Three more restaurants added to Tacoma Mall’s new ‘Village,’ set to open next fall
New renderings of Tacoma Mall’s new “Village,” which is planned to open next fall, show both new buildings quickly filling up with tenants.
Three more restaurants have joined the list of coming dining attractions: California-based Dave’s Hot Chicken, Supreme Dumplings of Bellevue and national chain Simply Thai Restaurant, according to the project’s page online and renderings.
It will be the first Pierce County location for all three.
Other new restaurants planned for The Village include Shake Shack, Gong Cha bubble tea and Happy Lamb Hot Pot.
That brings the list to six new restaurants planned to debut next year at the two new buildings being constructed at the former Sears end of the mall; which was demolished in 2019 to make way for a multi-phased redevelopment west of the main mall.
Estimated construction cost of the two buildings has been listed at around $6 million, according to earlier filings with the city.
Phase one of the mall’s exterior redevelopment, already completed, included the addition of Nordstrom Rack, Ulta Beauty, Kohl’s and Total Wine & More in retail centers separate from the main mall structure.
Meanwhile, mall owner Simon Property Group also has new food/drink options coming to the main mall this year, with the addition of Kura Revolving Sushi, Gregorys Coffee going into the former Starbucks location, Knot Korean Steakhouse going into the former Blazing Onion site, and the return of regional candy chain Candy Tyme, set to open in time for the holiday shopping season.
John Phipps is senior vice president of development for Simon. In a news release, Phipps said the focus now is “reimagining malls as premium lifestyle centers.”
“The Village marks a new chapter for Tacoma Mall,” he added.
Plans this spring submitted to the city of Tacoma showed up to nine restaurant/tenant spaces to be available across the the two buildings. Permit plans for the two buildings now are listed as “awaiting resubmittal/revisions,” and Shake Shack’s permitting is in review.
A recent outline of the site filed with the city shows most of the restaurants still to be assigned spaces despite renderings depicting otherwise.
City of Tacoma media representative Linda Robson said that’s not unusual.
“Right now both of the buildings are still in review,” she told The News Tribune in response to questions via email. “The only tenant that has identified a specific space is Shake Shack in Building B, but that’s pretty typical — usually tenants wait to submit until they know for sure the building their space is in will be approved as submitted.”
A separate drive-thru pad site for another tenant that was part of earlier site plans “is on hold for now, though that could change in the future,” Robson added.
The mall’s release noted that the new buildings would include ”new retailers, cafes and restaurants with outdoor dining terraces.”
“This continued investment in our retail growth will elevate the overall shopping, lifestyle and dining experience,” said Ruben Perez, executive vice president of Leasing, West Region, Simon, in a statement.
“We know there is high demand from our guests for new and unique experiences,” Perez added.
Other developments
As the Tacoma Mall continues with its redevelopment, other nearby projects also remain in the works:
▪ Super Chix: Franchise owners Mohammad and Elina Khadar opened their most recent location in Federal Way in March, and previously announced plans to open a Tacoma Mall-area location. Their first site opened a year ago in Frederickson. Permitting for the Tacoma site at 4201 S. Steele St., Suite C on Monday appeared to still be in process with the city, with plans to update the site’s current sprinkler system filed this month.
▪ Avanti Apartments: The apartment site set to replace a former office building near the mall’s entrance at 4218 S. Steele St. turned in plans last August, and is listed as “awaiting resubmittal/revisions.” The estimated $22.6 million project continues to move through permitting, with its most recent filings submitted in July. Plans call for approximately 157,120 square feet of multi-family residential (179 units including eight work/live units), 43,219 square feet of structured parking (128 stalls), and 17,279 square feet of private and shared outdoor space. An LLC representing Pahlisch Asset Management, based in Bend, Oregon, purchased the property in December 2022 for $6.5 million.
Information from The News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 27, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
