I also remember visiting Grand Avenue when I was a kid. It was SO cool to go downtown (from Brookfield, about 10 miles away) to Grand Avenue. The mall featured shops in the old Plankinton Arcade, what my mom says was an early 1900s office building later transformed into a shopping area. There was also a modern part, that featured a third-story food court that used to have this big bear statue on a tightrope swaying back and forth over the diners. That was the kid's big draw to the mall. During the late '90s on the few times I headed down to Grand Avenue, I was sorely disappointed. There was a period when there was literally a few stores left in the whole mall. It seemed half empty, and there was almost no one walking the halls. It was eerie even. While its not the Grand Avenue of the 80's, with a new Borders bookstore, Linen's N Things and Office Max as well as some other chain mall stores, there is at least some draw to this mall. Sure, it's not what it used to be, certainly not a place to shop for clothes, but for books, home stuff or a TJMaxx fix, it serves a purpose. read more

I went to see Bulls Bucks game at Bradely Center yesterday. It was raining so I parked here. When we returned, window was smashed and front door was damaged from failed attempt to pry it open. The police were good but security at this parking deck is non existent. Park here at your own risk and leave nothing of value in the car. If you have a beater car with comprehensive insurance, then maybe park here. read more

Not a bad place to shop, but at the same time I was definitely annoyed with the parking situation. Talk about being far from where you want to be. Expensive in the garage, and street parking is the pits. But then again... there is Brew City inside. Talk about a destination. It's a mall. Nothing more. It's downtown. Make a day of it and go to the Safe House. Wow, two plugs in one review. Not intentional, but true nonetheless!! read more

I remember going to this mall all the time and thinking it was the greatest thing on earth,as there were three levels of stores and endless shopping...as kids we lived for the Hello Kitty/Sanrio store. Now, there are hardly any stores and you can see how badly the economy has effected the success of them. The food court is always great, and so is TJ Maxx, if you don't mind walking through the skywalk. I miss the old Grand Ave Mall! read more

So you hear about these malls that are abandoned and failing; this is one of them I think. Maybe 70% vacant, between Boston's and TJMaxx there's Footaction and not much else. It's sad and a bit eerie. Just visiting Milwaukee for weekend, and this was our 1st stop. Not sure if it's on its way to revitalization, or failing. I think the latter. read more

Other than the Boston Store, this mall is so depressing. Even the Culver's left the food court. It is filled mostly with mom and pop stores. Other than Chicago, the best downtown shopping in the midwest is in Indianapolis. The Circle Center Mall in Indianapolis is similar to the Shops of Grand Ave built between several buildings with walkways, but what a difference...besides Carson Pirie Scott and TJ Maxx, there is Aeropostale, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Brookstone, Eddie Bauer, Finish Line, H&M and more. Downtown Milwaukee has some nice spots and the City of Milwaukee is a nice place to go on a day trip from Chicago. Milwaukee is a beautiful and very historical city, a tribute to the first European immigrants who established its neighborhoods. But if you are going there to shop you will be extremely disappointed. And this mall is really sad. Chicago and Indianapolis have much shopping more to offer. read more

How sad! I used to live on the East side and Loved The Grand Ave. I stopped by today and the place is 1/2 empty and The only decent Stores are a Boston Store and a Radio Shack. read more

Horrible! There is nothing here!!! Do not waste money on parking. 75% of retail space is closed and the stores that are open seem to cater to low income people. Faces of the people that work here says it all......leave and never come back as it will be the quickest visit to a shopping mall ever!!! read more

The only thing keeping this mall alive is the food court. Having walked the entire enclosed walkway and bridge system from the chase building, you really get to see the inside and empty stores in this place. It's sad really... It has pay-for parking which means most retail buyers will go to Mayfair or bayshore.... Yet it has to have pay-for parking, otherwise all the local office workers will try to park here and walk to work, as they get charged anywhere from $50-$150 a month for other office parking structures in the area. read more

Super convenient and in a great location for when you can't get to a grocery store. I think it's cash only though which is sometimes problematic. Very nice workers. read more

I went here for the first time in YEARS. OMG what happened? Since this mall is located in the heart of downtown I would expect it to have so many great places to eat and shop, but not anymore. This place reminds me of a low budget, shall I say....ghetto mall? Don't waste your time here people, keep it moving. read more

So much wasted potential! Every time I go to this mall, another store has packed up and left, I don't think it's even half occupied. But, their food court offers several options for those of us working in the area, so they still get my business a few times a month. read more

This is the dying corpse of a mall. 2/3 or more of the stores are closed and several of the stores that are still in business have going out of business signs. It is a vicious cycle: as fewer people go to the mall because the stores they liked are gone, the other stores get less business. Walking by the food court had every vendor yelling at us trying to get us to buy something, probably because they haven't had any customers all day. read more

The parking here sucks: I parked for 20 minutes because I was ordering some business cards at OfficeMax. Rather than get the $1/first hour "shopper" rate, I was instead charged $4 because I didn't technically make a purchase (just placed an order). The security desk was rude to me when I attempted to remedy the situation...and the Office Max employees weren't much help here, either. The way I see it, I patronized a business, which is the whole incentive to offer a "shopper" parking rate--I should get the discount. I'm a student and barely have any money--thanks Grand Ave Mall, for ripping me off! read more

Seeing this mall makes me upset; it's like watching someone with alot of brains and potential do nothing with his/her life. The architecture in this building is beautiful and unique, and has the potential of attracting tourists and generate more revenue to Milwaukee. But this is all wasted on empty spaces. Investors need to try harder to get more department stores in, like Macy's, Target (as they did in Chicago), etc. Even teen clothing stores would work. Something to get more foot-traffic and more business to existing stores. I'm sure all this is easier said than done, and that these bigger stores don't want to risk establishing a store there because there's not alot of people there in the first place, etc etc etc, but they need to start SOMEWHERE. read more

The head of security contacted me on here and noted that this behavior wasn't indicative of the entire staff, which is true. Also, I haven't seen Creepy Security Guard around lately so I'd say the coast is clear... Tentatively! read more

Often cheap prices for super fresh fruit. Cash only, but you'll save much more than any card rebate. My wife has the schedule to make it's homebase Tropic Banana Company sometimes, but this is where I can go. I'm particular to the berries and small lemons properly sized for mixed drinks. Pineapples, bananas, greens, melons, and well everything else at some point are good too. As far as I am concerned they should get the Linen N TJ Maxx Things space and save downtown Milwaukee shopping with health food visitors. read more

WTF? No, no and NO!!!! Being a tourist to the area, we were walking around and checking out the sites. I really wanted to find a cute little area with unique shops and the closest "shopping area" was this. We walked in only to quickly walk right back out (I didn't care how cold or windy it was outside!!!). It was just bad, do people really shop here?? read more

It sure has declined a lot since the 80's but it's in its way back. The prices at the fruit market are not to bad and the produce is nice and fresh. read more

So many stores have disappeared from this once only meh mall. If you are looking for the national chains that are at all other malls, keep going. The positives, they do have a food court, which is a good option if you need a cheap place to eat, and they have some pretty cheap places for clothes. BTW, they also got rid of free validated parking, but you still get a discount. read more

If you are ordering a shake you can either vanilla or chocolate ice cream and can ask to mix both.

If you are looking for a mall....look harder. This mall has few stores that you've actually heard of, and none of the staples you've come to expect from a mall. Hell, even Sbarro moved out. About the only thing redeeming in the mall is the food court, and even that is getting more and more sketchy by the day. read more

Don't waste your time coming here. It is a shame they let it deteriorate to the point it is today. This mall was the jewel of Milwaukee in the 80s and 90s and now it is basically empty. The food court is closing next week to make room for apartments and the first floor is being made into a food avenue. I hope it works out for them. God knows nothing else has. What a shame. read more

Never have I seen such a horrible mall in such a perfect location. This place needs to be gutted and repurposed as a high end mall. It's in desperate need of some Gucci, Louis, Prada! As it stands, it's half empty and completely unshoppable! What kind of mall has an OfficeMax and a Walgreens anyway?!? SMH. read more

Great location and the mall looks clean and nice. Can't understand why half the mall is empty.

Going to this mall recently made me very sad. This archecture of this place is very pretty and the mall itself used to have very cool stores. Now, there's hardly anything worthwhile. I hope they do something to fix it up, some of these stores in there are getting borderline 7 mile fair. read more

I love Culvers but if you go to this one, even if there is only ONE person in front of you, expect to wait at least 10 minutes, but you get to watch the employees chat with pretty girls that walk by! read more

I visited this mall and parked in the adjoining garage. I purchased $60 of merchandise from the Milwaukee apparel store. After presenting a copy of my receipt to the parking attendant, I was charged $1.00 for parking. A primary example of why no one bothers shopping here anymore. Why deal with the hassle? Saved from a one star rating due to the the presence of the Milwaukee shop and Rocky Roccoco. read more

If I could give this mall one and a half stars, I would give them an extra half star simply because there's a TJ Maxx inside of the mall. Other than that, I probably won't waste time going here again, unless I happen to be in the vicinity and there's absolutely nothing else to do. For quick and cheap food, the food court is adequate for most needs. However, if you want to go to a mall to get some serious shopping done, I'd recommend going somewhere else! read more

Nothing about this mall that makes it memorable. Although the location of my first Culver's nosh, Shops of Grand Avenue could use some Oomph! read more

I went here when I first arrived to Milwaukee for college. I knew nothing about Downtown Milwaukee and I figured "the outside looks nice", the name is grandiose, I'll give this place a shot. Errrr. Nope. It's definitely beautiful on the inside as well, but there are so many vacant spots in the mall--it's hard to even call it a mall. Most people I knew only came here to eat at the Applebee's. The place has potential, and again, it's beautiful, but that's about it. read more

Wow from what I been reading about the Shop Of Grand Ave. Is not a surprise at all. I was a security guard there from 2002-2005. I notice the mall changes as well. Retail is the type of business that's a hit or miss. Stores and shops need the right products that people want. Some one should have done some type of market research. On their products before they opened their stores. I can't blame the mall 100% for it's failure. The tenants also have to share some of the blame. With the products been sold in the stores read more

My time in this fucking mall always goes horribly wrong. And yes, I am a visitor, a FIB as they call us, and yeah, Im not here on...lets say a regualr Tuesday, when shit is actually normal. No, im usually in on the weekends, when everyone is there, everything is crazy, kids flying off the walls, parents yelling, etc. And since im nevere ever in the mall and in a weird city of course i have to have so completely fucked up request...like "i need a black belt". Sounds simple, right? Nope. Not these days. This time I was in town for an outdoor concert....it was cold, rainy, and I didnt want to wear a jacket...oh no, Mikey is way too cool for a jacket. I needed a hoodie. Sounds like a simple request, right? Especially in a mall with lots of stores, in Wisconsin no less, where the women sometimes get marriend in Packers or Badgers sweatshirts all the time! I guess the idea of actually finding a hoodie - a simple request right? - was just a dumb idea, especially in a mall with more than 4 or 5 athletic apparrel stores...stores operating and maintaining a business via sales of hoodies! So how do you not have a hoodie? I checked 8 stores, 8 frickin stores and not one hoodie. Now I understand its June and hoodies arent made to be worn in the summer, but damn....I eventually run into a store with a clearance on hoodies ( the guy in the ref shirt was shocked they were even out and available). Of course not a regular hoodie..oh know, they were only selling the expensive Kudi Cudi-style hoodies....thats not exactly true but i did have to spend 80 bucks on a Roc -A- Fella hoodie (giving Jay-Z even more money....dammit!) so i wouldnt freeze my ass off all night. I expected to spend 20 bucks on some hoodie with cheese or Brett Farve's name on it and here I am 9 stores deep spending too much on a hoodie that costs more than my watch, shoes,pants, hat, shirt, socks, glasses.etc...you get the point. Oh well, im wearing the fuck out of this hoodie now, getting my money's worth...but c'mon. This is why I dont go to malls, because they generally end up sucking and not having what you want, even if its the simplest of things. read more

Stayed in Milwaukee for a multi -day sporting event. This is the most disappointing mall I have ever seen. My daughter and I walked in to walk out. There are no recognizable stores and honestly looks vacant and kind of sketchy. Drive a few miles and go to Mayfair . Do I have to give a star? Want to give no stars. read more

I personally love the building. It's very nice and has nice art and sculptures. If only they had nice shops. They only have generic shops like TJ Maxx and Walgreens. Nothing fancy or mall worthy. It's downtown milwaukee and it should be fun and worth going to. But unfortunately it's not. read more

shoe store, shoe store, shoe store, bootleg dvd kiosk, shoe store, spray paint t-shirt store,shoe store, as seen on TV store, mall college...hmmm. read more

Seriously, there is nothing here! We went here to look at clothing and found a bad T.J. Maxx and Boston Store where everything was egregiously overpriced, the escalators were broken, and there were no signs explaining how to move about the store. And the rest of the mall was filled with vacant storefronts and other operations that look as though they may be covers for drug dealers. I'm not kidding, this is true, one store is called "Sassy to Classy, Purses and More." read more

I watched 3 security guards walk an old homeless man out of the mall, sat him in the bus shelter on Third and Wisconsin, and walked away. After a couple of minutes one of them came back, moved the man's hat back and took a picture of him with his cell phone. WTF! The man was in no condition to be dumped in a bus shelter. He was well in his 60's and had a huge shiner on his left eye. I wonder if they beat him up before they "guided" him to the bus stop. read more

great deal on everything, no organic though. Best prices in town. $1 grab bags of riper fruits and veggies. great way to save money.

I use to own a business in the shops of grand avenue and I can't believe the dump it has become. Nan Schwartz who was once a manger of the mall had this concept that she wanted to turn a downtown urban mall until a suburban mall. News flash lady you have to cater to your market not what you want a retail mall to be. Back in 2002-2003 they replaced all the right stores with the wrong stores. Old navy linens and things dress barn famous footwear office max and tj max which all of them left except tj maxx and office max. Marquette is up the street and the students don't even shop there. I say quit embarrassing yourself and close it all ready. The only type of businesses this mall can attract is local vendors which most of them don't have the finances to properly run the store. There's a shoe store that just opened on the second floor has roughly 15 pair of shoes then a few stores down someone opened a women's clothing store with roughly 40 pieces in it . No selection whatsoever and the local vendors who have sufficient business capital wouldn't give this place a glance. Management I'm sure will persuade some sucka to open there business and sit back and watch them go belly up. I say enter at your own risk.. read more