The former Carson Pirie Scott department store at Yorktown Mall is being redeveloped into residential and retail space.
Yorktown Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot shopping center in the Chicago suburb of Lombard, is adding two new restaurants to its lineup.
Local craft burger and sandwich shop Empire Burgers + Brews and Ancho & Agave, a taco and tequila eatery, are both expected to open in the shopping center in 2024. They join the center's most recent addition, Mochii Donut, which opened on July 24.
The new restaurants will be part of a new development at the property that will include new multifamily buildings, a park and retail.
Anchored by Von Maur and JCPenney, Yorktown Center is one of several Chicago-area shopping centers working to adapt to today's evolving retail landscape.
Josh Dean, Yorktown Center general manager, said the new restaurants were just the first of several announcements that the shopping center will be making in the coming months.
"We're looking to add different types of uses. Experiential restaurants and food uses are obviously what are going to draw new customers to the center and are things to complement the multifamily additions," he told the Chicago Business Journal. "You're going to see a lot more nontraditional retail, as well as options for food and dining and entertainment."
Yorktown Center has seen increased leasing traction since the multifamily development was announced, and since the center reopened its doors post-Covid, customer length of stay has increased.
"There seemed to be a mass exodus from the city into the suburbs, and I feel like the people that have moved out to the suburbs are still looking for that one-stop shop city feel where you can get everything in one visit," Dean said. "So what we're trying to create is almost like a smaller version of a city where you can come in and you have your dining options, your entertainment services, and we're looking to add grocery and different types of uses."
He added that he expects more suburban centers around the country will look to make similar changes in order to remain become viable for future generations.
Original Story HERE