Mankato Heights Plaza — Attraction in Mankato

The innovative and exciting new store, Five Below, features a downright vast selection of brand new brand name items, all of which are priced between one and five dollars apiece, with no exceptions.

The catch? Almost all transactions are through self-checkout, though notably, the kiosks for such are far better designed for customer use than those at any nearby (walking distance) higher profile "big box" retailers. Employees are on hand primarily to assist with self-checkout when needed, with only one human cashier running a till at any given time. Not all checkout machines take cash, but several do. They're very clearly marked, and seem to work almost without a hitch.

Despite being extremely busy, there is practically no wait in checkout lines. Most transactions seem to run very smoothly. Prices consistently beat all other major retailers in walking distance -- quite considerably -- on always comparable and usually identical items.

Well-designed and well-stocked departments share a bright, efficient, clean, and uplifting open floor plan that's effortless to navigate. The toy department's huge, featuring many standby old favorites that children (and adults) enjoy playing with for hours on end. The back-to-school selection's more than adequate to provide for any student's needs. There's also food, and clothing, too. And the selection of electronics and accessories is impressive, to say the least, providing far better value on items, ranging from commonplace and purely functional to exotic and purely entertaining, than all better-known competitors of which I am currently aware.

This is the future of bricks-and-mortar retail. It is a joy to shop here. I'll be back many more times, and very...

Michaels; great, I love the store for my art stuff! 5below; fun, the store always has some weird new little gadgets or plushies or candy. Dollar tree; ehhh they're good, I like stuff from there, I think the move was harder on them then it was let on tho. Overall the whole plaza itself is super convenient, it's near a bus stop, a Wells Fargo, and has a nice big open parking lot and it's not too long if you just wanna park on one end and walk. Downside; no one bloody drives safely...

This is a strip mall setting. TJ Maxx, a dollar store, Footwear store and several others here as well. First time at TJ Maxx I was very surprised at their prices and their inventory, I'm unsure if other TJ Maxx stores have the same or similar products if so I've got to check it out I really can't say enough about TJ Maxx in particular. It's a setting that accommodates many businesses and at least one restaurant a nice change...