's great to support a local small business company.

Nice place to walk around, along the river in Wilmington. There are lots of shops and some very…read morepopular restaurants all right there. A couple restaurants right on the water as well. There's public parking (metered) along the roads and free parking for those dining in the restaurants.

From the owner: A unique collection of shops and restaurants located right on the Cape Fear Riverfront!read more

It's Walmart you can't expect too much. Things are out of stock sometimes it's a store but I've…read morealways had good experiences with most of the cashiers. There's a girl named Siera (I'm probably spelling it wrong) she's always helping me in self checkout & when she's at an actual register always nice and very helpful!

Store is very unorganized. Many items were pushed to the back of the shelves and hard to find and…read morereach. The app said they were in a specific aisle but they were not there. It made shopping difficult and took much longer.

Stopped here to look at some club chairs. I noticed the prices were a little higher compared to…read moreanother store I visited for the same items. They do have a large selection of couches and chairs. The staff is helpful and friendly.

I am unsure why reviewers on google are saying these prices don't reflect "outlet price" because we…read moresaved nearly $500 on a cabinet we recently purchased. How do I know? I searched the exact cabinet online and the cheapest I saw it selling for was $500 more than we paid, and this doesn't even include the delivery fee which is much lower than most stores. (And, no, the one we purchased wasn't "as is" or defective in any way.) The place is HUGE and is organized well. The sales staff greeted us and then left us to look on our own. If we had a question, and we had many, they were close enough by to beckon them over, but otherwise, they let us be.

One of a kind gifts, friendly service focused on pleasing the customer. Highly recommend for any…read moreoccasion.

From the owner: We began as Monograms Plus franchise in Manchester, Connecticut where we monogrammed 'while you…read moreshopped' in the mall. We started the website aspecialgift.com, sold the store, and relocated to Leland NC in 2004. We opened our retail location in September 2014. Our warehouse and production facility is located at 119 Division Drive, in Leland, where in addition to embroidery, engraving, and sandblasting, we do commercial embroidery, screenprinting, banners and signs.

Stopped by the other day for a battery for a watch. The store is convenient to me and the staff are…read moregreat. They were busy so they took my watch and gave me a ticket, said it would be ready in 10-15 minutes. So I left and ran an errand. I returned and it was ready , no issues at all great price. They are my go to place for watches and batteries.

Battery replacement for 4 watches went well and donein a timely nanner. The prices seemed high, 70…read moresomething dollars for the job. Cant complain since I didn't get a prior estmate. So this is probably more my fault for not being informed at the onset.

Witnessed the poorest example of professionalism today while in your store. Cashier Courtney could…read morebe heard all over the store complaining about her job and how her legs hurt , while the same time belittling her coworker all while waiting on customers. Courtney vin proceeds to yell and continue to be little coworker who is now tears.... i shop , just location often and have never witnessed such unprofessional workers in my life. You Ms. Courtney, need to learn how to deal with your co.Workers in a respectful manner.And while you're at it , you may need to find a new line of work.

Wow what a nice Dollar Tree! The store is very organized and clean compared to other Dollar Trees…read moreI've been to. I was able to quickly find what I was looking for and they have loads of options. The cashier was cheerful and pleasant at checkout. I wish I had this kind of experience every time I visited a Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree 1112 New Pointe Blvd Leland, NC 28451 Sunday December 20, 2020

Cape Fear Footwear is one of the shops in the Cotton Exchange, in downtown Wilmington. If you are…read morelooking for sandals then this is the place to come. Very nice selection of sandals at a decent price point. Note, these are not Wal-Mart quality sandals nor prices. They carry good quality brands. Service is good. Mrs Tim got some Cobian sandals while we were there. Plastic and cash accepted. Note, this is in downtown so you are on your own for parking. There is paid parking at the Cotton Exchange.

I was looking for sandals during my trip to North Carolina and found this gem of a shop. The…read morelocation was somewhat difficult to finally get to but well worth the search once we followed all the signs! I found all the bling bling sandals and upscale leather comfort sandals a woman could want. The staff was gracious and very helpful. I hope to come back again near the Azalea Festival. What a beautiful city.