Davis Grad, the

Don't need to be a university student to be here. Hahahaha! Just kidding. University Mall's the best!

I have fond memories of this place a number of years ago. The Grad mostly but that 's all gone now. It 's still relevant as a parking lot but for the most part it has gone the way of the dodo. I remember there being some sort of market. It was a Safeway at some point? State Market also rings a bell. Nation 's burgers was excellent for the time. The Wherehouse in the parking lot was demolished and Trader Joe 's now sits in the same vicinity of where it was. Used to be popular parking for students a looooooong time ago. TL:DR it 's an old pretty useless mall. Parking lot still works.

While University Mall as a building and shopping area could definitely be more modern and should probably be bulldozed and completely rebuilt, there are lots of restaurants and shops that I like visiting that are located here. I first came to University Mall to visit musette, which sells gourmet bowls to-go and is vegan and gluten-free friendly. Their food is definitely some of the healthiest and most delicious in Davis and it's too bad they are located in University Mall and don't have a location downtown that offers indoor and outdoor seating. The vibe of University Mall is rather claustrophobic and depressing, but the rent must be cheap here. While visiting musette, I discovered Super Eyebrow across the way, which has become my go-to place in Davis to get my eyebrows threaded. Outside of the mall there is Chengdu Style, which arguably has some of the best Chinese food in Davis. I first discovered Chengdu Style through DoorDash and recently ate at their location in University Mall. I could eat their food every week if I didn't control myself. Fluffy Donuts is also located close to Chengdu Style and sells two kinda of vegan cake donuts that are definitely worth getting. Last but not least, Trader Joe's is also located at University Mall and continues to be an affordable place to get groceries. Even Trader Joe's has been effected by inflation, but not as much as many other stores. While I wish the shopping experience was better at University Mall, I'll continue to come back 1-2 times a month for the businesses that are located here.

You can tell that this was a prime shopping mall in the past but clearly has been affected. A lot of empty retail locations. It definitely needs TLC.

The exhibit was good. The mall is empty except for a couple of businesses.