The mall is located along Interstate 75 and State Highway 54, also known as Jonesboro Road.

Southlake Mall opened in 1976[1] with anchor stores Rich's, Davison's, Sears, and JCPenney.

The two-story, 230,000-square-foot Rich's store was the chain's eleventh suburban location and opened in August 1976.

The fountain was removed from the downstairs area in front of Sears and Radio Shack to accommodate one of the escalators.

The mall's mortgage was supervised for a short time in 2012 by C-III Asset Management before being sold to B Properties - a subsidiary of Bayer Properties that specializes in rehabilitating struggling malls.