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| - Pickering is lacking a downtown area but if you're looking for entertainment, shopping, and food close to home, Pickering Town Centre will get the job done. It got a massive $17M renovation about 10 years ago so the exterior facade got a new modern look and the food court was also updated. Many of the anchors have changed over the years and currently those are The Hudson's Bay, Sears (which is closing at the end of this year), Famous Players (slated for a renovation), and Farm Boy (think Whole Foods). For full service dining options, East Side Mario's is located in the mall but accessible from the street as is dessert bistro Spin, and separate from the main building there is a Jack Astor's and a Moxies. There is a Pickle Barrel under construction. The interior shopping centre is two stories and holds a plethora of stores. There is a mix of mom and pop shops along with chains like H&M, Aldo, and Roots. The mall also contains services including several salons, banking, and even a dental office (located conveniently in the food court). Guest services is located in centre court on the lower level by the escalators. There is also an information booth on the top level near the American Eagle. Escalators are located throughout the mall but there are elevators for those with strollers or accessibility needs. Parking is located on ground level and is completely free.
One of the big pros of the mall is that parking is pretty easy. You're never looking for more than 5 minutes. At the busiest of times (Christmas shopping) it's never that bad in terms of crowdedness. The only store that I really see lines for (aside from on Boxing Day) is outside of Pandora. Likewise at the food court, there's a lot of seating so no worries there either.
My only issue with the mall is that a lot of the no name stores aren't of substance. I've seen more than a couple going through clearance sales that weren't that cheap. There are a few empty stores as well, including some of the bigger spaces like where Sport Check and PJ's used to be. If you know you specifically need to go to a certain store, this mall might not have it because it is a bit smaller.
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