Stores have come and gone at the Wallingford Center, former school now retail and food destination…read morefor 35 years. Ahhh the UW college days... Worthy of an occasional visit with its a convenient ATM, customer parking lot, and located on a major Metro bus route. My recent visit yesterday included Crackerjack Contemporary Crafts and Trophy (6/23/18). I have stopped in also to Yazdi to browse and to dine at Chutney's. Sometimes got to shake it up from malls, outlet centers, box stores and online e-commerce...discoveries await you with a visit to Wallingford Center.

A sweet, quaint and cozy center with a handful of boutique shops. The building is reminiscent of an…read moreold schoolhouse, converted to host shops and a cafe, restaurant downstairs. It's quiet and cozy and seems that the shops are quite specialized, many items feeling more like small gifts you may wish to give rather than items one would purchase and keep in their own possessions. Shop staff were friendly and greeted us warmly as we peruses their specialty selections.

I have been coming to University Village, and its surroundings, in Seattle for approximately over…read more30 years now. The store offerings have changed over the years, though not everything. Parking has been consistently stubborn. The parking garage I used on my visit today, North Garage on Tuesday 24 March 2026, had themed levels. I opted for the C Level which was color of pink and animal of cow. At the elevator, a cow "moo" sounded when I pressed the button for the elevator. By this level, more spaces were opened up, so a better day for parking of recent times. Walkways in the village are open to the natural elements. Some of the businesses have umbrellas available for use in shopping. The grounds and pedestrian spaces have tended to be clean in my experiences. In 2010 and 2011 when I was a student at the University of Washington, I walked to University Village so parking was a non-issue, those were quicker turn around in time visits though I did not have the carrying/storage space of a vehicle.

Wow, this is a great outdoor shopping mall with a whole bunch of businesses that range from apparel…read moreto food/dining and even cars? (there's a Rivian and Tesla shop here). It's a good mix and something is bound to catch your eye even if you weren't planning on getting something in particular. I came here for lunch over the weekend and it was bustling. There was plenty of seating around outside for people to lounge around with their families. It appears pretty kid friendly too, with some water installations for children to jump around. There are also courtesy umbrellas to use for inclement weather - a thoughtful gesture. I'm not sure how they manage cold-ish weather though. Probably not as fun to shop when it's freezing out, although this is a pretty rare situation. I also spotted a security guard, but I felt pretty safe throughout my visit.

So many cute and fun items to browse here! I always bring people visiting out of town here and they…read morelove the selection! I only rate it a 4/5 bc the prices are pretty high

A lot of things to look at. Little bit of everything. Like a curated garage sale. They had…read moresports jerseys and memorabilia.

Crown Hill Plaza is quickly becoming my favorite local hangout. It's a miniature shopping area with…read morea Chevron gas station, a Blockbuster, a Papa John's Pizza, a McDonald's, and a few other businesses. What typically happens is I pick up some movies at Blockbuster (we have that movie club thing) and then go to either McDonald's or Papa John's for food and then get some gas. Sometimes I pick up a paper at the convenience store connected to McDonald's. The only troubling aspect is that some fucker always decides to park his or her car in the middle of the shopping center, NOT IN ANY PARKING SPOT but right in the middle of traffic. This shopping plaza gets a fair amount of traffic, so every time some ASSHOLE does this it's a huge inconvenience to everyone else and an accident waiting to happen. No one expects to drive into a shopping plaza and find a car right smack in the middle, 50 feet from the nearest parking spot. It's happened twice now and the cars have been parked there for several minutes at a time. I don't know if it's someone returning their videos or what, but that's why there are parking spots. Societies have rules, and when you break these rules there are consequences. If it happens again, fucker, I'll have my wife key your car (which she seems to have a fascination with) or I'll buy some tacks and leave them strategically placed near your tires.

The Block Cafe - My Ex husband and I meet here at least once a month to chat since I moved back to…read morethe area. This cafe was originally called the Egg'n Me but recently was bought out by the Block Cafe... the menu is basically remained the same. Good service, family welcome, child units and grand parents seen enjoying themselves. I have only come for breakfast on the weekends but the cafe has a bar and tv's so may boast an evening scene I have not witnessed. The price is fare for really good wholesome food... highly recommend trying the Mexican item if you like Mexican food and the pico de galo is fresh. It has a cafe/ diner vibe comfortable with average noise levels. The staff are prompt with never ending coffee and let us be LONG after we paid the bill and should have left... they know my Ex's order by heart and I just keep them guessing :). Good food, good value. Parking early in the morning is no problem gets busy as the morning wears on with the PCC, FEDEX, UPS and Trader Joe's around the corner. A large parking garage is open too.

The Ballard Blocks is like a modern-day mall complex with a mixture of residential, office, stores…read moreand businesses. It looks like the developer's idea here is make it sort of a one stop for folks who come to it. There are plenty of options for coming to the blocks all ranging from eyeglasses and dental offices for health, a PCC market and Trader Joes for grocery shopping, early education center and children's haircuts for the youngsters, Xfinity and UPS for those other errands, The Egg & Us and Top Pot Donuts for food and more all collected into a few blocks of structure. The problem is I took one look at the parking deck and said to myself what a mess. I suppose this is the most sensible way of doing this, but it just looks confusing and jammed. Then the outer area parking is not done, it's still a gravelly area that you know is for parking, but it doesn't fit the fancy structure that is surrounded by it. It seems to be doing well business-wise and I'm sure I'll find myself going to it, particularly for Trader Joes, but if I can I'll park further away to avoid headache.

Love this longtime store and very glad to see it still around when online shopping has killed so…read moremany good retail shops. I recently lost weight and celebrated with some new tops. Yadzi carries styles with a bit more interest and flair than the mall stores. Great selection of fall/winter clothing, including Habitat brand, which I like for travel.

Shop CLOSED. Essentially this shop is closed as everything was moved into one store across the…read morehall from where it used to live. It's now just Yazdi. There is a much smaller selection of clothes and much less plus size in what is now just Yazdi. More importantly, as others have written, the clothes now seem to focus on bright colors and patterns. This works for some I'm sure, but I preferred when they had a larger selection of darker items and solids. I'm bummed as this was one of my fav places to shop and almost always found something I wanted.

Shopping in Seattle, Washington…read more.. I really like Ross Dress for Less stores - especially on Tuesdays when there's a 10% discount! Just say "Tuesday Club" to the cashier if you're above the required age... haha! Located at the Ballard Blocks, park for free in the shared covered parking garage and go upstairs from Trader Joe's... how convenient! My niece needed a dish drainer. I needed a blanket. I also found a set of panda lights on clearance! I got a blue Stitch mug - also on clearance. My housewarming gift to my niece was a tiered shower caddy... LOL... I don't want to reach down to the body wash and shampoo on the floor of the shower! This was a fun experience! I caught the escalator down to my car - after walking up the stairs... I think the elevator wasn't working. I juggled my purchases without a shopping bag because I used my bag at Trader Joe's already!

Having been so accustomed to the large, ground level, department store version of Ross, this was a…read morereminder that not all locations are ever the same. First off, this Ross is located at the top of the escalator on the second floor of Ballard Blocks. Secondly, in order in to enter, one has to enter a scanner / screened at the door and then be let in by a security person. Thirdly, many common items are locked up and much of the browsing / perusing element gets lost. (#1) I was really hoping for some action from tent city faithful but missed out. The good news is that the store is clean and well organized. The furniture section isn't much to look at, nor is there much for electronics or men's clothing. It's not the biggest location but they've done a decent job keeping it well maintained. The staff was very kind and was very good about explaining and escorting folks to helping them find what they needed. Prices were the run of the mill with not too many deals to be found. Parking is available in the basement but street parking is also an option. ____________ (#1) A stark reminder that the West Coast doesn't play around.

Everything went well; direct to the store , courtesy and help from the salesman, ordering the…read morefurniture piece and delivery and setup, on time, courtesy and quick!

Bought several mattresses - love the quality of the latex. Very personalized service.read more

I loved the atmosphere in here, I was just picking up a few things but they have a good selection…read morefor everybody. Definitely my go-to art supply store from now on.

Always very disappointing when I have to do an update on a previously celebrated business. This has…read morebeen my go-to place since moving to Seattle in 2012. And I supported it wholeheartedly despite sometimes finding items slightly cheaper elsewhere. Additionally, as an art educator I always suggested it to my students for their value, as well as excellent and knowledgeable customer service. Unfortunately, I'm very disappointed to say both superb customer service and cost value are gone. Firstly, I learned from my students that student discount was no longer available. Then after my last visit, I was stunned how much the prices have increased. Still, I remained a dedicated patron. After coming home I realized one of the expensive wooden panels had a substantial gouge in the corner - simply too noticeable to try fixing. I confidently returned to the store but was told they would not take back the damaged items - because they couldn't verify it was damaged before my purchase. The associate was unbearably rude and dismissive. One my way out I expressed my profound disappointment with the current direction of this trusted business with another associate, only to have the associate I originally spoke with catch up with us. Now they changed their song, saying they could accept the damage item but I was very lucky because it's not something they always do. What?! The associate appeared to be making up policies as they went along. In the end I kept the damaged wooden panel, as I will keeping my business away from this place.