Concord Mills

[rancenc]

DKNY will be opening a store at Concord Mills this spring.....was in the Charlotte Observer "Retail Blog" in the online addition.

[AuLukey]

It's a vibrant mall, but the entertainment options don't totally make up for the so-so dining and shopping.

I disagree. Concord Mills, while not containing posh retail, has a much larger diversity of actual retail genres than any other mall in or around Charlotte. It really can't be compared to Carolina Place, Southpark, Northlake, etc because it isn't a typical mall, it's more a retail complex. Not everybody needs to eat at Maggiano's and pick up their favorite scarf from Burberry.

There is a reason why Concord Mills is the number one attraction in North Carolina. Not everybody needs posh. That said, I do shop at Southpark, I probably visit the two malls at about the same frequency, it all depends on what I need. I'm not about to spend more money just to shop at a nicer mall.

Just my two cents

[mallguy]

I disagree. Concord Mills, while not containing posh retail, has a much larger diversity of actual retail genres than any other mall in or around Charlotte. It really can't be compared to Carolina Place, Southpark, Northlake, etc because it isn't a typical mall, it's more a retail complex. Not everybody needs to eat at Maggiano's and pick up their favorite scarf from Burberry.

There is a reason why Concord Mills is the number one attraction in North Carolina. Not everybody needs posh. That said, I do shop at Southpark, I probably visit the two malls at about the same frequency, it all depends on what I need. I'm not about to spend more money just to shop at a nicer mall.

Just my two cents

I agree with you- it has plenty of "practical" retail.

I checked the directory and it doesn't have a Chick-fil-A though- that's almost unheard of for a Southern mall. Nor does it have any "destination" restaurants. Dining, I agree with stevenrocks.

[101_ce]

I disagree. Concord Mills, while not containing posh retail, has a much larger diversity of actual retail genres than any other mall in or around Charlotte. It really can't be compared to Carolina Place, Southpark, Northlake, etc because it isn't a typical mall, it's more a retail complex. Not everybody needs to eat at Maggiano's and pick up their favorite scarf from Burberry.

There is a reason why Concord Mills is the number one attraction in North Carolina. Not everybody needs posh. That said, I do shop at Southpark, I probably visit the two malls at about the same frequency, it all depends on what I need. I'm not about to spend more money just to shop at a nicer mall.

Just my two cents

Well, actually, outlet malls are not always cheaper. I've noticed that 75% of the time, you could wait and buy something on sale at the regular store, and it's still cheaper than the outlets.

[Skyybutter]

however we feel about CM , it ain't goin nowhere... Saturdays are an absolute nightmare around there. Simon has brought some more upscale outlet and factory stores to the mix..

[101_ce]

however we feel about CM , it ain't goin nowhere... Saturdays are an absolute nightmare around there. Simon has brought some more upscale outlet and factory stores to the mix..

Absolutely! haha Considering it's NC's most visited tourist attraction it absolutely is going nowhere!

[drumsy]

I agree with you- it has plenty of "practical" retail.

I checked the directory and it doesn't have a Chick-fil-A though- that's almost unheard of for a Southern mall. Nor does it have any "destination" restaurants. Dining, I agree with stevenrocks.

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the area, but there is a Chick-fil-A across Concord Mills Blvd from the mall. On the mall side of I-85, there is a TGI Fridays, Sticky Fingers, Dennys, Razzoo's, On The Border, Applebees, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Burger King, McAllisters, The Mayflower, and many other smaller restaurants.

[Skyybutter]

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the area, but there is a Chick-fil-A across Concord Mills Blvd from the mall. On the mall side of I-85, there is a TGI Fridays, Sticky Fingers, Dennys, Razzoo's, On The Border, Applebees, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Burger King, McAllisters, The Mayflower, and many other smaller restaurants.

I kinda think of CM as the major player in a huge retail,restaurant/hotel mecca. Across from CM you now have Wal-Mart and Lowes Hardware. Also 3 new apartment communities have opened over the past 3 years so you now have 4 large apartment communities within walking distance of the mall totaling over 1000 units. So CM is attracting more residential. Also Highland Creek is just a few miles away.

On the other side of 85 you have Great Wolf, Harley-Davidson, Carabbas, and a slew of other restaurants. Not to mention probably 10-15 hotels including The Embassy. Then throw in the Speedway and Drag Strip (which constantly has events) adn you really have a huge entertainment area. Oh I forgot about the Ampitheater which is maybe 4 miles away. It is a huge draw for many things in that area. And just to think I can remember driving by Concord Mills as they were building it and thinking wow...that is gonna be massive.

[mallguy]

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the area

I am. It's still almost unheard-of for an A-list mall in the South not to have a Chick-fil-A.

McAlister Square, where the first freestanding CFA was (and which wasn't even an A-list mall), had a Chick-fil-A inside the mall and a freestanding one in the parking lot.

[Skyybutter]

I am. It's still almost unheard-of for an A-list mall in the South not to have a Chick-fil-A.

McAlister Square, where the first freestanding CFA was (and which wasn't even an A-list mall), had a Chick-fil-A inside the mall and a freestanding one in the parking lot.

I agree most malls in the south DO have Chick-fil-a's. I did a search of food options at Discover Mills which is in Lawrenceville GA(Atlanta suburb) and suprisingly they do not have one either. Why am I suprised? Chick-fil-a is headquartered in College Park GA(also Atlanta suburb).

My thought is that it may have something to do with the old owner of the mills malls didn't want a restaurant that is always closed on Sundays like chic-fil-a is. Anyway, at least the eating options at the mall are better then they used to be.

[AuLukey]

I agree most malls in the south DO have Chick-fil-a's. I did a search of food options at Discover Mills which is in Lawrenceville GA(Atlanta suburb) and suprisingly they do not have one either. Why am I suprised? Chick-fil-a is headquartered in College Park GA(also Atlanta suburb).

My thought is that it may have something to do with the old owner of the mills malls didn't want a restaurant that is always closed on Sundays like chic-fil-a is. Anyway, at least the eating options at the mall are better then they used to be.

That's a valid point and it looks like it's true at every Mills mall. I've looked through the directory of a handful of other complexes that are of equal "splendor" and they too do not include a Chick-fil-a.

On that note, the idea C-f-a being the indicator of an A-list mall may have a few small cracks as Aventura Mall in Miami (which makes Southpark look like Eastland) also does not have a C-f-a on the interior. No, I didn't pick a random mall out of the hat, I have been there several times in the past and couldn't recall it having a chickfil-a, so I looked it up.

On a side note, I think it would be funny for Chick-fil-a's in nice areas to change their names to "Chic"-fil-a. Just a thought.

Back to the topic though. I went into the new DKNY a couple days ago. Their prices are dramatically lower right now because they are doing a grand opening sale of 50% off. But their normal prices seem to parallel standard DKNY prices. Picked up a t-shirt for the hell of it and the girl waiting on us took the time to wrap the shirt, bag it, and carry it around the counter to us. While nice, it seemed so out of place after having been in Concord Mills for about an hour at that point.

[101_ce]

That's a valid point and it looks like it's true at every Mills mall. I've looked through the directory of a handful of other complexes that are of equal "splendor" and they too do not include a Chick-fil-a.

On that note, the idea C-f-a being the indicator of an A-list mall may have a few small cracks as Aventura Mall in Miami (which makes Southpark look like Eastland) also does not have a C-f-a on the interior. No, I didn't pick a random mall out of the hat, I have been there several times in the past and couldn't recall it having a chickfil-a, so I looked it up.

On a side note, I think it would be funny for Chick-fil-a's in nice areas to change their names to "Chic"-fil-a. Just a thought.

Back to the topic though. I went into the new DKNY a couple days ago. Their prices are dramatically lower right now because they are doing a grand opening sale of 50% off. But their normal prices seem to parallel standard DKNY prices. Picked up a t-shirt for the hell of it and the girl waiting on us took the time to wrap the shirt, bag it, and carry it around the counter to us. While nice, it seemed so out of place after having been in Concord Mills for about an hour at that point.

Well I wouldn't say that. Aventura tends to have more trendy stuff and can't handle very many luxury stores with Bal Harbour less than 5 miles away. They still have a Sears and JCPenney, too. I never noticed that there were little to no Chick-fil-A restaurants in Mills Malls, but I did notice that Concord Mills, Arundel Mills, and Potomac Mills didn't have one.

[Skyybutter]

That's a valid point and it looks like it's true at every Mills mall. I've looked through the directory of a handful of other complexes that are of equal "splendor" and they too do not include a Chick-fil-a.

On that note, the idea C-f-a being the indicator of an A-list mall may have a few small cracks as Aventura Mall in Miami (which makes Southpark look like Eastland) also does not have a C-f-a on the interior. No, I didn't pick a random mall out of the hat, I have been there several times in the past and couldn't recall it having a chickfil-a, so I looked it up.

On a side note, I think it would be funny for Chick-fil-a's in nice areas to change their names to "Chic"-fil-a. Just a thought.

Back to the topic though. I went into the new DKNY a couple days ago. Their prices are dramatically lower right now because they are doing a grand opening sale of 50% off. But their normal prices seem to parallel standard DKNY prices. Picked up a t-shirt for the hell of it and the girl waiting on us took the time to wrap the shirt, bag it, and carry it around the counter to us. While nice, it seemed so out of place after having been in Concord Mills for about an hour at that point.

Im completely off topic here but though Im not a huge mall fan I have to say Aventura Mall is top of the line.

[Temeteron]

Apparently the FYE music store closed. I saw that one coming....

Edited April 25, 2012 by Temeteron

[AuLukey]

Apparently the FYE music store closed. I saw that one coming....

They didn't close, they are relocating to a much smaller space next to what is now Journey's (old No Fear spot, which moved to another neighborhood.) Forever 21 is moving into the FYE spot and is encompassing even more adjacent spots on both sides of the mall. It's insane how large this Forever 21 will be. Also, the crepe restaurant/cafe next to Cinnabon closed, no shocker there.

It's funny you should bring this up as I just got home from the mall a couple hours ago and was noticing all the changes to that end.

[Temeteron]

That saddens me about the crepe place. People in Concord don't understand Crepes like Charlotteans do! Still think we need more places like that though. I'm assuming this Forever 21 will have a Men's section also?

[Third Strike]

Chalk this up with a grain of salt, but I'm hearing from another forum that White Castle is coming to Concord Mills, and they've opened the Charlotte market for franchising.

Truth be told, with the large amount of transplants in the Charlotte area (me included), I can see White Castle doing well here.

[tozmervo]

Whenever I go home to Tennessee, I try to get a sack of gut bombs.

That's Krystal, for you yanks. Far superior to White Castle

[nonillogical]

Whenever I go home to Tennessee, I try to get a sack of gut bombs.

That's Krystal, for you yanks. Far superior to White Castle

There were quite a few Krystals when I lived in Savannah, but I thought they were TRYING to scare me away from it in their commercials and signs. If they can't make their meat not look grey in a commercial I'm going to pass. I've never been to a White Castle either, they start appearing only north of DC generally right?

[Guest]

There were quite a few Krystals when I lived in Savannah, but I thought they were TRYING to scare me away from it in their commercials and signs. If they can't make their meat not look grey in a commercial I'm going to pass. I've never been to a White Castle either, they start appearing only north of DC generally right?

When did you live in Savannah, I have fond memories of going to Krystals out on Abercorn at 3-4am after a night on Congress Street.

[nonillogical]

When did you live in Savannah, I have fond memories of going to Krystals out on Abercorn at 3-4am after a night on Congress Street.

I know the one you mean, but nobody ever made me try it, haha (I'm more happy to have Cookout again being back in NC). I transferred to SCAD, lived on Whitemarsh Island from 2004-2007 before coming here. It's sad how little I took advantage of the nightlife, Congress etc, but now when I visit I definitely make up for it.

Edited May 24, 2012 by nonillogical

[ScottCLT]

Krystal used to be in Charlotte too. I remember hitting up the one in Southend at 3:00a.m. many nights after going out. That was around 2000-2002ish. There was also one near the airport on Billy Graham. Not sure when they pulled out of the market here.

[Skyline49er]

So a Popeye's has made it's way into the metro. My hope is that White Castle is next.

http://obswhatsinstore.blogspot.com/2012/07/two-new-shoe-stores-heading-to-concord.html

"Concord Mills also noted that it recently added Hisso Sushi and Popeyes to the food court."

Read more here: http://obswhatsinstore.blogspot.com/2012/07/two-new-shoe-stores-heading-to-concord.html#storylink=cpy

[Skyybutter]

Probably not breaking news but Tommy bahama will take the former Forever 21 spot. Journeyz Kids will open and there is rumor that J.Crew and Lucky Brand jeans is looking at CM. Lucky Brand?? That would be a shocker to me. Do they even have outlet stores? Is CM becoming more of a traditiional mall?

[Skyline49er]

Just a few updates:

 

Academy Sports is close to opening at the corner of Concord Mills BLVD and Derita 

 

Carolina Ale House is coming soon to that intersection as well.

 

There are a ton of apartments being built additionally to the Bexley Village community.