Variety and quality at Pinewood Shopping Village a boon for customers — with one exception
You all love the variety and cinema at Pinewood Shopping Village — but there is one thing you all want to see fixed.
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We asked the Monash Leader readers about Pinewood Shopping Village — and the verdict came down definitively on one side of the ledger.
Everyone loves it.
With more than 70 traders, cinema, supermarket and business services at the centre, unsurprisingly its convenience and variety of stores proved popular.
Bianca Gold said there was “a great cluster of good quality cafes and restaurants enabling customers great choice”.
“I think the community needs to support the cinema as much as possible,” she said. “A great little asset for the community.”
Matt Hollard said Pinewood was a “great little shopping centre, with Jackman (Eatery) and (57 Cafe) being the picks of the bunch”, while Kon Kontopoulos said there was “good Vietnamese, good Chinese, good Indian, good chilli chorizo and good coffee”.
Other food places also named included Pinewood Chicken Bar, Black Label Grill and Tasman Butchers.
Alongside the quality cafes and restaurants on offer, the family-owned and run Waverley Cinema featured highly among people’s favourites.
Since opening in 1974, the cinema has maintained a close relationship with the Mt Waverley community.
Owner Nicole Harvey said her father started the business, while both her parents and brother still work there.
“We have always been very close with the local community, offering low-cost family entertainment and a great facility for local community groups,” she said.
“We don’t try to be anything more than what we are — just a comfortable place where people can come and enjoy the latest movies without spending too much.”
Mrs Harvey said Pinewood was a “vibrant and busy shopping centre” which had “changed remarkably over the years”.
“It is a very food-oriented centre, which is great, with high-end restaurants and cafes,” she said.
“There is lots of choice for our moviegoers.”
Parking remains the biggest gripe of shoppers, with the two-hour limit and its busyness affecting many.
Helen Teder said the parking times did not allow people “to enjoy the shops or restaurants after the movies”.
Deborah Jane said parking was “a nightmare” on the southern side of Pinewood.
“Blind spots on the end of the rows and you can get rear ended entering the carpark … before the traffic lights,” she said.
“If the theatre parking area was three hours then we wouldn’t have to dash to our cars with a movie parking permit.
“Also donors have been booked when donating at the Red Cross blood bank.”
When asked what shops people want to see at the centre, the most common suggestion was more groceries or an equivalent, while Ross Boreham also suggested an Aldi or Kmart.
The Pinewood chamber of commerce was unable to be contacted.