Gourmet Gardens; Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Interior view, circa 1987. (photo courtesy Pat Richardson)Gourmet Gardens at Eastland Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina was one of the first mall food courts in the Carolinas when it opened in 1975. It featured a then-revolutionary mix of ethnic cuisine, light snacks and fast food favorites.
Food courts revolutionized the mall dining experience, adding a variety of quick service establishments that crossed a broader spectrum of foodways than the then-standard snack bars, coffee shops and cafeterias most malls featured. Mall shoppers became food court diners and in less than ten years after Gourmet Gardens and other concepts like it appeared, the old-school restaurants were largely a relic of the past.
Even as Eastland approaches its twilight years, the food court is still intact, albeit altered from these great pictures from circa 1987, courtesy of frequent LiveMalls contributor Patrick Richardson. Many thanks to Pat for this blast from the past.
Gourmet Gardens; Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Interior view, circa 1987. (photo courtesy Pat Richardson)
Gourmet Gardens; Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Interior view, circa 1987. (photo courtesy Pat Richardson)
Gourmet Gardens; Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Interior view, circa 1987. (photo courtesy Pat Richardson)
Gourmet Gardens; Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Interior view, circa 1987. (photo courtesy Pat Richardson)Previously on LiveMalls
Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina
Eastland Mall 1980