I know most people will want to see the Toys R’ Us that the robber Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) hides away in over the course of “Roofman,” the locally filmed true-crime inspired movie that is set to open the 2025 Charlotte Film Festival Sept. 23.
But you can’t. It doesn’t exist anymore.
Channing Tatum stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘Roofman.’
While he was on his final robbery spree, Manchester lived in a Toys R’ Us and then relocated to a Circuit City not far from the toy store. Neither arearound any more in the Charlotte region, but there’s still a lot of Manchester’s journey in the Queen City that you can find.
Here are some “Roofman” locations that you can find in Charlotte:
Toys R’ Us
Like I said, good luck finding a Toys R’ Us in 2025. The once-prosperous toy store chain had collapsed in bankruptcy and shuttered all its stores several years ago.
The film crew had to manufacture one of those toy stores to stand-in for the hiding spot for Manchester for the movie. But if you’re curious to see where Manchester stowed away, you can squint and see a former store at Vizion Church, which is at 6070 E. Independence Blvd.
Director Derek Cianfrance said it was impossible to recreate the former store in its old location due to the church operating there, but they were able to get a sense of what it had previously looked like.
They also included the band leader from Vizion Church in the movie. He plays the band leader for Crossroads Presbyterian where Manchester visits and meets his love interest, Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst).
Crossroads Presbyterian Church
After breaking out of an Anson County prison where he was serving four years for a string of robberies where he entered through the roof, earning him the name “Roofman,” Manchester hitchhikes it to Charlotte where he immediately hides in the Toys R’ Us. But after toiling away by himself for over a month, he eventually makes his way out into the world.
In the movie, Manchester overhears conversations by the Toys R’ Us manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage) and an employee Leigh. He takes a liking to Leigh — fixing her time card at night to help her out — and decides to leave the store when he sees Mitch reject helping her out for her church toy drive.
Her church is Crossroad Presbyterian Church on Monroe Road with the actual building playing itself in the movie version. The building is located off E. Independence Blvd. and backs up to East Mecklenburg High School.
Cianfrance said the congregation in the movie is made up of local actors and folks familiar with the Roofman story.
Circuit City
While Circuit City doesn’t make an appearance in the movie, which focuses its action squarely on Manchester in the Toys R’ Us, it’s worth noting that that was the location that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police eventually found Manchester’s “lair.”
In the movie, he spends all his time at Toys R’ Us in a hollowed out space behind the bike racks. But the real Manchester ended up moving his home to an abandoned Circuit City location down the road from the toy store on 6100 E. Independence Blvd.
The former Circuit City home of the Roofman is now Carpet Discount Warehouse.
McDonald’s
To open the movie, we get a sense of the “Rooftop Robber” when Manchester breaks through the roof of a Belmont area McDonald’s and robs the store as the staff start their day.
Manchester robbed a Gastonia location and then went to the Belmont location later that evening to rob in the morning. The movie only shows that second break-in, but isn’t in the same McDonald’s location that was there when Manchester was in the area.
Red Lobster
In the movie, Manchester agrees to go to a church singles brunch to get closer to Wainscott, who asks him out after the meal.
The ladies go to a Red Lobster restaurant near both the church and Toys R’ Us location that Manchester is staying at.
The restaurant still stands and Cianfrance says the scene with the meal is comprised of women from the church who remember Manchester from his time at Crossroads. The location is at 9801 Independence Pointe Parkway in Matthews.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
