With additional encouragement from my Yelp friend, Lilah J, to score another FTR for a shopping…read moreplaza in the City of Lakewood, here goes my go at Lakewood Marketplace.
Lakewood Marketplace is located at the intersection of South and Woodruff. Here's a question for you: Which corner of that intersection is Lakewood Marketplace?
It's a trick question because the answer is all four corners! lol
It's true, there's something going on at every corner, and depending on your needs, you may be able to fulfill all of them at this one intersection. Just like parks, I don't find shopping centers easy to review, not knowing exactly how to approach it, but since I've stopped by all four corners at some point in time, I'll split this review into four sections, one dedicated to each intermediate direction.
Southeast Corner:
Vons is the anchor store here, but you'll also find a Daiso Japan, Starbucks, Granny's Donuts, Banfield Pet Hospital, Arby's, and an Ace Hardware store that just recently replaced Tuesday Morning, oddly enough, opening their doors to the general public on a Tuesday morning. The Vons here is more spacious than the *other* Vons on Woodruff, so if that *other* Vons is your usual Vons, and you can't find any of those seemingly scarce eggs, you may want to consider making the 1.7 mile trek north to this Vons instead.
If you read my review of Carwood West Shopping Center, also in Lakewood, I mentioned a story where I tried to find something at the Vons on the other side of Woodruff and encountered a suspicious family asking for gas money. I told them I didn't have any, but wished them luck anyways. I drove up to this Vons, and when I was about to leave, that same suspicious family came up to me again! Luckily, that was the only such encounter I've had at Lakewood Marketplace.
Northeast Corner:
I've only been to El Pollo Loco and Pizza Hut. Also the Seven Eleven on 7/11, but they had run out of free slushies. UFC Gym was the anchor business there, but they have since closed. However, Tesla owners will be thrilled to hear that there's now a Tesla Supercharger here! I don't own such a vehicle, so I can't really comment on how effective the charging station is there.
For eats, there is also a Church's Chicken and Thai Villa here. They're probably better than what I had at El Pollo Loco and Pizza Hut. I don't find this corner particularly interesting compared to the Northwest and Southeast corners; I find it about as boring as the Southwest corner.
Northwest Corner:
Alongside the Southeast corner, there's just as much or maybe even more going on at this corner with the recent addition of a Cassidy's Corner Cafe, though I personally think it's overkill to have 5 locations within 6 miles of one another! The other grocery store, Grocery Outlet, is at this corner, and shopping there lately has been more of a game of maximizing your savings while minimizing your spendings. Don't expect the quality of the merch to be better than that of Vons, but you can definitely save a ton of money if you shop here often. The expiry dates are much earlier than at Vons, so keep that in mind in deciding whether to patronize Grocery Outlet or Vons.
There are more options for eats here: Yoshinoya, Mamma's, Adobo Taco Grill, Subway, and Carl's Jr. There's also Cafe Monster that took over Ding Tea, and I'm not sure if it's a rebranding of the bubble tea shop with the same employees? If it is, I'd be hesitant to visit as my one visit to the then-Ding Tea was a complete and utter failure. See my review of that one to see why.
Southwest Corner:
The only businesses I've patronized on this corner are ARCO and Boba Bee, the last of which is a pretty nice boba shop. Much better than the *other* bee-themed boba shop in Lakewood, which happens to be next to the *other* Cassidy's Corner Cafe, both of which I'm avoiding like the plague. Some gas stations are set up so that if you want to park your car in the parking lot directly in front of a business in the same corner, you'd have to get back on the main road for a few feet. Not here. There was a time when I needed to pump fuel at ARCO, and then immediately after, I parked in the lot without having to get back on Woodruff, which was pretty convenient, but with such a smaller space to traverse your vehicles through, you'll have to keep a keen eye on other drivers finding their way about. Compared to the other three corners, I believe fender benders are likeliest to happen at this corner.
Did I mention the parking lot here? Since it's a strip mall, there's a long strip of parking spots with minimal room for two vehicles to pass by one another in opposite directions. If you're really having difficulty finding an open spot or maneuvering your vehicle with such a short turn radius, I recommend parking closer to Tokyo Hibachi.
Overall:
It wouldn't be easy for me to give a rating to each individual corner of this intersection. Luckily, deciding on a holistic rating was. 4 solid stars!
