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Rivergate Mall
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
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$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
7 reviews for Rivergate Mall
I've never liked this mall. It's so difficult to navigate. Unless a store has it's own entrance at the parking lot, I will never find it. The small twists and turns and splits off. There is no organization to it. I've gotten lost here more than once.
They've got the major department stores as well as all the specialty shops. Their food court is actually pretty impressive too. I'm personally a fan of the Chick-Fil-A in the parking lot.
Rivergate is your typical suburban mall located in your typical suburb of Goodlettsville. Its about 15 minutes up I-65 from Nashville which easily makes it the closest regular mall to downtown.
There's nothing particularly outstanding about this mall but there's also really not too many negatives either. Probably the worst thing about it is that its old and very plain. You're not going to find any fancy stores in here but they've got all your basics covered. Its also pretty small compared to other malls in the area but this again is due to its age. There are quite a lot of stores and restaurants that surround the mall area so its easy to make the Rivergate Mall a one stop kinda place.
If you're looking for an efficient no-frills shopping experience thats free of gimmicks and touristy distractions this is the place to go. This to me embodies the whole get in get out concept of shopping, if you're looking for someplace to lolly gag you might want to go somewhere else.
This is probably one of my least favorite malls in the Nashville area. It has most of the typical mall stuff but would be the lower end mall stuff. Beyond that the inside is just really bland and the lay out is just awkward. I think the crowd has gotten pretty rough as well. I think i am making a compelling case for why I find this mall to be merely OK.
They do have a fun little kids area near the food court that comes in handy in the winter. It's got all kinds of padded climbing places for the kids to play on.
This mall is your standard mall in just about every way. It doesn't offer the higher-end boutiques of Green Hills. It doesn't boast the size of Cool Springs. It does, however, cover all the basics in a decent way. I don't imagine every saying to myself "Oh, yay! We're going to Rivergate Mall!" but I also don't imagine myself saying "Damn, isn't there anywhere else?"
My main distaste for it is that it just doesn't offer anything special in content or decor. If all you want is a no-frills shopping trip for the basics, however, Rivergate Mall is a great place for you.
Rivergate is an underdog in the Nashville mall market. It's one of the smallest, if not THE smallest (if we're not counting 100 Oaks and Bellevue, which we really shouldn't). It's in an area that's somewhat going downhill....and it's just not an area that's usually associated with great shopping.
Despite all this though, it manages to become perhaps the 2nd best mall to go to if you want to actually do some shopping without fearing for your safety. (Oh, I'm assuming you're not a celebrity or a snob when I'm writing this. If you are, go to Green Hills. Just trust me.)
While Hickory Hollow is a ghetto mall if there ever was one....Opry Mills is an outlet mall and a touristy monstrosity....and Green Hills is for people that poop out roses....Rivergate is really only 2nd to Cool Springs. I say it's an underdog because I don't think a lot of people really think about shopping there unless they're in the vicinity. I don't think I've heard anybody at work ever talk about going there. I think it's an OK place though. It has just about any store that you'd include in your typical "mall fare", without being stupidly overcrowded or full of gangsta wannabes.
Rivergate is a nice shopping location on the North side of town. I was impressed and well-served here recently during what could have been a nightmare shopping experience.
My family and I flew from Houston to Nashville to spend Christmas with family. Because I had limited space in my travel bags, I chose to wait until I got to Nashville to shop for a few items. Hence, on Monday, the day before Christmas in 2007, I drove over to Rivergate from the Hermitage area (I purposely avoided Opry Mills and all its hustle and bustle). The traffic around the mall at midday was light and I had no problem finding a parking space near the entrance to Dillards.
The crowds in the mall were not sparse, but they were far from overwhelming and crazy. It felt to me like a normal shopping day, not the day before Christmas.
I was looking for lingerie, perfume and a few other items. I was easily able to go to three of the four anchor stores in the mall - Dillard's, Macy's and JC Penny and get 1/2 price specials on some items and excellent help at several perfume counters.
I was in and out in less than 1-1/2 hours - a fantastic result for a guy who shops purposely, not just for the sake of shopping.
As silly as this may sound, Rivergate is the shopper's mall. Unlike Green HIlls, it isn't geared toward trendy bluebloods--it's there for people who need a Christmas present for Mom, a birthday present for Dad or a puppy, t-shirt or CD for him- or herself.
Hendersonville is currently building a massive shopping complex in order to give the upper middle class a spot to slip away from the riffraff that hangs around Rivergate. And while there admittedly are sometimes a few punk kids hanging around the mall (and occasional criminal activity), it really isn't so bad. Rivergate has a Macy's, a Dillard's, a Sear's, a music store, a pet store, several kiosks with hats and sunglasses, coffee places, a Journey's, novelty gift shops, a bookstore and countless other places to pick up just what you need.
So while Rivergate isn't the type of place I'd like to hang around or work at (though I did both in high school), it's the perfect place to get some serious shopping done if need be. It sometimes gets a bit swarmed around holidays and weekends, but weekdays are pretty clear. There is plenty of parking all over the place, and it's only one story, so it isn't exactly difficult to get around.
Once the shopping center in Hendersonville opens, this mall will probably lose a bit of business, but I doubt it will ever go under. It's a pretty brief drive from East Nashville (15 minutes or so), and it's certainly a bit easier on the pocketbook than Green Hills.