Avondale: Jacksonville's original boutique street and other Jacksonville, FL Shopping Tips

Name of Shop: The Shoppes of Avondale

Along a couple of blocks of St. Johns Avenue in the heart of Jacksonville's historic Avondale neighborhood is a strip of boutiques, antique stores, bistros, restaurants and gift shops favored by connoisseurs of class, The Shoppes of Avondale. While quieter and smaller in scale than other upscale pedestrian shopping districts around Jacksonville (e.g.: San Marco Square, Beach Town Center, Sawgrass Village) The Shoppes is one of the oldest.

The Shoppes is a small commercial strip nestled in the midst of stately homes built in the early 1900s and under the canopy of shady water oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Boone Park, a scenic city park with lots of shady trees, is located a short walk from The Shoppes.



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Theme: Gifts
Address: St. Johns Avenue
Directions: Historic Avondale neighborhood

Name of Shop: San Marco Square

San Marco Square, an artsy shopping, dining and entertainment district just south of downtown, is one of Jacksonville's trendiest destinations. Its historic Italian influenced architecture stretches along the Y-shaped intersection of Atlantic and San Marco Boulevards just west of Hendricks. At the center of the Square, a giant statue of three lions watches over Bails Park and its classic white bandstand.

In the Square you can stroll through art galleries, boutiques, independent bookstores and upscale gift shops while trying to decide if you want to dine in class (e.g.: at a two-story Thai bistro and live music club, a sushi bar, an eclectic sidewalk cafe with absolutely fabulous desserts or at an elegant wine grotto) or if you would rather enjoy cheaper treats (e.g.: at a casual, pet-friendly sidewalk pizza parlor, a Chicago-style bar & grill or at a popular local hot subs chain). There's even a chocolate boutique to drool over. Don’t forget to enjoy the latest art film or first run release showing at the old-fashioned art deco San Marco Theatre as well. If live performances are more to your liking, catch the latest production of Florida’s longest running community theatre at the playhouse.

Further exploration of San Marco will uncover numerous other fine dining and trendy casual restaurants, along with nightclubs and day spas. The streets south of the Square are lined with stately old estates and riverfront mansions certainly worth a look. Peterbrooke Chocolates also offers tours of their chocolate factory located on San Marco Ave.

San Marco Square gets very busy during the lunch hour, when executives and yuppies hop over from downtown to grab a bite, and again when they return for a happy hour or dinner. Behind the shops and restaurants lining Atlantic Blvd. is a large parking lot -- good to know in case all of the on-street parking spaces are taken. A free trolley also shuttles people back and forth between downtown and San Marco Square during the day.



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Theme: Other
Address: Atlantic Blvd. at San Marco Blvd.
Directions: Historic San Marco (just south of downtown)

Name of Shop: Beach Town Center

The setting of John Grisham's novel, Jacksonville's Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach communities share a lively, beautifully landscaped Town Center full of funky, trendy and casual restaurants, coffeehouses, boutiques, gift shops, galleries and nightspots. Hip and happening yet quaint and homey, Town Center is a pedestrian friendly environment covering several blocks where everyone from yuppies and executives to families and surfers all have favorite hang outs in a picture-perfect, quintessential beach town environment just steps from the sand.

Two oceanfront hotels, the 8-story Sea Turtle Inn and the 2-story Sea Horse Inn anchor the beach side of Town Center. Both hotels are ideal places to plan your vacation around, as all the amenities of Town Center and the beach are easily walkable. Plus, Town Center is a bike ride away from the noteworthy dining, nightlife and special events of Jacksonville Beach and within a 15-30 minute drive of Adventure Landing water park, Mayport Ferry, the Talbot Islands Geoparks, Fort Caroline, shopping malls, movie megaplexes, golf courses, and the museums and attractions of Jacksonville's downtown riverfront.



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Theme: Other
Address: East end of Atlantic Blvd.
Directions: Beach Town Center, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach
Website: www.beachtowncenter.com

Name of Shop: The Avenues Mall

Located near the popular Mandarin and Baymeadows neighborhoods in the southern part of Jacksonville, The Avenues Mall is Jacksonville's second largest and rivals the new St. Johns Town Center for the title of most upscale shopping mall. Featuring two stories of stores covered under a canopy of glassy skylights (including two large glass domes), The Avenues is a bright, polished and airy place to spend an afternoon. The Avenues' tenant list includes a variety of upscale and designer stores like Williams-Sonoma, Abercrombie & Fitch, Pottery Barn, Banana Republic, Talbots, Brookstone and others.

You never know who you might see shopping at The Avenues. Recently, Hollywood A-list couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were spotted shopping at the mall's Pottery Barn. They left out the back of the store and drove away.

Speaking of stars, American Idol talent searches are just one of the many special interest and holiday events that take place at the mall's center court throughout the year.



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Theme: Other
Directions: Between the neighborhood areas of Mandarin and Baymeadows.
Website: http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=124

Name of Shop: Regency Square Mall

Regency Square, centrally located between downtown and the beaches near the neighborhoods of Arlington, Fort Caroline and Southside, is Jacksonville's oldest and largest super-regional mall.

While not as upscale as the newer, sleeker Avenues Mall, Regency has held its own over the years through a series of expansions and facelifts. Today it offers the largest number of stores, focusing on more popular national retailers like Old Navy, The Disney Store, KB Toys, World Foot Locker, Bath & Body Works, etc.

Perhaps the mall's crown jewel is its newly renovated food court, designed in a nautical seaport theme. A giant painted collage mural blending various images of life in Jacksonville provides an intriguing backdrop for three-dimensional relief depictions of some of the city's most prominant bridges.

Nearby, in the mall's central court, is a very elaborately decorated children's train ride. Designed as a train trip around Florida, the small kiddie attraction features animated marine animals, manufactured mangroves, miniature landmark buildings and squirting water (don't worry, the kids won't get wet).

The mall itself is a suburban commercial epicenter surrounded by numerous national chain restaurants, big box retailers, strip malls, office buildings and a movie megaplex.

Note: If you are interested in shopping at more exclusive retailers, be sure to check out my description of The Avenues Mall.



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Theme: Other
Directions: Regency, just east of Arlington and Southwest of Fort Caroline
Website: http://www.regencysquaremall.com/index2.asp

Selling everything from high priced surfboards and swimwear to inexpensive stickers and sunglass straps, the surf shop is an iconic and cultural staple of any popular, funky beach destination. In a beach city as big as Jacksonville it certainly should be no surprise to see so many surf shops. Simply walking in one gives you a sense of casual coolness, even if you don't know the first thing about hanging ten. Here are a handful of surf shops to sample during your Jacksonville vacation:

The two-story, glass-fronted Aqua East Surf Shop in Neptune Beach is the city's largest and most distinctive. In addition to selling surfing accessories and merchandise, Aqua East also operates a surf school and rents watercraft like a boat, kayak or Jet Ski.

Sunrise Surf Shop in Jacksonville Beach is another favorite of local surfers.

Heading to Huguenot or the Talbot Islands parks? Fort George Surf Shop makes for a convenient pit stop.

Even if you're hanging out west of the Intracoastal Waterway, stores like Quicksilver Board Riders and Core can be found inside local malls.

Some surf shops are located in modest, funky stand-alone buildings like Austin's in Jacksonville Beach.

Others, like the national chain Waves can be found in shopping plazas.

Certainly Jacksonville's smallest surf shop has to be the Secret Surf Shop, tucked in a sliver of a storefront in the popular pedestrian district of Beach Town Center. While it may be small, its location means surfers and surfer wannabes can literally walk off the beach, into the store, and back out to the surf all in a short walk.

What To Buy: Surfboards/boogie boards/wake boards
Kayaks
Swimwear/tropical clothing
Surf wax and accessories
Flip flops/sandals
Sunglasses/hats
Souvenirs/surf stickers


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Theme: Sporting Goods

Name of Shop: Five Points

Located a couple blocks off the river in the otherwise scenic, stately and historic Riverside part of town is a neighborhood that serves as Jacksonville's answer to San Francisco's Haight-Asbury. Called Five Points for the five-way intersection at one end, this shopping, nightlife and dining destination features an eclectic mix of shops specializing in vintage clothing, independent music, body art, antiques, drug paraphanalia and alternative lifestyle gifts intermingled with art galleries, mom and pop eateries, fast food retaurants and salons.

At Five Points' center stands an old style movie house that has been converted into Club 5, one of Jacksonville's most popular and notorious dance and live music clubs. Most famous for the who's who list of modern rock acts that have performed there for more than a decade, Club 5 has also built a reputation for the avant guard by being the first to bring such "in" club fads of the past several years as leather fetish shows, live piercings and foam showers to the River City.

A very interesting neighborhood for people watching, Five Points draws extravagantly pierced punks and goths, geek chic local artists, self-proclaimed vampires, guitar-toting next-generation hippies and other free spirits that together bring as much color as the brightly painted brick walls, sidewalks and storefronts that define the neighborhood. While not "upscale trendy" like San Marco Square, Beach Town Center or the nearby Shoppes of Avondale, Five Points is a short walk from several quaint bed and breakfasts, stately riverfront homes and fashionable restaurants.



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Theme: Other
Address: Park St. between Post and Margaret
Directions: Riverside

Name of Shop: Shorelines

Looking for a beachy mom & pop store where you can find tropical trinkets, clothing, and art at very reasonable prices? Have a penchant for colorful tropical shirts, ocean themed nicknacks and every kind of pink flamingo or palm tree souvenir you can imagine? If either of the previous questions have piqued your curiosity then a shopping stop at Shorelines is an absolute must!

What To Buy: Located in Beach Town Center just steps away from the ocean and from the Sea Turtle Inn, Shorelines is certain to please anyone looking to take home a piece of paradise. Shorelines carries a wide, ever-changing assortment of beach and tropical related merchandise ranging from quality art, clothing, home decor and kitchen accessories to all things cheap, plastic, inflatable or otherwise irresistably tacky.

What To Pay: Even the store's top dollar merchandise is quite reasonable. And, it's a great place to find something nice but inexpensive that kids will treasure.

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Theme: Gifts
Address: Beach Town Center
Directions: Neighborhood: Neptune Beach

Name of Shop: St. Johns Town Center (mall)

St. Johns Town Center is Jacksonville's newest and toniest mall. Following the latest national trend in outdoor-oriented Main Street-style Town Centers, St. Johns spreads over several square blocks in the city's booming Deerwood/Tinseltown area. Here, marquee high-end restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Maggiano's Little Italy and Ted Turner's Montana Grill line Town Center streets with the likes of J. Crew, Sharper Image, Abercrombie & Fitch, Williams-Sonoma, Banana Republic, White House Black Market, Anthropologie, Dick's Sporting Goods, and other upscale and/or select stores. At the center of the complex is a small landscaped "Town Square" where wooden bridges criss-cross koi ponds and statues of Florida animals and shells stand sentinal.

Currently, only the first phase is complete, with Dillards serving as the only anchor department store; however, phase two is said to include either Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus or some combination thereof.



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Theme: Other
Directions: Deerwood/Tinseltown area

Name of Shop: St. Johns Town Center (mall)

Looking for a relaxing place to sit when taking a break from upscale shopping? Here is a photo taken at the "town square" I mentioned in the previous tip that serves as the outdoor mall's centerpiece. Here you can enjoy the tranquility of koi ponds, statues and small fountains.



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Theme: Other
Directions: Deerwood/Tinseltown area