Looking for your next shopping adventure in Gainesville? We’ve got a few places to recommend.
1. Haile Village Center
Haile Village Center is a truly vibrant, walkable place to experience great food, local shopping, and one of the best farmer’s market in town. The Farmers Market runs every Saturday in the Village Center from 8:30am to 12pm.
Haile Village Center features a number of great restaurants, including Volcanic Sushi + Sake and Haille Village Bistro. Patticakes, which earned a spot on our list of Gainesville’s 6 Best Coffee Shops, is a social hub and a fixture in the community. The Village Center also hosts two very popular festivals every year: Oktoberfest and Light the Village.
Haile Village is located in Haile Plantation, Gainseville’s largest planned community. Recognized by Southern Living for excellence in traditional town planning, Haile is connected by lushly landscaped streets and a 13-mile network of walking paths.
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2. Tioga Town Center
If you find yourself on the west side of town, Tioga Town Center is a must visit. With quality shopping, dining and events in a walkable setting, Tioga Town Center is one of our favorite Gainesville shopping destinations.
Located in the Town of Tioga off W Newberry Road, Tioga Town Center is more than just a parking lot and shops. Inspired by traditional town planning, it’s a place to stroll and dine, with walkable green spaces, nature trails, and playgrounds sheltered by live oaks.
Movies on the Square and their summer concert series invites families and guests of all ages to enjoy local outdoor entertainment at the beautiful covered amphitheater.
3. Downtown Gainesville
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Downtown Gainesville itself as a premier shopping destination. From art and music events to the farmer’s market, cool shops, and great restaurants and bars, there’s something for everyone in downtown Gainesville.
Like Haile Village Center and Tioga Town Center, Downtown Gainesville is another great place to get out of your car for an evening of strolling, shopping, and dining. The heart of town is home to a handful of charming boutiques, all within walking distance of great restaurants, bars, and cafes.
The Grove Street farmer’s market just west of Main Street on NW 10th Ave happens every Monday between 4pm and 7pm. The farmer’s market is within walking distance of Cypress & Grove Brewery, which we gushed about in our article on Gainesville’s Best Breweries.
Finally, for a curated retail experience, be sure to check out the AUK Market at Curia. Curia on the Drag is an eclectic downtown complex offering a boutique, an art gallery and a cafe, all on the same grounds. We like to think of it as a mini-Portland, but with a decidedly Floridian flair.
4. Celebration Pointe
Celebration Pointe, a recent development just west of I-75, offers a more chill big box shopping experience than Butler Plaza. The breezy open air plaza plays host to a number of unique shops as well as community events like Jazz in the Park. Between shopping for the perfect outfit at Celebration Pointe’s many clothing stores you can relax outside in the beautiful promenade.
Celebration Pointe also hosts a Regal Cinemas and a dozen restaurants and bars. Another cool thing about Celebration Pointe: they have open container rules that allow citizens of legal age to walk around and enjoy adult beverages in the Celebration Pointe Area!
For fresh fruits and veggies, there’s Union Street Farmer’s Market (formerly held in Bo Diddley Plaza) which takes place every Wednesday afternoon between 4pm and 7pm.
Celebration Pointe is nestled between Kanapaha Botanical Gardens and Split Rock Conservation Area, both of which are great places to decompress in a natural setting after all that shopping.
5. Butler Plaza
Lastly, we arrive at Butler Plaza. The mother of all shopping centers, Butler Plaza has been a hub for shopping in North Central Florida for over 35 years. It combines four distinct shopping centers into one behemoth big box destination with an upscale emphasis.
For everyday needs, there is a Target, a Whole Foods, two Publix supermarkets, a Lowe’s, and the list goes on and on. For a night out, you have a Regal Cinemas and plenty of eateries to choose from.
People drive from over an hour away to get everything they need at Butler Plaza, watch a movie, or grab a bite a eat, which is why traffic can be tough, especially at rush hour.
Pro tip: If you’re coming from the east, we recommend turning off Archer Road onto Windmeadows Boulevard before you get to the heart of the Plaza and taking the back entrance.