The Shops at Willow Lawn

The Shops at Willow Lawn is a shopping center located in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is the first shopping center in the Richmond area. Currently, the center is mostly a strip mall, although a portion of it is enclosed. The center features over 60 stores and several restaurants. Federal Realty Trust owns the shopping center.

The center, originally called Willow Lawn Shopping Center, opened in 1956. Originally, the center was anchored by G.C. Murphy, Giant Food, JCPenney, Peoples Drug, Safeway, and Woolworth. Safeway later re-located to the former Giant Food space; the original Safeway was torn down for Hess's. This Hess's store, over time, was renamed to Leggett, and then to Belk, which closed in 1998.

In 1986, Federal Realty Trust acquired the shopping center. The middle section of the mall was enclosed that year, creating a hybrid strip mall/enclosed mall. The enclosed portion featured several more stores, as well as a food court. Miller & Rhoads closed in 1988, and was sub-divided into smaller stores and offices.

Through the 1980s, Willow Lawn lost many of its key stores as other malls opened nearby. JCPenney closed in the late 1990s and was replaced with a Hannaford Bros. Co. supermarket, until that chain sold its Richmond locations to Kroger. Peoples Drug became CVS/Pharmacy, which it is to this day. G.C. Murphy and Woolworth also closed; these stores later became Barnes & Noble and Tower Records, respectively.

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