Tampa Bay is flush with strip malls, but which ones have the best lineup of stores?

There's a little strip mall on Fowler Avenue where you can buy medical marijuana, eat a spicy chicken sandwich and then browse used books and vinyl all in one stop.

It's a remarkable strip mall roster (and we'll talk about it more further down the story), but it begs the question, are there other strip malls in Tampa Bay with lineups this strong?

Whether you just moved here, or you're a season resident, you've probably noticed that Tampa Bay is home to an insane amount of strip malls and open-air shopping plazas.

There's a few reasons for this: experts point to factors like post WWII population growth, the decline of centralized urban centers in the 1950s, single-use zoning, setback requirements, unbridled urban sprawl, lack of public transportation, etc.

But one thing is certain, they're not going anywhere, and some of them are actually good.

While its easy to complain about these giant slabs of suburban concert and capitalism, it's also important to point out that many of them are home to diverse, and locally-owned businesses. And, these spaces often offer an easier way for small businesses to get their first shot at a brick-and-mortar operation.

So, what follows is a few of our favorites. Consider this an ode to the best Tampa Bay strip mall lineups.

Sure, some of them are huge, some of them are tiny, but all of these strip malls made the cut because for whatever reason, we end up end up there again and again, every single weekend.

Did we miss one? What's your go to plaza in Tampa Bay? Let us know here.