The Shops At West End

Great for Icon Movies but the rest of the retail stores stink. Corporate cookie cutter chain restaurants. Nothing to drive any distance for

Ok, we stopped here after visiting Yangtze restaurant for Sunday dim sum. Well, this must have been shopping heaven to my girlfriend. However, nothing really appealed to me. So guys, just know ahead of time what you signed up when you agree to come here. Everything is girl driven from Anthropology, Lululemon, etc. I just ended up chatting with my parents and sister for an hour until my girlfriend felt sorry for me. I was on a park bench resting in the shade:) Zzzz… At least, she got some real bargains at the stores and one store was closing.

There’s a movie theater, plenty of places to eat, clothing stores, even a toy store. The stores and restaurants are all higher end and provide quality products and generally good customer service. I appreciate the free covered garage parking and the quick 15-​minute parking spots out in front of the stores. Conveniently located off 394 and Hwy 100. When friends come from out of town, I bring them here. I hope they add more stores and restaurants as the economy picks up.

I work in the West End so I am here all the time and I have to admit I really love it. I love the variety of restaurants and there really is something for everyone. If you want upscale head to crave. If you are in the mood for a margarita and some fancy tacos head to Rojo. Want to have a night on the Town hit up Toby Keith’s… I am not a huge country fan but I even love this bar. Don’t expect to come here and get a $ 5.00 meal here… prices are a bit higher but worth it for the quality of food. Most restaurants run about $ 10.00 a plate.
As for shopping I love Anthropologie, Lulu Lemon and Charming Charlie but I think they need a few more stores. There is a lot of space open and I hope as the summer gets closer more shops open up.
The West End is a great place to go to a movie, grab a drink and see some of the newest fashion trends.
One last thing… In the summer they have fabulous outdoor seating at almost all the restaurants.

All of my friends rave about this place. Do I seriously make that much less money than these girls I’m surrounded by? If you’re a clearance only lady like myself, skip this spread out, bare bones upscale outdoor mall.
Charming Charlie and Love Couture were fun the first time around. I can still appreciate CC but to me LC is just a poor man’s, louder version of Forever 21. Forever 21 is not broken so I won’t be fixing it.
Stepping into Pink Champagne was my final straw. I have a pretty good grasp on current fashion, quality clothing, and the right garment can entrance me and make me gasp. Mama loves her clothing way too much. I was really unimpressed by the selection here, didn’t find any of it to be attractive, and was appalled at the price. I. Do. Not. Get. It.
I hope I’m wrong because all power to the small businesses but I doubt that place will be around much longer.
I wonder what will become of the West End as well.

I am a sucker for Anthropologie, like most women on the planet, so I am happier that there is now one closer to my house where I can actually find a parking space.
Overall though, this whole place is a little weird. I am creeped out by the large scale printouts of anonymous store fronts adorning all of the shops that haven’t been leased. It’s like I’ve entered some virtual world where there are graphics but you can’t go inside. Creepy.
While I don’t like outdoor malls in Minnesota as a concept, I feel like Shops at West End improves slightly on the concept, with covered and underground parking, so i don’t have to freeze my ass off if I want to see a movie in January.

For a mall, this is a pleasant place. Free parking, movieplex, lots of restaurants (even non-​chain restaurants in the ‘burbs… gasp!)… Anthropologie and Lululemon are the very important icing on the cake.
Right now it’s about ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ restaurants and shopping I think, which helps make it feel more like an entertainment district than a mall. I know they are still leasing space, so not everything is full, but so far I’m pretty sure the shopping part of this mall is just for women. I can’t think of one store that’s not for females except that men’s hair salon, Raze.
I mostly come here for movies, and if I come early enough I’ll stop at Anthropologie, Lululemon and maybe grab a drink somewhere. There’s a lot of options like Cooper, Rojo, Crave, Soprano’s and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar. The last time I was there I also saw a lot of coming soon signs for restaurants, including a creperie, a wine bar, Huey’s ²⁴⁄₇ Diner and Little Szechuan!

If this place were a movie of the week. I would have to name it, «Not another outdoor streets of… mall.»
Holy Streets of Woodfield feel as well as the other outdoor malls springing up around the Twin Cities (Maple Grove, Blaine, Woodbury). I’m going to have to look and see if the architects were the same. Feel, signage etc.
While I appreciate that the urban developer is trying to go for the «hip, young, professional, upscale, vibe» — it all just starts to look the same. It’s probably just me, but holy photo copy of another copy. Wow. Maybe I’m just too old to visit the «cool» new mall.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was FREE parking. I would have been a tad bitter to have had to pay to park my car. The multitude of parking ramps is a nice touch.
Looks to have a nice big Showplace theater.
Anthropologie– First and last time there. I’m far too much of a cheap ass to pay $ 68.00 for a tank top and $ 118.00 for some Old Navy looking linen pants. Most of the clothes in there are just wildly overpriced. Cute, but seriously? A lot of touchy feely books about drawing your feelings, your mood etc. Maybe the Annette Funicello Beach Blanket Bingo inspired music playing in the background sets the mood for the book. The place smelled good.
Love Couture
Lula Lemon Athletic
Creative Kid Stuff
Republic of Couture
Charming Charlie
Hot Mama
Über Baby
Restaurants:
Rojo
Crave
Sopranos
A few others, but didn’t pay too much attention.
Different smooth jazz music streaming through the speakers, same voice saying, «Attention____(Insert Name of Outdoor Mall) shoppers, did you know about the fabulous shops at (Insert Name)
To me this place looks and feels like all the other outdoor shopping areas springing up all over the place.
I do hope the mall succeeds, but have to wonder how many stores will move in and out, how many restaurants will come and go and hope that it doesn’t wind up another forgotten mall. Best of luck to all the merchants.