The Battle of South Bay Center

I have watched the progress of South Bay Center since I moved to Boston six years ago. I remember it in its prior state - when the old Stop & Shop was where the current Circuit City and Bed Bath & Beyond reside, before Target existed (I believe it was a K-Mart), when Toys R Us occupied Best Buy's current location, and before they built the expansion in the back .

What I have always liked about that shopping plaza is its proximity to where I have lived, and the ample free parking. Both major plusses to a closet suburbanite like myself.

...Which leads me to this past weekend. My breaking point. The parking lot is undergoing major renovations, and is currently a war zone. The traffic patterns at South Bay have always been chaotic, but adding random jersey barriers, loose blacktop, torn up roadways, heavy ground-moving equipment, clueless pedestrians with small children in carriages, and entitled Boston drivers, and it's a recipe for a sludgy disaster.

On Sunday, I just couldn't do it. I could not go to South Bay Center. I needed to shop elsewhere for a change. I grabbed Jill (the GPS) and brought Ryan down to some of Braintree's big box retailers.

While eating at Tennessee's BBQ was not an alterior motive, I always attempt to work in a trip there for lunch or dinner when I'm in Braintree.

As the picture clearly indicates, I thought the food was terrible. Ha Ha.

They should open one of these in the city!