Plaza Fiesta is a 350,000 square feet (33,000 m2) shopping mall in DeKalb County, Georgia on the eastern border of the city of Brookhaven, on Buford Highway and Clairmont Road. The mall contains a large supermarket ("farmers market"), several large discount stores, and a large space filled with over 140[1] small vendors, modeled on a Mexican mercado or flea market. According to newspaper Creative Loafing, "to Atlanta's immigrant population, Plaza Fiesta has become as vital a shopping destination as Lenox Square or the Mall of Georgia."[2]

Plaza Fiesta vendor space, May 2013
Religious statuary store in Plaza Fiesta, May 2013
The mall has the largest indoor playground in Georgia.

The mall opened in 1968 as the Buford-Clairmont Mall and included a movie theater. Tenants included Woolco which later became a Burlington Coat Factory. Later the mall became "Outlet Square" and included a Winn-Dixie supermarket. In 1996, new owners turned the mall into "Asian Square", modeled after a crowded Hong Kong street. In 2000 new owners spend $11 million to transform Asian Square into Plaza Fiesta. Marshall's closed in the early 2010s as it opened a store in nearby Town Brookhaven.[3]

2013 saw a number of openings at the plaza, including the Shoppers World discount store, Planet Fitness gym, and Ross Dress for Less.[4] That same year, the mall reported over 4 million visitors.[5] The mall attracts shoppers from as far as North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.[6] In February 2020, an Ollie's Bargain Outlet location opened next to the Planet Fitness location.[7]

Incidents

edit

A robbery and shoplifting took place inside of a store in the mall in April 2021.[citation needed] That same year, a fight was taken place after the mall was closed for the night.[citation needed]

After a string of fights and robberies, the mall issued a new supervision rule requires all visitors under 18 will have to be with an adult 21 years and over after 3 PM while on mall property and placed security measures throughout the mall area. [citation needed]

References

edit
  1. ^ Plaza Fiesta official website
  2. ^ "Plaza Fiesta!: How a doomed strip mall became ground zero for a cultural revolution", Alyssa Abkowitz, June 21, 2006, Creative Loafing
  3. ^ "Shopportunity comes to North DeKalb, ToneToATL, September 14, 2010
  4. ^ "National Names Joining the Party at Plaza Fiesta", ToneToATL, January 14, 2013
  5. ^ "Food - A newbie's guide to eating at Plaza Fiesta". Atlanta Creative Loafing. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  6. ^ "The Mall of the Future…on Buford Highway? | 90.1 FM WABE". 90.1 FM WABE. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  7. ^ https://www.ollies.us/events/359-Chamblee/
edit

33°51′51.60″N 84°18′27.60″W / 33.8643333°N 84.3076667°W / 33.8643333; -84.3076667