Did you know? Jacksonville's Regency Square mall once had 160 stores, restaurants (2024)

For decades, Regency Square mall was Ground Zero for Black Friday shopping in Jacksonville, with thousands of shoppers packing the Arlington mall’s stores, food court, corridors and more.

When it opened on March 2, 1967, the mall boasted 60 stores, including department stores JCPenney, Furchgott’s, May-Cohen's, Ivey’s and F.W. Woolworth & Co.

Fourteen years later, in 1981, Regencyadded 90 new stores and restaurants, bringing the total number of stores and eateries to more than 160 to the 1.2 million-square-foot enclosed mall. Among those was Sears, which relocated from downtown, cementing the mall as Jacksonville’s retail mecca for holiday shopping for years to come.

That changed beginning in 1990, with the opening of The Avenues mall just 10 miles away. And again in 2005, with the opening of the massive St. Johns Town Center, also on the Southside, and a year later, when River City Marketplace opened in North Jacksonville.

In the following years, some of Regency’s biggest tenants departed, including department store Belk in 2015, leaving a 144,000-square-foot vacancy in the middle of the mall. Belk opened a standalone store less than four miles away at Atlantic North.

In 2020, JCPenney – the mall’s last original tenant – closed, leaving Dillard’s as Regency’s sole anchor store. (The store has been operating as a clearance center for well over a decade.)

Is Regency Square mall still open?

Did you know? Jacksonville's Regency Square mall once had 160 stores, restaurants (2)

Yes, the mall is still open. In October, Lake City-based Blackwater Development announced that it was interested in purchasing the shopping center from Regency Realty, which has owned the mall since 2014.

What stores are in Regency Square mall in Jacksonville?

According to the mall’s website, the following stores and businesses are open:

Dillard’s
Island Gale Patio
Jimmy Jazz
Modern Furniture Outlet
Regency Health Food
Rogers Jewelry

What restaurants are open at Jacksonville’s Regency Square mall?

Catering by Chef Tony
First Coast Cookies
Lauren’s Seafood
Peru Chicken
Tokyo Sakura

What other businesses are open at Regency Square mall?

AMC Theatres
Cut & Stitch
Firestone
I Love Music Foundation
Impact Church
IRIS Lending Library for the Blind
LensCrafters
Motorcycle Safety Training

How old is Regency Square mall?

Opened in March 1967, the mall is more than 55 years old.

What were the original tenants of Regency Square mall?

Here’s a list of the mall’s tenants that first year, starting on the east end at J.C. Penney, according to the 1968 Jacksonville city directory, published by Polk’s:

J.C. Penney (department store)
Singer Sewing Machines
Flair Fabrics
Halpern’s Men’s and Boys Shop (men’s clothing)
Nancy Scott (women’s clothing)
F.W. Woolworth Co.
Holland’s Barber Shop
Schwobilt Clothes
Spencer Gifts
Thom McAn Shoe Store
National Shirt Shops
Furchgott’s (department store)
Baker’s Shoe Store
World Bazaar Gifts
O’Neill’s Card & Candle Shop
Lillie Rubin (women’s clothing)
Underwood Jewelers
The Matador (men’s clothing)
Piccadilly Cafeteria
May-Cohen’s (department store)
Levy’s
French Novelty Country Shop (women’s clothing)
Elson’s Books
Castro Convertibles (furniture)
Walgreen Drug Stores
Rosenblum’s (clothing)
Florsheim Shoe Shop
Russell Stover Candies
Mayfair Opticians
Riverside Camera
Motherhood Maternity Shops
Regency Floral
Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan
Red Carpet Inn restaurant
Radio Shack
Bresler’s Ice Cream
Nice House of Music
Scot Ties
Merle Norman Cosmetics
Larry’s Shoe Stores
Ivey’s (department store)
State Farm Insurance
The Wiggery
Toy and Hobby Chest
Kinney Shoes
Lerner Shops (women’s clothing)
Vogue Shops (women’s clothing)
Kay Jewelry Co.
Size 5-7-9 (women’s clothing)
Walsh Shoe Repair
Max E. Shafer (optometrist)
John R. Kelley (dentist)
The Leader
State Farm Mutual Insurance Co.
Ponderosa Steak House
Colonial Stores
Atlantic Loan Co.
Arnold Palmer Cleaning Center (dry cleaner)

Did you know?May Cohens had 5 names during its tenure at Regency Square

What stores were open at Regency Square at the height of its popularity?

In March 1981, Regency Square mall celebrated the Grand Opening of its expanded mall, which included 90 new stores and restaurants, bringing the total number of stores and eateries to more than 160 to the 1.2 million-square-foot enclosed mall.

Here is a look at Regency’s store directory in 1981, courtesy of a special advertising section in the former Jacksonville Journal.