Found a great Oaxaquena Mexican restaurant El Pollero food is really good very authentic. You'll find diamonds in the rough if you look hard enough and the tamales are 🔥

If you're from Tacoma and know a little of the history here, you'll immediately recognize staple landmarks like the B&I. Remember when University place and Lakewood were just different parts of Tacoma? (Whereas now they are their own cities respectively) Even long before this transition was the B&I over on South Tacoma Way. An emporium bizarre with shops of all sorts and even a Silverback Gorilla and waterslides. Remember the water slides? Remember Ivan? Those are both gone now, but the market remains and is still fun to explore with shops and games. Sketchy as Tacoma gets, but still a fun adventure. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ When's the last time you ventured through the B&I?

Believe the reviews when they say how rundown and dirty this place is. Google says this place closes at 8, but when I came around 5:30, more than half of the stores were closed. I wanted to look around, so I went to every store that was open, and only one store acknowledged me.(Maybe there was a language barrier?) Was my first time here and I don't know what made me feel the most uncomfortable, the church group waiting by the doors or every shop ignoring me and watching my every move. Other things I noticed: - Clothes are overpriced for poor quality. - Archade is extremely hot, stuffy, and has a bad odor. -Shops don't clean their products, so when you touch something, it turns your hands very dirty. -The majority of the shop sells the samething. - Aisles are tight, and it would be difficult for wheelchairs and strollers to get through. - Security?

Lots of people whining in the reviews about how something isn't the same as when they were toddlers 30 plus years ago. I used to come here as a kid too. Things change. Get over it. I still give it 5 stars. I am glad Ivan isn't locked up here anymore. He was not happy. I am just happy it is still here. I take my kids here and they LOVE it just as I did when I was little. The fun area is still fun. the carousel is still there. It is more like a bazaar than a mall. There are a lot of odd things and imports you can get here that you won't find anywhere else.

The parking lot could be a lot better. The check cashing place in there has great staff. There are all kinds of things inside, and you could probably find anything you needed or they could direct you where to go. Lots of good little restaurants. Kid friendly

It's definitely not the same as it was 10+ yrs ago, definitely outdated, and in my opinion, I would like to see it torn down and rebuild an inside family amusement store. We need more fun things for kids to do in the Tacoma area. Bring back a skating ring!

This store has many stores with awesome prices. Cowboy boots, fluffy blankets. Super good foods cooked fresh and the flavors are awesome. We were bummed the kids place was slow and not many visitors. Wish there was more so ...if you read this.....please go. It was a great place for our kids too.

Used to always come here as a kid! Still go hereand there, Though my visit today i noticed more mexican food shops than before and lots of shops of the past closed, Some new ones opened up but there isn't as diverse a mix of cultures as before. Not that the current ones are bad. Pet store is gone, Im glad the ice cream shop is still there. The man always gives the best scoops, Not like other ice cream shops where you pay a ton for the tiniest scoop, it fits into a single spoon. They've got pictures of the old times still up which is neat and apparently the building is under new management which explains the slightly better exterior appearance wise. Still, not the cleanest place but its down a janitor so it's up to people to keep the place clean.

Good place to go shopping with a ton of products for sale. Many shops and restaurants to choose from. Find unique items and different cuisines from various cultures. Definitely visit this place.

Loved it, very colorful population! Great buys! Some stuff made Lovers look like amateurs! Woohoo! The food, OMG! Lots of families.... I enjoyed it! I would definitely go again.

I really enjoy going to this market with my entire family. Is very secure, multicultural and we are able to find whatever we might need or just desire.

Indoor swap meet style, shops are spread out and there is a pretty decent variety of items available. We got men's white tees and socks, good quality,pretty thick. If you've ever been to LA's swap meets, this is Tacoma's! I think we paid $70.00 total for 4 tshirts (Proclub) for adults and 4 tshirts for a small child. A little more expensive than LA, or ordering online, however, you can walk out and wear them the same day....so... They do carry extra large plus size clothing for both women and men. I think for men 5x and maybe 3x for women. No baby tshirts or tank tops though... They have a lot of hats, fake chains, make up and belts to choose from as well. Thick sweatshirts and I even saw Ben and Davis shirts there! 😉 For all of you who know about the old Chubby and Tubby!! Happy shopping!

Like this place they have very good deals on work related apparel like work clothes and work gloves, and they have a dozen [12] Atlas gloves for $30-35, or ones similar to Atlas for $30, and Carhartt jeans, double Dungarees for $47, and they have every size you could need, T shirts for around $10, and long sleeves, Hi Vis, for $12.95,, if you was ever wondering what they have and for what price, but the gloves are the best price you can get on work gloves and I know this cuz im always shopping around for good deals on work gloves made by Atlas, which are the best you can get for work gloves, they have a cool coin shop also, radio equipment everywhere in the store, and they'll hook it up also for the cheap and work boots, video game store also. Hair store, cutting and wig store, everything you could need they got it and a good selection of food, so it's a place to bring the family for a day out and have fun, cuz they also have a huge quarter game spot to play video games, with the kids and it's as big as anyone's around, race car games, pac man style games, it's huge and fun for the kids to play while you shop and eat, you can make a day out of it, if you want to, they're is that much too do, and that's a guarantee if you haven't been in a while, but the pet store is no longer there, but alot of other places, and a check cashing place, they will cash your check without id, also if your wondering,!!

This place is definitely not what it used to be. It survives predominantly off of foreign business owners, that I personally have no problem with - But definitely leaves little common interests, aside from the Asian hair supply shops which are hard to want to visit because the staff and follow you as if you are there to steal everything they have, unfortunately. They'll let you try on wigs at a ridiculously limited amount of times (usually 3x) AND/ OR make you PAY for a stocking knit cap THEY require you to wear. Other than that bathrooms smell funny, even after being cleaned, which leads me to believe there may be mold issues. The interior design is basically non-existent and outdated. Each store seems to run into one another making it hard to know what store is what, if they even have a name or distinguishing attribute. Majority of the clothing stores are garments made of cheap material, that's overly priced and seems like it wouldn't survive a single wash at home. Clothes run small with loud colors, bedazzled jeans for men, tight fitting spandex dresses for women, which feature cuts and designs from the early 2000's with equally overpriced and tacky, bright material that seems to be shipped from overseas but couldn't withstand the light cycle from a residential wash machine. Hallway annexes and corridors that lead to nothing at all or an empty space, filled with packing or building materials or both. Laid about and randomly thrown around. OH. There is a food court featuring a multitude of ethnic and cultural foods, but again fairly overpriced with long wait times that seem to be worked by 1 to 3 people that barely have enough space to walk by each other, crammed behind a long countertop. All of which are overshadowed by the cooking area/ kitchen that is always veiled behind some dreary, dark colored heavy looking curtain. Each food stop has different, random hours. So none of the so-called "food court" eatery options are consistently available at once or at the same time. I won't even START on the sketchy looking "car detailing" businesses that are conveniently tucked behind along the back side of the B&I. That seem to be unadvertised and stashed away from the public eye.

My boyfriend and I enjoy walking the halls here at the B&I. He tells me all of his many memories growing up& a LOT has changed over the years. From clothes shopping... (LOVE the underground style but HATE how expensive everything is..*cough* Top & Bottom *cough*)....... To buying beautiful real Sterling Silver rings/women's jewelry at great prices at the Indian shop in the food court ..(apologies as I do not remember the name)... And finally we never leave the B&I without grabbing an order of garlic chicken from the food court.. I recommend people visit here if you're visiting Tacoma or if you live here. It's a nice place to enjoy the little things, if ya get what I mean 🤓💯🖤

Very fun experience arcade was nice love the way we redeem the tickets for prizes all games and rides up to date. Amazing food I highly recommend especially if your use to going to swap meet.

Don’t come to this store !! Whole place is great everything is good expect for this store !! Called Dollar and More the owners are racist and yell at kids just because of their skin and clothes!! We couldn’t walk around in peace without the man watching our every step don’t come to this place unless you wanna be yelled at and he carries a stick with him when he went up to the boy don’t come here!

The little food shops are great! Love the diversity here! Indian, Mexican, beauty supply! They have it all! Nice place to stroll and take your time finding treasures

I have been going there since I was a young teenager when Ivan the gorilla was still present although the type of shops that are there now differ from then it still has the same ambience it will always bring back memories

I remember as a kid coming here to see Ivan the gorilla and it was a magical place in that time. Now, it is not the magical place that I remember. Very strange eclectic mix of shops most of which don't speak English very hard to communicate with the business owners not a place that I will shop at very much due to communication issues.

I'm from Tacoma/ Lakewood and the B&I though it may not look the most appealing, they DO have really great Deals and some stores may barter. I've been going since Ivan the Gorilla! For me the B&I is nastalgic!

Best place to get quinceanera dress, mexican candy, natural medicine (tea and herbs), kitchen stuffs, blankets, shapewear it's like a mini swap meet.

There are many shops in one place. The Top and bottom clothing store is always a place I go. They actually have two stores. I'm tall and wear sizes from XL-3X depending on the maker. I've always been able to find something. Shirts makeup earrings tanks and my man LOVES it. If you are petite you shop at the second branch. Hats purses NFL NBA MBA NHL gear too. You can get your nails done, eat checks cashed stereo put in, phones chargers...ect

Dress shops in there have beautiful dresses. My daughters found it hard to choose. Lucky for us, they have a very helpful employee named Daisy she was so helpful and patient.

This is a great place except for the espresso and ice cream stand - the older white man working at the ice cream place behaves with aggression and extreme rudeness and drives away customers. Too bad, he ruins an otherwise pleasant experience. We ended up leaving and buying nothing from the market place due to him treating us badly when we asked about purchasing ice cream

Good place for buying clothes. I usually buy my Pro Clubs shirts here. Variety of small shops inside. Great delicious food at the food court. You can print shirts here. Outstanding!

Needs updated. Mexican indoor swapmeet. Mostly jewelry or mexi hats boots clothes.

Exterior & parking lots should be cleaned up daily before opening. All trash should be picked up! Great place but needs cleaning.

Though it ain't what it used to be, there's still one or two decent places in there There's a Mexican place across from where the pet store is, they have the best burritos I've ever had!! The arcade is still there surprisingly and it definitely a good place to have fun!

It feels icky when you go there.. like a dirty uncared for type of icky. Nothing like it did when Ivan was still there and it was a popular and fun place to go back then. I don't even want to take my kids to show them somewhere from my childhood days because of how run down looking it is now.

Great for hair the only type of food they have is Mexican food, the arcade needs a huge transformation looks like rats are eating through the walls and all the floors is so disgusting no matter how many games they had my daughter was to scared to play it's almost like they have the room dark so you don't see how nasty it is. The material of the clothes on this place is horrible they rip and tear in the washer after one wash. I just love the hair store however.

Great places, with Good deals and well priced. Parking n at the front alittle tight, but more parking at the back and one can use the back entrance.

They have the only simple mobile in the state of Washington plus at&t prepaid with Verizon prepaid n cricket n Lycamobile plus repair in one shop

B & I Shopping Center in Tacoma is such a cool place there so many different types of stuff a person could want here there a little bit of everything here bring you're friend's and family to this place you can get clothes, food, and so much more this place is famous. There's plenty of parking places all the way around the place with several different places to enter. i love it here #love .

I go here every Sunday with my dad and my brother and we always go to the arcade it's always fun but the prizes are a little low quality for a bunch of tickets I paid 700 tickets total for 2 squishy toys that both had a hole in them and one of them had a little plastic tag dug into to which caused the hole so they broke within 5 minutes of having them other than that the arcade is fun and the other stores are nice!