The Shops at Willow Lawn - Richmond, VA - an outdoor mall partially converted to an indoor mall

The Shops at Willow Lawn which opened during 1965 at the Willow Lawn Shopping Center is owned by the Federal Realty Trust since 1986. The mall is partially enclosed with a number of restaurants and over sixty stores. The original anchors of the facility were Woolworth, Peoples Drug, JC Penney, Safeway, Giant Food and G.C. Murphy.

The Giant Food store was replaced with the Safeway location whose original location was town down to make room for Hess's. The Hess's was later renamed Leggett and later Belk which was closed during 1998. When Federal Realty Trust took over the ownership of The Shops at Willow Lawn they enclosed a portion of the mall. Toward the end of the 1990's the JC Penny closed and Kroger replaced it. Peoples Drug was turned into a CVS/Pharmacy. Barnes & Noble and Tower Records replaced the closed G.C. Murphy and Woolworth.

The Belk at The Shops at Willow Lawn was replaced with Dillard's during 1998. The store closed during 2004 and was replaced with Ross Dress for Less and Gold's Gym. In 2005 renovation on the facility was began by the Federal Realty Trust company. Most of the food court was replaced by the K & G Fashion Superstore when it opened in the mall during 2005 at the same time that Ben Franklin Crafts moved from a separate building into the mall. In 2006 Tower Records was closed in the facility.

The Shops at Willow Lawn located at 1601 Willow Lawn Drive is open seven days a week. Monday through Saturday the facility opens at ten in the morning and closes at nine at night. On Sunday the mall opens at 12:30pm and closes at 5:30pm. The facility is at the intersection of Monument Avenue and Broad Street which is five minutes from a number of historical sites including downtown. The University of Richmond, Children's Museum of Richmond and the Fan District are all just a few minutes from the facility.

April through December from ten in the morning until eleven thirty in the morning there is Mommy & Me and Daddies Too held at The Shops at Willow Lawn the second Wednesday in the month. There are free games, dancing, crafts, educational programs and storytelling. The program is designed to allow increased interaction between children and parents. In addition the Qdoba Mexican Grill in the Shops at Willow Lawn offers the opportunity for children under the age of twelve to eat for free on Sunday. An adult must accompany the child and a full size entrye must be purchased.

The locations of The Shops at Willow Lawn just off of Interstate 64 make it easy to reach. Traveling to the facility on Broad Street or U.S. Route 250 the facility is less than a half of a mile to the west of U.S. Route 33 which is Staples Mill Road. The Shops at Willow Lawn is a block west of the Monument Avenue and Staples Hill Road intersection. The malls entrance will be on the right. The mall is just over a mile from the interchange of Staples Mill Road and Interstate 64 on Broad Street when traveling from the interstate to the Shops at Willow Lawn.