rooster8

That's good to hear - Crabtree has always been my favorite mall. I'd hate to think it might go down hill because of increased competition.

We went Saturday. If you were looking for an ugly women's jacket, you were in the right spot. Otherwise, it was a waste of time. Interestingly enough, it was also the last day for Toys R Us. They almost nothing and 95% of the store was roped off. I hadn't been to Crabtree in a while, but it struck me as how empty it felt. I can remember going there about 10 years ago after the major remodel when walking down the mall was difficult because of all the people. It didn't feel that way this time.

It is ironic that they are building a Changs there. My mom loved the restaurant and would drive to Durham just to eat there. She recently moved to Florida just as G'boro is getting one.

If Sears/Kmart is successful with their Sears Grand concept (a la SuperTarget), then I could see such a move. I wish they would just merge the two stores and their best product lines and be done with it. They could even change the name to S-Mart (Army of Darkness reference).

I've never really had a pleasant experience at Carowinds. The staff is always unfriendly. There are too many kids working there that only care about a paycheck and little else. Customer service and friendliness are the least of their concerns. I think Dollywood is a better place to visit for the Christmas season. Most of their rides are functioning. And best of all, the employees are actually happy to see you (or at least act like they are).

The addition looks like a public housing project.

Charlotte strikes me as one of the worst cities when it comes to historic preservation. The city has lots of shiny new skyscrapers, but little true character.

I cringe every time I think about driving over to Asheville and going to the mall. You're OK once you're there, but the journey to it is terrible. I remember around Christmas last year exiting off of I-240 onto Tunnel Road - it took 20 minutes to get from the highway to the mall. It's unfortunate that the area is so congested with no growing room and essentially only one way in and one way out.