Dining and entertainment destination, Waverly is chock full of restaurants, shopping, medical…read moreservices and more. People live here, too! Apartments and homes and even a Hilton Garden Inn! All sorts of restaurants from fast food and quick casual to full service sit down. You want a coffee shop? Yeah, they have it as well. Banking, nails, computer repair, massage and facials, barbershop. Yes. Medical and other health care offices. Yes. The one thing that there isn't enough of is parking. There are big lots but it's over there and I wasn't in a mood to walk in the cold drizzle. There are some street spots in front of the restaurants but not nearly enough of them. Yes, it was Christmas shopping and holiday season that makes for an unusual crowd. [Review 19073 overall - 3394 in North Carolina - 42 of 2023.]

I was surprised Waverly never had a listing on Yelp this whole time. So why not add it and kick off…read morethe reviews? This highly trending area is certainly led by this shopping center of epic proportions. Without delivering you readers into list hell there's no way this review will be all inclusive of what there is to offer. I'll start by saying that even the typically low-quality stores you find here are several steps above and beyond any other location you've been to for the same chain. Fast food: McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Bojangles, Starbucks, Quick Trip (QT). Fast casual: CAVA, Taziki's, Viva Chicken, Chipotle, Firehouse, Panera. Plenty of sit down restaurants including Chuy's, CO, Carolina Ale House and others. Haagen Daz and Menchie's for that after dinner fix. Or hit up the gelato spot in Whole Foods. Speaking of which, now you know where to get your groceries. This still doesn't mention the slew of stores, gyms, hotels, apartments and condos here. Even electric car chargers are available in front of Whole Foods. And while this is one massive shopping center, there's still another across the road and countless more within a short drive as this area explodes with growth. The layout is beautiful and incredibly walker friendly. You can people watch to no end. Or catch a sunset on the Whole Foods balcony. Lots of teenagers and kids are usually running around here so take that into consideration. Parking can be tight in some areas and at certain times. But you can see lots of expensive cars rolling through and enjoy the outside air on a nice day.

Matthews Township Shopping Center sits right along Independence and it's one of those places where…read moreyou come in for one thing and end up noticing how much else is tucked around it. I was here for the all-you-can-eat sushi at Mister Tokyo, which is always the main draw for me, but the frontage road fills in the rest of the picture with Carrabba's, Bonefish, Texas Roadhouse, MOD Pizza, and Metro Diner all lined up in that familiar chain‑restaurant rhythm that keeps the area busy from lunch through dinner. It's the kind of stretch where you can decide what you want after you park because everything is right there in front of you. If you drive toward the back of the property the center shifts into more of a practical everyday mix with bagels, burritos, Home Depot, and Harris Teeter, so it ends up being one of those spots where you can grab a meal and run errands without having to hop back onto the highway. The layout is spread out enough that it doesn't feel cramped even when the parking lots are full, and the different sections of the center each have their own little rhythm. Access is straightforward. You can come in directly from Independence or use Matthews Township Parkway, and that entrance has a traffic light which makes it a lot easier if you need to get back onto Independence heading north. It's not a flashy center, just a big, useful one that covers a lot of ground and does exactly what a place like this is supposed to do. [Review 174 of 2026 - 4562 in North Carolina - 25364 overall]

Anchored by Harris Teeter, this shopping center includes Pet Supermarket, Great Clips, Jersey Mikes…read moreand Dilworth Coffee as well as a nail salon and dry cleaner. Large and orderly parking lot. It is effectively a strip mall with a bank at one end, the Harris Teeter and other stores along the center, and Goodwill at the other end. There's also a gas station and an ABC. [Review 11574 overall, 1354 of 2019.]

Love all the places to shop. Harris tweeter the best one Lams kitchen the best food you can eat.read more

A favorite shopping plaza with a couple of great restaurants and the excellent Harris Teeter…read more Only one entrance on the main road of Park Road that does not have a traffic light, but there are three more on the side streets including one entrance to the west onto Sharon Road. Plenty of parking, easy to navigate, very easy to see the different shops with very good signage. [Review 9984 overall, 1564 of 2018.]

This really nice shopping center is on the east side of Johnston Road at the intersection with…read moreLancaster Highway. Quite well landscaped, it exudes "high end" from the entrance. The main anchor is the fitness center https://www.yelp.com/biz/crunch-fitness-ballantyne-charlotte-3 but there are other stores including a paint store, hair salon, pizza https://www.yelp.com/biz/papa-johns-pizza-charlotte-17 and Chinese https://www.yelp.com/biz/amazing-wok-charlotte. There's also a Wendy's https://www.yelp.com/biz/wendys-charlotte-22 here. The main entrance has a traffic light for access to Johnston Road / US-521. [Review 16546 overall - 3172 in North Carolina - 56 of 2022.]

This cozy shopping center is tucked into the corner of Ballantyne Commons and Community House. It's…read morepacked with food options for the nearby office workers in this huge commercial area of Ballantyne. Another Broken Egg for that morning fix. Poke Bar, Ghengis Grill and Be's Noodles and Banh Mi make good lunch options for the slave-to-the-grind. Or round out the evening with sports on a patio at Gibson or Grape & Agave, a wine and tequila place. (Porque no los dos?) There are also some services including dry cleaners, shoe repair (don't see that often), nails and hair-dos. Not to mention a few schools of art and music which I think are aimed at kids. At the far end is a AAA for the ride. Getting in and out of here can be a bit stressful. Because of the location it's best if you're headed west on Ballantyne Commons when you leave out of here. Alternatively, north on Community House will lend itself to an easy out. I'm unfortunately not usually doing either of those, so I will suffer through U-turns and fast jumps out into traffic.

Charlotte is well dotted with these smaller shopping plazas and this one is just as good as any…read moreother. The Genghis Grill and Skillets at one end are probably the biggest draws for now. The two story building will eventually have retail shops - expect the usual discount hair cut place, a consignment clothing shop and a financial services office. Maybe they'll even get an H&R Block?

Excellent shopping shopping center in excellent condition. Centered around the main anchor Publix…read moreGrocery store which features a drive-through pharmacy, there is also a bank, Walgreens https://www.yelp.com/biz/walgreens-charlotte-14and a fab barbecue joint https://www.yelp.com/biz/city-barbeque-charlotte. Another building has a pizza place, nail salon and hair salon. Easy entrance from both Johnston Road and Providence Road West though departing and going in the opposite direction will require some creativity. The parking lot is in great shape and is well lit at night. [Review 16543 overall - 3170 in North Carolina - 53 of 2022.]

On a rainy morning, Toringdon Circle turned out to be one of those small blessings where the timing…read moreand the weather line up just right. I pulled in early and was grateful to find a parking spot close enough that I didn't have to make a full dash through the rain, just a quick hop from the car to the sidewalk. There aren't many spots here and on a busier day I imagine it could be a bit of a scramble, but on this morning it worked out perfectly. Ruby Slipper is the anchor of my visits and it's excellent as always, even if it isn't a huge space. It has that warm, local feel that makes a rainy morning feel a little less dreary, and it's the kind of place where a good cup of coffee can reset the whole day. Once you're parked, you can wander a bit and find plenty of places to eat, shop, or take care of errands without having to move the car. It's the kind of plaza where you can stitch together a morning without much effort, especially when the weather isn't cooperating. Even with the tight layout, it's a convenient stop and a pleasant one, especially when you manage to land a close spot and start the day with a good cup of coffee. [Review 266 of 2026 - 4577 in North Carolina - 25455 overall]

Toringdon Circle Shopping Center probably gets overlooked a lot, but it has a lot to offer. A…read morenumber of excellent food establishments are here with a wide variety of genres here. You have Midwood Smokehouse, Viva Chicken, Hickory Tavern, and Bahn Thai. Not only are there lots of places to eat, there are a number of realty agency offices here as well as Pike's Nursery and then the LA Fitness center next to the center. There's even dentists offices and a Trek Store. A wide variety of businesses, I'm sure a lot of people come through here for various reasons. I still remember when Johnston Rd Extension didn't exist (also 485) but since this shopping center is located right off of the exit, it is pretty easy to get to - I just say that it get's over looked due to the large shopping center across the way (485) closer to the heart of Ballantyne. The other great thing is that this shopping center has access to the greenway. There's plenty of parking and since it's a shopping center, plenty of traffic going around so that your car is less likely to be targeted by opportunists. Fair warning: the shopping center is centered around a round-a-bout so just take your time and don't panic.