I grew up in Lancaster, moved away in my 20s and have come back in my late 30s. As a kid, River Valley Mall (RVM) was the go to place. They had everything. Over the years, RVM has had slumps, but as of 2019, I can honestly say I don't know if this mall will make it. There's so much potential here, but the rent is outrageous (according to friends who have considered renting a space). There's not much here now, but a few gems can still be found: 'Lil Stuffins recently opened (it's a Build-a-Bear knock-off) and is amazing. The people running it are so sweet and the prices are decent. ($18 for choice of stuffed animal). Charley's Steak subs have been here since the beginning. This place is still the best Phily Cheesesteak in town. Dicks Sporting Goods is the anchor store of choice (JCP is the other one). They have a good selection and decent sales. Retro Game Store that has decent prices and a great selection of old and hard-to-find games. Robots Serving Frozen Yogurt - cause why not?! read more

I still like most of the stores and my daughter loves the cotton candy machine, but the parking lot needs work.

I found this mall to be a little on the small size, mainly because there is so many empty stores. There is so much unused store space inside this mall. The rent must really be high here. There is very little food shops in the food court. I counted 4 total. In the middle there are no kiosk selling items so that means NO RUDE pushy sales reps trying to get you to stop..."Can I speak to you for a minute?" My ex mother in law used to stop at everyone...lol There is a photo booth, several dipping dot machines, soda & water machines, and one of those booths that rent the riding animals for the kids even though I have seen adults on them..go figure!!! There is a JC PENNEY and MACY's as the anchor stores, inside there is Hot Topic, Justice, Spencer's, Yankee Candle, Claire's, Bath and Body, Old Navy, several speciality shops, Game Stop, Dick's Sporting Goods (also an anchor store), GNC, Footlocker, Ulta, and others Its sort of gloomy in there and not much lighting. read more

Ok look. Malls are kind of dying because of online shopping. But! They are so much fun, especially in Ohio where the weather always sucks- it's nice to have somewhere warm/dry/cool to walk around, see your friends, shop and have snacks. This one may be smaller with limited stores but it's still a fun afternoon. I mean honestly, it's worth the trip just for the soft pretzels from Auntie Anne's! read more

River Valley Mall - Shopping Centers Near Me - Lancaster, Ohio

It looks like someone recently dropped a ton of money into this place. Nearly all the stores are brand new and everything is super clean. From the outside, I was expecting a dead mall, but I was pleasantly surprised by the brightly lit and modern interior. There's a nice balance of chic and affordable stores and they even have a Cold Stone for you ice cream addicts. They even have an F.Y.E. that was still open! The last one I remember shopping at closed two years ago! (I love F.Y.E.) I will say that some of the larger anchor stores really need to get up to speed, Elder Beerman lacked the selection I was looking for and the displays were poorly maintained. JC Penney was still stuck in the 90s, and Sears seemed a bit more forward (but not by much). Dick's was the only one that stood out as being contemporary and up to date. As far as small regional malls go, I think this is definitely one of the better ones. While the number of stores is small, there's definitely something for everyone. read more

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It's a nice mall, in the middle of no where kind of. Every store I've been in has nice staff but every time I like a store and come back a month later it's gone! -.- Overall wonderful! :D read more

The river valley mall has become the worst place to be at anymore. The way the costumers get treated by the operation manager is horrible harassing people just because they dress differently or look different. In my opinion he should never be able to speak to any costumers ever and I am shocked that he even still has a job. If they had a negative 20 on here for reviews that's what I'd give them. read more

This mall... Trash just dying away. Food court sucks nothing like what it was 10 years ago. Most stores inside suck mall isn't very big truth be told. Movie theater moved outside the mall a few years ago probably a good thing. This mall won't make it any store that used to be worth shopping is dead and long gone. Do not recommend at all ! I'd give 0 stars if I could. read more

This mall is clean and maintained. I just did not find any merchandise in it to buy. Perhaps you will have more luck at their stores, which include clothing stores, jewelry stores, anchor stores such as JCPenney, Sears, and Dick's, a handful of restaurants in their food court, a nice movie theater, etc. read more

This mall didn't blow me out of the water, but I was honestly expecting worse. I almost gave it four stars for being much better than expected. Emotions aside, it's an average mall. I went with my wife and sister in law for a movie (the theater was GREAT). We decided to take a look around the mall afterward. There was supposed to be a Coldstone, but it's since closed. :( We went to YoMG instead - worth the trip! There are plenty of stores here, with a decent selection. I'm guessing people in Lancaster must buy a lot of jewelry, becuase jewelry stores seemed really over-represented. The mall was clean and well lit. I'd like to see a few more businesses and variety. The food court was too small. Overall, I'll likely return, if only for the movie theater. read more

I don't want anyone to go to Blankets and more in the river valley Mall if you get two blankets and get one free the free blanket you have to wait two and have months I will not go back into that store I'm very upset with the owner of that store I hope everyone does not go there read more

River Valley Mall is probably the last place I go to if I need to go to malls. I grew up in Lancaster and I've seen so many stores come and go, it's not even funny. I do appreciate the Dick's Sporting Goods and a handful of other stores, but really it has none of the stores I desire (think Banana Republic, stores with professional clothing, etc). There really aren't a whole lot of options to go to if you're looking for specialty specific stores. When I come home to visit, I often go to Columbus before coming to RVM. Now a days, I only end up coming over if we're doing our annual Christmas movie and we're going to Regal Cinemas. read more

Great mall, has everything one needs. The movie theater stinks, but a brand new 10 screen is being built in the rear where Steve and Barrys used to be. read more

River Valley Mall has been around for ages. I live in Lancaster and typically if I want to do some real shopping I go to Easton Town Center in Columbus. BUT! Recently the mall has had some HUGE updates. The mall looks great. They are also getting some nicer stores coming in and some of the not so nice ones are finally getting out. I don't know if they have recently changed management or what but someone is finally doing something right. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, I'll be able to give this mall a 5 start review and not have to drive to Columbus any more. read more

Absolutely LOVE this mall. Seeing as I live in Circleville, it's easy to get to, clean, has all of my favourite stores, and everyone working there is nice. My sister even had a scavenger hunt there for youth group and everyone had a blast. The security guards weren't informed, but once my sister explained they were so cool with it! The only bad part, which is a big downer for me, is that Walden Book's went out of business and they replaced it with a calender store... Really? Calenders? Where are the books!?! That's the only reason I give it four stars, because that was my favourite store in there. And they also took out the fountains! But the cinema is amazing, bathrooms and food court are really clean, everything is just perfect and I always want to be there. read more

Went there yesterday. Been a while since I've been there. Was sad to see Sears has closed. Also noticed quite a few smaller stores also closed. I've read that 20% of the malls in this country will close. Looks to me as though River Valley may be one of them. sad. read more