Northlake Mall

A nice mall with great stores. There’s all the big department stores and great stores for all ages. I personally love Sephora, H&M, Express, Forever21, and there’s everything in between! There’s a large area right outside Macy’s to sit and watch TVs and relax. There’s a Starbucks in the middle and I know there’s a food court but I haven’t eaten there before.

I had to update my review for Northlake Mall because I see it changing. On a random day, I noticed that Ann Taylor was closed, Gap and Baby Gap are closing tomorrow (1÷26÷16), and Anthropologie is closed. Coincidence? Nope. After a minimal effort «investigation» a.k.a. asking questions to cashiers, I learned that it’s the 10 year anniversary for Northlake Mall, which means that several stores are at the end of their initial leases. Maybe it’s that they aren’t profiting. Maybe it’s the Christmas Eve death at the mall incident. Maybe it’s that since Northlake opened, the malls in less affluent areas of Charlotte have closed and their clientele has adopted Northlake as their mall of choice. Read between the lines. Whatever, the reason, several clothing stores in the mall have closed and I’m sure that it’s a trend that will continue. While H&M is new, it’ll be interesting to see what replaces these mall staples in the near future and what other stores leave.

It’s a mall. What can I say?
Compared to the other ones around, I’d say it’s the most boring with the least of options.
I come for H&M and the food court and I’m out.
The rest of the stores are meh.
Concord mills, for one, even having some of the same stores, has more product to offer.
Also, Northlake to me is very colorless and unappealing in décor. Very boring.

Due to the fact Southpark Mall is pretty close to me I often don’t go to Northlake Mall, as it is a little bit of a drive. Northlake Mall is average in my mind, offering a lot more mid-​range stores, where Southpark has more high-​end stores.
The one thing that is somewhat annoying about Northlake is the parking. It is so spread out and very confusing that there are always backups trying to enter and exit the mall. The food court offers a great variety of lunch spots, but can get crowded around lunch time.
As for the stores, although there are so many I felt like the employees at every store were rude or not very happy about working. Yes, I was there most recently around the holiday season, but they just seemed annoyed. No one asked to help, assist with anything. Didn’t enjoy that.
Overall, Northlake Mall does the job for getting your shopping done.
An added bonus… The surrounding stores, outside the mall, all great. You can get to Target, Best Buy, Old Navy and others, and enjoy lunch or dinner away from the mall at many places, PF Chang’s, Friday’s, etc.

We stopped here own our way to Charlotte. Nice mall and they have all the stores you need, well the stores my daughter needed.

Why the play area police? Why only 42″ and under? That’s why you got 1 star. My autistic child couldn’t play because he’s a few inches too tall. It’s a free play area, not a rollercoaster ride…

Pretty good mall it’s far for us so we don’t go often (only been one other time outside of this visit) but while enjoying food truck Friday in SouthEnd we decided to check this mall out. Our teenager was in search of a Homecoming dress so we journeyed off to Northlake.
I’m a SouthPark mall fanatic so I was pretty standoffish while trying this place but low and behold I was pretty impressed and I didn’t get to go through the entire mall since we arrived so close to closing.
The outdoor area by H&M (a HUGe and well lite H&M with a ton of options) is very nice as it houses several white rocking chairs facing the parking lot and the water display. It was perfect weather to sit on the chairs with our son and watch the older children play in the water display while we catch a breeze and chat.
The restaurant options at NorthLake are awesome (outside of the mall) they include Bravo, P. F Changs, Firebirds, etc.
It’s a pretty clean mall with a greeter at the entrance who was friendly from the moment we entered to the moment we exit.

Rarely go inside of this mall. Usually shop at Macy’s, whether for shirts, shoes, and it is a grab and go scenario. Today, while my friend was getting eyebrows threaded. I used one of their massage chairs. 3 minute massage for a dollar is a steal. Do not see many people using these chairs though. People passing by asking is it any good. Oh yeah! I can stay in this chair for another ½ an hour.
Went to use the rest room facility and it is clean. Definitely, check out the family bathroom there is a mini toilet for the kids. So cute.
This is a nice size indoor mall and well maintaned.
Will be back inside of mall check out the other stores.

I think I’ve given Northlake plenty of chances over time to prove itself worthy of a better rating but as a mall it has really always just fallen short for me. But you might not want to take my review as the defining one for this mall. I’m a very needy shopper and probably not at all like your typical American shopper.
You see, I like a tighter place. I’m not all about wide open spaces made of concrete, marble, metal and glass. I prefer my wide open spaces au natural — vast meadows and forests of majestic trees. Yes, this seems off-​topic, but the point is I don’t want to come to a massive mall that is practically empty all the time and I have to walk a mile to get from one store to the next. I don’t feel that tight-​knit community feeling in this mall, and that’s what I personally like. If you want the polar opposite of this — Northlake is your place.
On to the details, Northlake does have about every standard mall shop around. H&M is here finally, Forever 21 (though for its size it still lacks a men’s section…), Gap, American Eagle, Anthropologie, Fossil, A&F, Apple Store, etc. Plus a food court and a movie theater. More anchor stores than you can count, which apparently is a positive for parents and grandparents. As for me, I only enter an anchor store at a mall to pass through it and enter the mall. However, they’ve got an exception I dig — Dick’s Sporting Goods. I’ve been known to spend some time, and money, in there.
Plenty of seating throughout the place but the WiFi is spotty as is any kind of cellular signal as part of the mall is underground. So if you’re waiting for your girl outside Victoria’s Secret, join the crowd of bored looking men. On that note, there are two expansive floors. It can get a bit confusing because some anchors have their entrance on the 2^nd floor and on the other end it’s on the 1^st floor. Last (and least), the food court is unimpressive to me. Limited range of selection with high carbs (pastas and pizzas) and Chinese places. However there are a few fancier restaurants accessible from the outside doors of the food court that include free valet with the meal. I dig Firebirds most.
In conclusion though, I wouldn’t tell anybody to go out of their way to go to this mall. I personally would rather go to Southpark. But I’ll continue to hit up Northlake when needed simply because it’s close to home.

Northlake is a great place to shop. I hope to see more growth and lots of new stores over the next year as the center was recently sold to Starwood Retail Partners from developer The Taubman Company. My favorite stores there are Apple, Pottery Barn, J Crew, Sephora and GAP. Bravo and Firebirds are always good but a bit pricey for this family center. H&M was a great addition to the mall. Hopefully the move in that direction with more moderate stores that appeal to both men & women.

Good stores but the layout is a bit confusingasking with the tenant choices and the location leaves something to be desired

First time to this mall, granted I went during the day on a Thursday so not sure if this is atypical. Man, very low key. Not many shoppers and it seemed like the anchor stores had slim inventory (post-​holiday thing maybe?). I do prefer this mall to Southpark because I can’t afford any of the stores there. I was happy to see J Crew though. All in all a decent mall, bonus is the area. Plenty of other strip malls in the area.

Very nice mall. I love that it’s close to my home. Awesome stores, along with food establishments all around. Love the non stuck up atmosphere! Unlike South Park mall…

It’s a big mall.
Anchored by Belks… very nice.
I like the AMC Theater, easy access from outside and inside the mall.

I’m not very girly. I don’t love to shop. I get overwhelmed at malls. That being said, out of all the Charlotte area malls, this is the one I prefer.
SouthPark is too fancy (hey, I want to shop in sweatpants). Concord Mills and Carolina Place are both a haul for me (unless I’m in those areas. If I have to go to the mall, Northlake is my go-​to spot.
It’s a mall. All the normal chains and usual suspects here. There’s finally an H&M. Funny how we went from zero H&Ms to three just like that. There are rocking chairs all over the place. As comedian Josh Wolf would say, it looks like Cracker Barrel designed your mall.
It’s pretty easy to get in and out of this mall. Super convenient off of I-​77. However, don’t attempt during the evening rush hour. 77 North can be a headache.
There are also a lot of restaurants (PF Changs, Olive Garden, Etc) and stores surrounding the mall area itself. A giant Super Target is just 5 minutes away.

The name Northlake mall is misleading. The lake isn’t that close. And there is no real lake in the neighborhood. That’s the first thing I noticed so I thought I’d make that clear first thing here.
The mall has a lot of mid-​range shops including Belk, H&M, and a smaller Macy’s with linited inventory. But it does serve its purpose as a mall. You can buy consumer products, grab a quick bite at the food court, watch a movie, maybe win a car showcased inside the mall, get coffee at starbucks, dine out at an Italian restaurant in the mall.
The best part of this mall are the shops around the mall. There’s a decent neighborhood nearby. So Target, Wendy’s, TGI Friday’s, Bestbuy, Amerca’s Best, PF Chang, and even a hotel surround the mall.
Atmosphere-​wise, it’s a typical mall. Not too crowded, not overrun by teenagers who have nowhere else to go, not dominated by a single race/​group etc. The only weird thing is the location. It’s really an inbetween spot. There’s the Southpark mall for down/​uptown and Myers/​Southpark ppl, Concord for the peoole up on the northeast. So naturally you’d think this mall would better serve the coty if it were on the northwest but it’s right on top of the city. I’d say the lake norman area had something to do with it. Hey, the more near me, the better for me.

Typical Mall with All of the Amenities
This is the closest enclosed Mall to where we live with Macy’s, Belk’s, Dick’s and Dillard’s as major anchors. My wife laments the fact that they don’t have a Penney’s as an anchor and for that, she has to drive to Carolina Place Mall another 20 miles down the road.
We’re down to the Mall generally two or three times a month normally shopping at either Macy’s or Dillard’s or dining at either Firebird’s or Bravo Cucina, both of which are favorites.
Pleanty of parking and generally not a problem except during the Holiday’s but that is true for all malls.
The Mall is very well maintained and unlike some of the older malls in the area, all of the spaces are occupied. No problem getting tenants for this location.

Your average shopping mall.
I’m not a big fan of malls in general but if I have to go to one, Northlake is a top contender.
It’s not as busy nor stuck up as South Park but the stores are similar.
The main reason I give such a low rating is because the food court SUCKS.
Most malls have large selection of food options. Concord’s got Popeye’s and Firehouse, Four Seasons has a decent sized court, and so does Carolina Place. However, Northlake has your average Sbarro, Great Steak etc. and not much out.
I’m big on health scores and when I saw the scores at Northlake I was like nope… I will never eat there again.
One positive thing is that they do have a Dippin’ Dots STOREFRONT, not just a little kiosk. This is the only one I’ve ever seen.

A pretty typical retail mall with the usual anchor stores at different points of the mall — Dillard’s, Macy’s, Belk, Dick’s Sporting Goods. Plus an assortment of much smaller shops on two levels. The floors are clean, the hall is brightly lit and there is plenty to look at as you walk from shop to shop, supporting the local and global economies.
Standard food court entries with ticks in the boxes for vaguely asian chicken, pizza, Taco Bell and the like. It’s not awesome but it’s a food court.
A point off because the mall is not quite lined up with the access roads, making it necessary to do a lot of turns and wide curves to get to the parking areas.

Crowded? Yes! But not as crowded as some other malls — ex: Southpark and Concord Mills.
I mean its a mall, so within the general mall area you are going to find most of your major box stores and chain restaurants. For example, there is a Dick’s Clothing and Sporting Goods directly attached to the mall and there is a Best Buy in the shopping plaza directly across the street.
Parking can be tricky if you get stuck on the wrong side of the mall. I do not recommend parking near Dick’s or Bravo! Drive around to the other side and park near the Dillard’s or near the AMC movie theater.
There are plenty of stores with plenty of variety for every member of the family. There are plenty of athletic clothing and shoe stores in Northlake mall for the sporting nut like myself. In contrast there are also plenty of girly stores like Foreever 21.
Last think I want to say about Northlake — they don’t have the best prices, and I learned that first hand while Christmas shopping recently. Stores like Coach at Concord Mills have much greater sales and variety than the Coach at Northlake. So if you are looking for the best deals, Northlake may not be the mall for you.