It was wonderful spending time in the Decatur Square this weekend, which is located in the heart…read moreof downtown Decatur. It is said to be one of the Top 10 Best Public Squares in the USA for three years in a row! I believe it too. Everytime I visit here I get the same laid back feel I always get. This square looks like a beautiful picture out of a book. There's plenty of space for kids to run around, nice shaded trees and picnic tables to enjoy a packed lunch or pick up a lunch from the quaint restaurants lined around the square. I was in the square years ago and they were filming a movie here. A lot of popular movies and shows have been filmed here throughout the years. I love that there are good quality places to eat, all in one area within walking distance and ice cream shops too. I also love how friendly strangers smile at each other and everyone is doing there own thing. Sometimes there's music playing throughout the square which makes it a double delight.

Decatur Square is just one of the many reasons I love the City of Decatur! Considered to be one of…read morethe best public squares in the U.S...if it looks recognizable, you're not imagining it. Decatur Square has made its way into plenty of magazines, movies and TV shows filmed around metro Atlanta. With its charming streets, vibrant energy, historic backdrop (like the Old Dekalb County Courthouse in the background) it's an easy pick for film crews, photographers, locals and visitors alike. The Square itself is lively and cute. I love that you can sit street side at restaurants, which gives major NYC or European cafe vibes, where sidewalk dining is where it's at! You're sure to find some of the best chef-driven restaurants in metro Atlanta. Whether you're looking for an upscale dinner, a quick bite, or coffee and people-watching, Decatur Square delivers. Also, there's plenty of local shops and usually something fun and Free happening at any given time, including outdoor concerts, movie nights in the square, art festivals, and other community events, so you'll want to check the calendar ahead of time and bring your lawn chairs. https://visitdecaturga.com/ Bonus fun fact: AJC Decatur Book Festival, one of the largest independent literary festivals in the country is hosted right here. An estimated 80,000 people converge for a celebratory weekend of literature. And, last August, Decatur Square became even more meaningful with the unveiling of a bronze statue honoring civil rights icon John Lewis. Hundreds gathered in front of the Old DeKalb County Courthouse for the ceremony, adding more impact to an already iconic space. Pro Tip: If you're into public transportation, MARTA literally drops you west of the square. Prefer to walk or bike? It's got that covered too. And for drivers: parking is usually manageable at one of the many decks or street parking. If it sounds like Decatur Square is my Fav, you're absolutely right LOL! This was my neighborhood for years (yes, I'm a little partial :-), but even objectively, whether you're a local or just passing through, Decatur Square has a perfect mix of small-town feel and intown access. I'll always have a soft spot for it and I think once you visit, hopefully you will too. Happy Exploring!

I moved to Atlanta in 2015, and Toco Hills Shopping Center was one of the more ignored shopping…read morecenters in the area. First of all it was Toco Hills (Where is THAT?), and it was basically a lot of dead space, a huge, mostly pot-hole riddled parking lot, and not-so-well-known businesses. According to Edens Property, the management company that owns both Toco Hills Shopping Center and its adjacent neighboring property Toco Hills Promenade, Toco Hills Shopping Center encompasses both Salaryman and Toco Giant Package Store, all of the stores in the row from Iron Age and north to Sushi Matsuya, and all of the stores in the row of businesses from UPS Store to Frugal Kitchens, and the two empty stores past Frugal Kitchens. This is a very confusing set up, because it isn't visually obvious that there are three different shopping centers, but looks like only one. Anyway, Toco Hills Shopping Center had fallen into sad disrepair years ago, with mostly discount businesses taking up the retail spaces, if there were even existing businesses. At that time there were many empty stores. Thankfully, there have been positive transformations in the shopping center over the past six years, resulting in it becoming a popular destination for shopping, restaurants and services. The parking lot has been redone, and all of the retail areas received a much needed makeover. In short, the entire Toco Hills Shopping Center look so much better now, so much more welcoming, and is now a lot busier. In addition, the overall quality of the businesses appears to have motivated more people to shop, dine and receive services So far, the shops that I've gone to in Toco Hills Shopping Center are Iron Age Korean Steak House, Spiller Park Coffee and Sushi Matsuya, having OK to great experiences. I will definitely return to experience more businesses here when I'm back in the area.

Could use some quality food establishments. Wendy's, barely assessable parking lot, atrocious…read morecustomer service. Steak 'n Shake, rip off specialist. Chili's, couldn't get a take out order right if they tried plus take out area NOT handicap accessible.

I absolutely love this Buckhead Village District area with its shopping as well as its food…read moreoptions. You also have to get lucky to be able to find parking here on the street. Parking on the street here is super cheap something like a dollar or something an hour, which is incredible compared to Chicago it almost $15-$26 an hour depending on where you are. This area is so super cute and quaint. It has some of the best shops ever and it also has some great eating options where you want to sit down or you just wanna grab something and walk around as well. There is even a huge courtyard area where you can sit outside and have a laptop. Have a meeting and enjoy your coffee as well. I came here several times during my visit to Atlanta for both meals as well as shopping as well as some service work too I would definitely be coming back here again and look forward to more of the empty spaces being filled up with more stores and more food options

Nice spot for a stroll around buckhead. Lots of cute shops and restaurants. They also hold many…read moreevents for the community.

North Decatur Plaza is a shopping center at the corner of North Decatur and Clairmont. It offers up…read morenail salon, restaurants (Thai, chicken sandwiches, Mediterranean, dessert, coffee), consignment shop, bike shop, etc. I am a big fan of the nail salon (Nail Bar) and the chicken place (Seven Hens). The parking lot can get quite crowded, but I've always been able to find a spot.

This mall quite literally almost has everything across three levels of shopping and has some great…read moreanchor stores too, including Neiman Marcus. The only reason I gave it four stars was because of how they handle parking here by blocking off so much parking, which is now reserved for valet so they can charge you. Which I think is absolutely absurd when there's ample ample parking at the mall, but because they block it off, there's literally almost no parking at the mall. With the size of this mall, I would expect all parking to be fully open to anyone and everyone who wants to come in here and park and shop. What is especially great about the mall is that it has stores that I have never seen anywhere in the Midwest area for example Sandro and Maje. So glad I was able to walk into those stores and see their product line and this is the first time I've done it outside of Europe Anything you could ever want you can find it at the mall so please come here if you're ever in need of anything and it's hectic on the weekends as expected, but the place is fantastic!!!

Lennox Mall has everything--great stores, good variety, definitely a place you can spend hours (and…read moremoney ). BUT... the food court? Yeah, that part needs a serious intervention. I saw not one, not two, but THREE roaches casually living their best life like they pay rent. In the food court. Where people eat. Absolutely not. Love the shopping options, hate the unexpected "extra guests." Do better with cleanliness, because that really ruined the experience for me

Despite there being slightly more to do and see here than the South DeKalb Mall, the halls are…read morearguably more dead. It was pretty depressing to see such empty pathways and closed up shops. I'm sure this mall was great back in the day. We passed by the food court and there was not a single shop open! Not sure if they moved everything to a side of the mall that we missed, but you'd be starving before you found anything. I recommend going over to Golden Corral across the parking lot if you're hungry while here. It seems like the only things really hanging on are Marshalls, Burlington, the AMC theater (probably the busiest part of the mall), Dollar Tree, and the comic store, Challenges, where a group of guys were playing with Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic cards. There were a few other shops, but those were the primary ones that stuck with me. Challenges was kind of a cool place to walk through - lots of obscure comics and comics featuring non-mainstream African American heroes. It seems like a good place to get together with friends to play all those collectible card games, if you're into that. Everyone in the store was having a good time, laughing and joking. Honestly, it was one of the few welcoming parts left of the whole mall. Marshalls had a decent selection and their own bathrooms down a well lit hall which was nice...The AMC was pretty packed so it must still be a fairly good location...The Dollar Tree was our last stop here. Seems like the best place to go to grab movie snacks before catching a flick. One mom and her cute little girl thought the same thing as she was safely hiding their movie treats in her baby's jacket before heading for AMC...We came from Golden Corral and were pretty much just doing a walk through, since we'd never been to North DeKalb. The Dollar Tree was clean and well stocked. It's right next to the theater, if you're coming from outside. So don't listen to Google Maps if you're trying to find it, because the location has changed and they haven't updated it yet. Overall, I'd probably come back to North DeKalb Mall sooner than South DeKalb, but probably only for the stores I mentioned and the movie theater. It was definitely like a ghost town. I hope North and South DeKalb can improve their selection of retailers and not shut down. So much potential, just a blank canvas waiting to be filled.

The other night we were looking for a movie theater nearby us and given our time restraints, this…read morewas the closest mall with a theater with the best time. I've only been in Atlanta a short while so I've never made it to this part of town. Judging from what others are writing about this mall, the movie theater is probably the only reason people come here. Even that I was not terribly impressed with because the movie theater was unclear and poorly run and a clear reflection of the rest of the mall itself. This is a pretty old mall which you can tell by looking at it (or people have not kept up with it). It's not clear where the entrance is to this place and it looks like they just want you to enter through the department stores. The only store that I recognized was Marshalls and it was quiet there on a weekday. The entrance we took was through a old timey but cheap looking furniture store. I realized that after our movie was over and these stores were closed, it might be hard to find an exit. I was right because all the direct exits to the parking lot are through those stores. We took an emergency exit out and we went through a door that took us past the dumpster and the AC units for the building. Most of the stores here I have never heard of and the building smelled musty. The only people I saw there early in the evening were going to the movie theater (which tried to cancel the movie I had bought tickets for already). This place needs a bit of a facelift and could start with some of the basics.... clean floors and paved parking lots .... A convenient exit out of the building would work too! I don't post many 1 star reviews but unfortunately this is one of just a handful I have ever given.

Emory Point is one of Atlanta's newest and biggest mixed-use developments ITP (inside the…read moreperimeter). It opened Fall 2012 and is still currently undergoing development and construction. By the time you read this review, Phase 2 may be complete. This section is on the east side of the property, next to the Emory Hotel & Conference Center. Phase 3 will start on the west side of the property. The entire development is located near Emory University on Clifton Rd, across the street from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). I first visited Emory Point in early 2013 to check out The General Muir, Todd Ginsberg's New York-style Jewish deli. The General Muir was one of Emory Point's first tenants and arguably its most popular one. There are several restaurants at Emory Point. Many are chains. These include BurgerFi, Marlow's Tavern, Fresh To Order (fast casual), La Tagliatella (Italian), Tin Lizzy's (Mexican cantina), and Which Wich (sandwiches). There's also Chinese (Chow Mei Mei), Indian (Paradise Biryani Pointe), frozen yogurt, cupcakes (Sweet Monkey), and more. Of the restaurant lineup so far, only The General Muir and La Tagliatella are destination dining spots; ergo, worth a special trip. The other restaurants have locations elsewhere around the city. For an ITP mixed-use development, Emory Point is fairly big. It's not on the same scale as Atlantic Station, but it still has all the requisite elements: apartments, restaurants, retailers, and office space. Everything looks great. The property is relatively new and clean. The landscaping is beautiful and the grounds are well kept. The whole place is nicely designed and aesthetically pleasing. There are charming European elements and lots of open-air patio dining. There's a spacious parking garage in the center of the property with free parking. Free parking is limited to certain hours: If you enter the deck before 5pm, you get two hours free parking. If you enter the deck after 5pm, you get three hours free parking. During peak periods, parking attendants are present to assist folks entering and leaving the garage. The community holds special events such as "Movies & Music in the Park" and farmers markets. Emory Point's main drag is Avenue Place, which runs through the center of the development. If you want to fully explore the shopping center, don't forget to check out the shops and restaurants on the front side that run down Clifton Rd.

Emory Point is a little shopping center/food court area across the street from the CDC and Emory…read morecampuses. It's a mixed residential/commercial complex and would be an awesome place to live at if you work/go to school at any of the local places. If you're like me and are just visiting, then it's super convenient. They have a CVS on the corner with a full pharmacy if you need to pick anything up. They have an American Chinese restaurant, Papis (Cuban/Caribbean food), Desta (Ethiopian) and one of my favorite places around, General Muirs. GM is great for coffee and their food is surprisingly delicious as well (although I might advise skipping their Sunday fare as it's underwhelming). Unfortunately for the businesses it gets pretty quiet here in the evenings and on weekends but during the day, the complex is bustling. There's a lot of temporary paid parking but you can also park longer if you go to the garage. I don't know how many businesses validate but you can get your ticket stamped at GM after you purchase something.

Plenty of great shops and restaurants. I'm very fond of Richard's Variety Store and the French Cafe…read more.

I'm pretty sure the person that made my sub said to themselves "lets give her the hardest piece of…read morebread I can find"!! I thought I was biting into kettle chip and not a sub!! The bread was so hard and crunchy that when I bit into it the pieces nearby began to crumble!!! I also put "extra honey mustard and mayo" in the special request box... there wasn't either on the sub at all!!! I was so disappointed. I ordered online and paid for it beforehand, and so I wasn't aware before I left the store. Publix no longer believes in quality or maybe that's just here!! A Florida Publix would have NEVER!!!!

Service: All the vendors was pleasant Selection: More…read morevendors than I have ever experienced; some had 2 tents which I never seen before at a food fest. They got the bag...well they at least got mine! Value: Only thing that I was surprised about was that, each vendor charge over $12+ and up on average per tent. I was shocked that the candied fruit on a stick was $29 for 2 sticks . Wow for fruits so, I had to try at least 1 which was 1/2 the price. Entertainment was awesome, I love the young Asian guy rapping & singing. He is very talented! I loved this event & may go back next year.

I went to Atlantic Station for their Chinese New Year celebration this weekend, and it was a really…read moreenjoyable event. There was a live show featuring the traditional ceremonial dragon dance, which was exciting to watch. They even taught the crowd a few Chinese phrases, which made it interactive and fun. There were also vendors offering food, arts and crafts, and souvenirs for the kids, giving it a great community feel. Thankfully, the rain cleared up and the weather stayed dry, making it easy to relax and enjoy everything the event had to offer.