Ferntree Plaza located directly opposite Upper Ferntree Gully Train Station is pretty popular. This is mainly because it has Maxi Foods on the inside. The plaza itself is quite old now and is in need of a refurbishment. It still has the old billboard sign out the front and the colours of the place are reminiscent of the nineties. Inside the plaza you will find Maxi Foods, Bakers Delight, Hawke's Pharmacy and a few cafes. It is pretty dark inside, which doesn't increase my enjoyment of the place. There are a lot of shops outside too. These include restaurants, butchers, chicken shops, newsagents and hairdressers. There is a large variety of shops here and as such it attracts a lot of people on a daily basis. There are a lot of car parks available but these are often quick to fill. In this circumstance you can park at the station across the road or on Dawson road. Be careful parking on Dawson road though as buses run there frequently. The demographic here tends to be older during the day with most patrons around fifty years old. Once it hits 3pm however, the place is swamped with school kids from Upwey, St. Joes and Mater Christi who get there via buses and the train. It can get pretty hectic at those times because there are people everywhere in the car park and driving is a nightmare. read more

See all

As a local resident Ferntree Plaza is irreplaceable. The main tenant, Maxi Foods, is an independent supermarket and this is currently their only Melbourne Metro store. Their 'house' brand is Black & Gold and their specials closely mirror that of the IGA chain. Their speciality products feature an aisle specifically allocated to home bread-making, with an extensive range of ingredients. They also have an extensive range of health, organic and gluten-free foods and a good supply of UK, US and South African sourced products. The liquor department is reasonably comprehensive, but lacks the big specials of the larger chains. Maxi's also features a large fruit and veg department, butchery and bakery. The post office is not large but is well stocked, very friendly and open on Saturday mornings. Both the indoor and outdoor cafe's are good as is the chemist and tobacconist. Brumby's bakery is fresh and has a good range and the butchers has a good range and some great specials at closing time on Saturday. The clothes shop and $2 shop are both full of bargains.The newsagent has a huge range of cards and magazines but also sells Tattersall's lottery tickets. Outside the main shopping area you will find a hairdresser which is a small shop but very reasonably priced, a newish take-away food shop featuring pizzas and a tiny but excellent Chinese restaurant that features dumplings. On Saturday mornings the car park is a little frantic, but at all other times there is always a spare space. Given the difficulties of ingress / access and parking at the nearest Woolworths, Coles and Aldi outlets, Ferntree Plaza may not always be the cheapest choice but it is often the sanest choice for local shopping. read more