Estero Florida is in the south western section of Florida. It is near Cape Coral and Fort Myers metropolitan area. Estero was incorporated by Dr. Cyrus Reed Teed. He proposed that we live on the Earth's outer skin, and that celestial bodies were contained in the Earth's core. From this theory he drew followers to Estero, eventually owning 320 acres of land to create the city. It took until 1904 for the city to become incorporated. The faith of Dr. Teed soon died with him in 1908. The rest of his followers were all but gone by the 1960's.
Perhaps due to its interesting history Estero is a place for tourists to visit and learn a little history. Residents of the area are able to shop at the Coconut Point Mall. Coconut Point is owned by Simon Group. The Simon Mall Group has over 300 malls around the US, as well as in Asia and Europe. The mall sits on 500 acres of land, with 90,000 square feet for office space, and 1.2 million square feet for retail space and restaurants.
Simon Malls wanted a place that could be a neighborhood community rather than just a shopping center. For this reason, Coconut Point offers shopping, places to gather, dine, work, and play. There is a movie theater on the premises with new films each week. It is a Main Street style destination with Mediterranean architecture married with Southwest Florida creations.
The mall is open Monday through Saturday 10am to 9pm, and Sunday 12pm to 6pm. During the Christmas holiday the mall is open for longer hours. These hours start on day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, allowing shoppers to get their much needed presents. At other times of the year there may be special hours such as holidays or when a particular event is in town. The mall has been known to have live music and other events for patrons.
For shopping the mall is broken into categories including accessories, cards/ books, children's fashions, department stores, entertainment, food, home decor, hotels, jewelry, men's and women's clothing, music, optical needs, and restaurants. The anchor stores include Dillard's, Ross Dress for ladies, Super Target, TJ Maxx, and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Other shops include Build A Bear, Stride Rite Shoes, Old Navy, Avalon, Brookstone, Rug Decor, Select Comfort, Blue Diamond Jewelers, and Fossil. Near Coconut Point is the Hyatt Place Hotel. It is a great location for the business or pleasure traveler needing a comfortable place to stay.
Restaurants on the property can vary from the food court options to fine dining establishments. The restaurants are Blue Water Bistro, California Pizza Kitchen, Hemingway's Island Grill, Hurricane Grill and Wings, Johnny Rockets, Moe's Southwest Grill, Quattrocento Grand Cafe, and The Grape.
There are some specialty food locations like Auntie Anne's Pretzels, GNC, Haagen Daz, Marble Slab Creamery, and Planet Smoothie. Specialty shops include Apple Computer, Brighton Collectibles, Fresh Produce, and Office Max. Not all locations are in the main building of Coconut Pointe, but rather along the strip.
