It's the only mall in Gainesville, and it's a small, one story mall. Parking was very easy even during Memorial Day. The anchor stores I saw were Dillard's and JC Penny. I didn't go inside those stores. Instead, I just went to Bath and Body Works to buy shampoo and lotion. The food court is decent, and there is a nice sit down Japanese restaurant as well. There was a small arcade and a VR shop. I did see a TBone kiddie ride, so I had to hop on that for fun (without actually riding it). I was surprised not to see security staff, but I did see a janitor instead. The mall and bathrooms were pretty clean and kept. The mall is still alive, but could use a bit more customers. While it's the only mall in Gainesville, it's pretty decent for the area. Overall: B read more

This mall reminds me of the orlando mall, fashion square ... it's like a ghost town and Stores have very old selection of sale and clearance items. Anchor stores are Belk and JC Penney ( not my type of stores ). The only stores I found interest in were journeys, Victoria secret and H&M . This is definitely not my type of mall as I like more luxury stores and a good GAP and bath and body works. I guess it caters to the local college kids which makes sense. read more

The Oaks Mall - Entrance - Shopping Centers Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

In a time where enclosed malls are becoming extinct Oaks Mall has its share of foot traffic. The food court is pretty bustling with Mi Apa (Cuban), a Chinese/Hibachi restaurant, Chick Fil A and a few others too. There are a few known anchor stores and some of the normal smaller chains too inclusive of a Starbucks allowing for a good mixed selection of stores. The prices and value of offerings were inline with what would be expected at a mall. Being flanked by UF and SF I am sure it gets really busy from Aug to May. The service offered by everyone I came in contact with was fair to good. read more

Popped in the mall for a few things. First time here and it wasn't bad. They have some of my favorite stores although I couldn't peruse as I wanted as it was close to closing time. I did end up at Pandora and Pink. Customer service at both stores were superb. People were friendly and helpful. Overall, a nice experience here. Hope to come back. read more

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This mall is kind of dead it has a decent amount of stores though but not all the ones I would like but it is the only mall in the Gainesville area. I wish they had more stores but the nice part is that it is never crowded which makes it more pleasant to shop around. I also wish that they had more selections in the food court. They used to have a boba place but they got rid of it unfortunately. read more

Not the worst mall, but needs updating. My main complaint is that some of the businesses don't want to take cash. Starbucks resists any cash transaction. I walked out rather than comply just for a coffee drink. In this economy businesses would be better advised to take all forms of payment including cash. read more

Went to the barber shop at the Oaks Mall. Place is a disgusting run down mess. Dirty, seats torn, electrical cords hanging from ceiling, ceiling light broken, ceiling tile stained and dirty. Oaks Mall management evidently doesn't care. They should be embarrassed. No maintenance in 20 years. read more

RVs NOT WELCOME. I've stopped here dozens of times over the years without an issue. It's a nice halfway point between Orlando & South Georgia where we live. We've shopped at Penney's, & LENSCRAFTERS. We usually get something to eat from Buffalo's Wild Wings, Chick-Fil-A, BJ's, or Boston Market & since the pandemic we'd take it back to our motorhome which we park on the farthest edge of the parking lot so as to not take up any space near the building that others may need and eat it there. Then head home after a quick bite. This time while we were in the RV eating the food we bought there their mall cop stuck this "violation" warning on the door without ever knocking. So I guess The Oaks Mall doesn't want customers from the thousands of RVers traveling up and down I-75 each day. As malls continue to die out they would rather not have our money. It's nice to know that one exit down is a Cracker Barrel, a Bass Pro shop and a Home Depot that welcomes us and our patronage. There's also a Dave & Busters, Spurrier's Restaurant, and Miller's Ale within walking distance. read more

The Oaks Mall - Warning ticket. - Shopping Centers Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Plenty of brand name stores and a large area for walking around, this mall just needs a facelift. It's definitely stuck in the past with a very old vibe and a kinda dark lit atmosphere - lacks the natural lighting a lot of newer malls offer in the area. There is plenty of parking around the mall, with the closest spots being by the anchor stores. If you're looking for a place that will help you get your daily steps, this is a good stop with free kiosks and lots of aisle space. The stores here are pretty in par with what you think when you think mall stores. Overall: B Needs a facelift, but a solid mall otherwise. Go get some steps! read more

This is the mall I would go to growing up as a kid and it's the mall I worked at in my early 20's going to college. It's a pretty standard mall and very easy to navigate through once you walk around it. It's not a huge megamall, but it does have some of your basic anchor stores like Belk, Sears, JCPenny and Macy's. For Gainesville and the surrounding areas, the Oaks Mall has been the place to go for your shopping and gift giving needs and it's still plenty of mall if you really need to go to one now. Sans the internet.... read more

Not a mega mall but cute mall, has most of what you need. A huge Forever21, major retailers are all here. Very spread out. There is a kiddy train ride (fits adults too), that goes thru a portion of the shopping area for $3 a person. There is also a children's play area inside, in front of Sephora, near GAP. The food court has the best smoothies anywhere made by Red Mango. Get a frequent buyer's card. There is a Starbucks as well. Very clean, looks better than expected from the outside. read more

Large mall, stuck in the 1980's, but has better stores than the one in New Port Richey. I was impressed at how busy it was on a week day afternoon. I thought everyone would be someplace else but no, it was quite populated. Huge floor plan, with a Torrid, Hot Topic and several other stores that keep it going. They have a Red Robin out front as well as other good eateries, a Gellato shop in their food court and a Finch & berry soap shop. I've only ever seen that soap sold in chi chi shops around places. Good to know it's local! read more

I know a lot of people don't really enjoy going to this mall but it does have some positives. First the negatives-there aren't a lot of great stores and stores are constantly changing into other stores. The positives-the mall and the stores inside are always clean. I've also never ran into a rude employee-they are usually nice and helpful. The food court has some good selections-bubble tea, chick-fil-a, an Italian place, a cheesesteak place, and more. There is also a Red Robin and Buffalo wild wings. The Red Robin is always delicious. read more

A visit to the Oaks Mall for Holiday shopping turned out better than expected. It is super large with lots of stores and a good food court. I enjoyed my window shopping experience while meeting a couple of locally owned store proprietors. I am happy to see a vibrant shopping mall that has large chain store anchor tenants alongside the many other smaller store fronts doing brisk holiday business. read more

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This mall loses all it's best stores. It can't even keep a full food court. Get a Lush and a better food court! read more

The Oaks Mall - New store coming soon - Shopping Centers Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I usually stop in to kill some time while I wait for an old friend to get off work when I am in town for a visit. It's a very large mall, meaning, it's very sprawled out and kind of confusing. It carries the typical teen clothing shops like Gigi's and Forever 21, Rue 21, Wet Seal... etc. It's okay, but not AMAZING. The biggest complaint I have is the food court. They had these awesome artist inspired dining tables which has now been replaced with ugly basic and wobbly tables. AND I F*CKING hate the fact that the food court has Abercrombie and Fitch smack dab in the center. I can't really enjoy eating my lunch without having the smell of putrid A&F cologne infused store waft to the opposite side of the food court. It's disgusting. They need to move A&F or tell A&F to stop spraying their colognes every hour as if it's a room air freshener. Just disgusting. I left the mall with a niggling migraine because of THAT offensive odor. read more

Parking was tough, but that was probably because it was game day. The mall layout is a bit confusing and doesn't flow great. There is a good assortment of stores and was pretty clean(including the bathrooms). read more

This is your standard indoor mall. A relic of the past. It is pretty well-kept up and the assortment of stores is not too bad. Unfortunately it is the only mall in this town so if you're looking for a specific store this is where you will end up. Good to see that they have a Sephora in JCPenney's it's always an extra bonus. read more

Pretty good, could have more stores with a better variety of options.. pretty small for a mall in this area and out of date... Need to update. It looks like the mall from back home up north in a small town when I was little growing up. Now it's only really good for the ones that are walking for their exercise and the elderly. it's actually up for sale because it's irrelevant...the bigger mall is only 20 minutes away and the town has a lot of other stores now like Kohl's, target etc.. so for a bigger city you would think that the Mall would be bigger with a better variety to choose from read more

The Oaks Mall is a pretty standard mall for a medium-sized southern city: it compares to malls such as the Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah or Peachtree Mall in Columbus, Georgia. The anchor stores are Dillards, Macy's, JC Penny's, Belks, and Sears. The mall was opened in 1978 and has been remodeled numerous times since then. You'll find the standard mall stores here: PacSun, Journey's, Express, Hollister, Banana Republic, Abercrombie and Fitch, Champs, Finish Line . . . and probably a lot I never much notice since I don't shop there (such as women's fashion stores). A Sephora store is a new addition as of May of note at the Oaks. To those who say the Oaks pales in contrast to large malls in south Florida, Orlando, or Tampa, consider this: it's a regional mall in a college town. We are not Orlando or Tampa or Miami. And honestly, if you compare the Oaks to say, the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, what does Millenia have which we lack? A Neiman-Marcus and a Bloomingdales and a lot of really upscale stores like Chanel and Tiffany's. Once you get past the really high-end stores, Millenia, as beautiful as it is, has stores like Hollister and Finish Line too. I love shopping at Millenia or Tampa's International Plaza but you cannot expect a town Gainesville's size to support shops like Chanel or Cartier. Seriously. If you want high-end fashion, do like my boyfriend and I do and drive to Orlando now and then. If you're a South Florida kid, wait to be home in Miami and go shopping. There have been ample times I wish the Oaks had more, but you simply cannot expect such for the demographic it serves. With shops like Indigo (fashion jeans and such . . . brands like Sevens and William Rast) you can find some very stylish stuff now at the Oaks. And I am thrilled we have our own Sephora now! read more

Our 1 and only indoor mall in gainesville Nothing good nothing bad just an average mall read more

Its a mall, with typical mall stores... But, this is Gainesville and shopping is generally of the college student type. Unlike many malls, this one seems to be weathering the economic downturn better than most, as long as you overlook the gigantic dead space where Linens-N-Things was. This mall will probably survive until something newer comes along - like the proposed epic expansion of Butler Plaza. When that happens, the generally mediocre nature of this place will probably doom it to obsolescence. read more

The Oaks Mall is a limited mall. Ther are a few stores and they range in price range. As the only indoor mall in Gainesville, it has a hook on the market. There are several department stores, a food court, several chain stores, many jewelers, some small local stores, a hair salon, kiosks, and Gator gear amongst it all. The variety of stores is alright. I am not overly excited about this mall though. There are many stores, that have recently opened, including Sephora, a running shoe store that also has some work out gear, Franchesca's and various others. Cansidering the location there is a pretty good variety and in a pinch this mall would do but do not go in expecting something like in a city. read more

Don't lose an expensive child's shoe here, was just informed that if they find a single shoe, it is just thrown in the garbage. Really??? Like small children in strollers never kick off their shoe. read more

The Oaks Mall is decent for being the only mall in Gainesville. When comparing it to malls in Orlando or Miami, obviously this mall does not quite fit in that category. However, when I moved to Gainesville, I was surprised to see how many popular stores this mall had! Located inside the mall are stores like Forever 21, Macy's, Cotton On, Teavana, Hollister and Dillards! They also have recently opened up a Michael Kors in the mall, so maybe that's foreshadowing the mall becoming upscale?? One of my favorite stores to shop at is the Sephora because it has so many employees available to help and the store is very big. There are also many kiosks throughout the mall selling things like straighteners or toys. If you're looking for Gator gear, there are so many places that sell Gator merchandise and all that is orange and blue! If you get hungry, the Oaks Mall has a Chic-Fil-A, pretzels, a Japanese and a Chinese food station and a couple other places to choose from. Overall, this mall has pretty good stores and is just enough for me to get in and out in an hour or two with everything I am searching for. read more

Of course, I am from South Florida. An area where every single mall has better selections than this one. But what else can you get in a city that mostly depends on college students and alumni to thrive? Oaks Mall has the usual Macy's, JcPenney, Sears, and Belk (not in South Florida unfortunately). I'm not used to department stores having just one floor filled with items that would usually be separated into two or three floors, or even a separate store itself. You could literally walk around the entire mall multiple times because its that small. Not many stores survive here because business isn't really booming unless there's a huge sale as the seasons change. Also, because I'm not a small person, most of the stores and boutiques would not cater to me anyway apparel and shoe wise except Payless. I know there is a Lane Bryant, but its not within my not-so-wealthy college student price range. Therefore, I come here to hang out, get my hair done at the salon, and buy accessories. A mall is a mall, but if you're a special size looking for outfits that don't make you look twice your age and don't have the time to search every store, I would suggest heading to Orlando or Jacksonville. read more

The whole mall has turned into trash. If you need to shop for dressy boys clothes you are screwed unless you want a very bland array in blue and beige. Macy's was closed down completely, Dillard's is useless and Sears is closing. The mall air was broke so it was hot. Very disappointing experience. If you want selection go to Orlando. At least you have options! read more

Why would they open late and close early on sundays especially in holiday season reminds of small towns in the country lol

This mall has your usual lower-tier department stores (Macy's, JCPenney, Belk) as well as typical smaller stores. There is no Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus here. Can't even find a pair of Ecco shoes here. In this college town, this mall is sufficient enough. This mall has seen its days and is actually very mundane. The only positive about this mall is, if you don't like crowds when shopping, come here. This mall seems empty compared to other malls I have been to, even on the weekends. read more

I've been going to the Oaks Mall for years as my family lives in the area. It's a pretty standard mall with multiple department stores, food court and a variety of other shops and restaurants. The place has really grown and changed over the years. The parking lot can be frustrating and getting back out onto Newberry can be a headache though. The Macy's happened to be closing while I was there so that place was a bit of a mess and pretty well picked through. I appreciated the new items in the food court especially the gelato stand. The mall was extremely crowded though and quite a few places were without stores or "coming soon" signs. When I'm in the area and need something I'll stop by but won't go out of my way. read more

This is a dying mall that has gotten depressing to even walk into. Several anchor stores are gone and Asian massage and manicure stores are opening up all over the place. Even the food court can't keep all its storefronts open. No pizza, no Subway. So far Macy's, Sears and Toys-R-Us have closed just in the last year and have not been replaced. They are going to turn the Sears into part of the University of Florida (Shands) medical practice. There are fewer and fewer national stores and more local stores that open up, last for a couple of months and then disappear. During the holiday season, it gets overrun with kiosk vendors selling very cheap electronics with extremely restrictive return policies, not that it matters because they'll be gone by the time the gifts are opened and attempted to be used for the first time. The children's playground area is aesthetically very nice and the kids love it, but we once had a pediatrician friend of ours tell us that she dreaded seeing her patients there as she walked by because she was certain that they would be in her office later that week. The last time we took our daughter there, a child even had poop fall out of their diaper and the parent just left it there. We've obviously never been back. We stopped even going to the mall regularly about a decade ago when we were almost caught up in a gang fight on a Friday night when we took our daughter to the food court for Chik-fil-A. When JC Penny's ends up filing for bankruptcy, they'll close this location and the mall will likely die. read more

There are several great stores at the oaks mall. A few restaurants too - Ruby Tuesday's and Red Robin. There are some empty stores, but overall a great mall. read more

I went Dillard's and found the most rude worker. He commented on my purse ...which I paid over 400 dollars from another Dillard store. Unfortunately, he told me it is now down to $150. He said, it is all because once a year all purses go on sale even if it is a well known brand name item. What type of new customer service is this? I just felt scammed by the store.. and abused by one of the salesmen! I think Dillard needs to get a better quality of sales people. read more

Not a nice mall at all. Disappointing that this is the only one in Gainesville. If I go back, it will be to just run into a specific store.

Wow. Why such disdain for the Oaks Mall? I'm originally from South Florida, and even though the Oaks Mall is nowhere near comparable to mega-malls such as Sawgrass Mills, for a local town mall, it's well beyond decent. Down here in Coral Springs, the closest town mall we have is Coral Square Mall and it's half the size of the Oaks Mall, with some of the major stores (JCPenney, Victoria's Secret, Gap) being half the size they are in the Oaks Mall. I don't know many town malls that have a Sephora, Cache, Forever 21, and a Banana Republic (my town mall has none of those), but they're all at the Oaks Mall. My town mall didn't get a Wet Seal until about a year ago, and yet the Oaks Mall has had one for years. Some people are complaining about the empty space left by Linens-N-Things, but that store was as big as a Bed, Bath and Beyond, and most traditional mall stores wouldn't be able to fill such an ample space. When I lived in Gainesville for my undergrad at UF, I definitely preferred going to this mall than my own town mall. Now that I've graduated and moved away, I kinda miss it. :( read more

Okay well this mall has improved some. There is now a Macaroni Grill attached which I do enjoy after I've worked up an appetite shopping. And there are quite a few new stores - Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, White House Black Market, Build-A-Bear, Linen n' Things, Forever 21 (is coming soon), and there is a new store that sells Vera Bradley in the mall. Also many of the tried and true stores have gotten makeovers so they are looking much better. Overall the mall since I came to Gainesville 6 yrs ago has improved vastly. Plus it is the only mall in the area! :-) read more

When I visited Gainesville my friend brought me here to shop and I was pretty disappointed, it took basically no time to get across the who the whole mall, even the Westshore Mall in Tampa, which I previously thought to be one of the smallest malls has this mall beat to the ground. Oh well, I'm glad that I don't live in Gainesville and have better choices. I feel sorry for the people who do and have such little places to shop. You would think they would have a super mall since you're so far away from everything, but I guess not. read more

It is the type of mall that makes you appreciate the malls in bigger cities. This mall might be fine if you're a transportation challenged college student but otherwise make the trip somewhere else. read more

I'm from a college town in NC, so this mall seems really nice to me! It has a pretty good selection of stores... a really new one is called Cotton On, which originated in Australia, so I am super excited that it's here now! They have a nice food court (chik-fil-a being my favorite) and an awesome play area for the kids! Not to mention the other nice stores like Sephora, Payless, Victoria's Secret, and the Motherhood Maternity store. Overall I think that they have a great selection of stores, and it's a fun place to take the kids if it's too late or nasty outside for the park! read more

A good selection of stores as well as places to eat. We ate at Red Robin and the food was good. There was a wide selection of stores to walk into and most stay open until the mall itself closes. Good place to stop while visiting the Gainesville area, especially if you're interested in Gator merchandise! I recommend eating in the food court for a quick meal or eating in one of the many restaurants if you prefer being waited on. read more