Mall has various dining options including a food court and restaurants such as Brio Tuscan Grille and The Cheesecake Factory. The Christiana Mall is a popular destination for shoppers in the Delaware Valley area centered around Philadelphia while also attracting visitors from the New York, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. areas looking for tax-free shopping. The mall attracts over 20 million visitors annually. Christiana Mall is one of the top producing malls in the United States. The Apple Store at the Christiana Mall claims to sell more iPhones than any other location in the chain. The Christiana Mall has an appraised value of over $1 billion. Basketball player Charles Barkley's daughter, Christiana, was named after the mall. In a 2021 podcast, he explained, "...I just liked the mall." Anchor stores JCPenney - (2 floors, opened 1978, original anchor) Macy's - (2 floors, opened in 1986, previously Bamberger's) Nordstrom - (2 floors, opened in 2011, built on the site of the former Strawbridge's) Target - (1 floor, opened in 2010 on the site of the former Lord & Taylor and Wanamaker's) Barnes & Noble - (2 floors, opened in 2009) History Early history Christiana Mall was developed in the late 1970s by The Rubin Company and New Castle Associates to compete with the smaller Triangle Mall (later New Castle Square Mall) and Castle Mall (Pencader Plaza) a few miles away. The land that the mall was built on consisted of four family farms. The main building of the mall was the Lynam Farm. The Cabela's site and parts of I-95 was the Morgan family farm. Adjacent retail developments consisted of land from the Clayville and Carroll family farms. Strawbridge & Clothier was the first store to open in September, 1978. It included a tall clock tower outside and a restaurant on a second floor balcony above the mall entrance overlooking a large inverted water fountain in which water cascaded into a deep pool in the middle. Shortly after, on October 16, 1978, the first phase of the mall opened to the public which included small shops from Strawbridge & Clothier to the Bamberger's court (which is now Macy's) which included a second fountain. Bamberger's and the wing to and including JCPenney was constructed in phase 2 which opened in 1979. Department store changes The 1990s brought a lot of department store changes for Christiana Mall. In 1991, Wanamaker's opened a 2 level