From Department Stores to Dining Halls: How Food is Saving the American Mall

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – October 20, 2026 – For decades, the structural blueprint of the American shopping mall was dictated by the department store. Towering, windowless monoliths anchored the ends of sprawling corridors, acting as the undisputed gravitational centers of retail. Today, that gravity is shifting. The scent of perfume counters is being replaced by the aroma of sizzling wagyu and wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, marking a profound evolution in how commercial real estate operates.

Macerich, a major real estate investment trust managing 39 million square feet of retail space, is aggressively accelerating this transition. By systematically replacing fading apparel anchors with high-profile, first-to-market culinary concepts, the company is attempting to future-proof its Class A properties. From introducing a massive Eataly marketplace to the Washington, D.C. region to bringing Michelin-recognized soup dumplings to Arizona, the landlord is orchestrating a structural pivot that prioritizes shared human experience over standard transactional retail.

Courting the Experience-Hungry Consumer

The driving force behind this leasing momentum is a fundamental demographic shift. The modern consumer, armed with the infinite inventory of the internet in their pocket, no longer needs to visit a physical center simply to acquire goods. To get them off the couch, landlords must offer something that cannot be digitized: a tangible, sensory experience.

Recent foot-traffic data underscores the success of this strategy. According to location analytics firm Placer.ai, indoor mall visits increased by 5.0% year-over-year in August 2026, accompanied by a notable rise in average visit duration. Industry analysts attribute this directly to the growing integration of dining, attractions, and placemaking within retail environments.

This trend is particularly pronounced among younger demographics. Real estate research from CBRE indicates that 33% of Generation Z consumers explicitly want to eat as part of a shopping outing. For these shoppers, the meal is not a break from retail; it is the primary destination, with the surrounding stores acting as ancillary entertainment.

"The strongest restaurant brands are looking for top-drawing locations where they can become part of the destination, not simply occupy a space," said Guy Mercurio, Vice President of National Restaurant Leasing at Macerich. "Our portfolio gives restaurants access to high-quality markets at properties where dining, retail and entertainment work together to drive traffic and increase dwell time. That is helping us attract both established global names and distinctive emerging concepts."

A Blueprint of Culinary Anchors

The physical manifestation of this strategy is currently unfolding across several of the country's most prominent retail properties. At Scottsdale Fashion Square in Arizona, a luxury powerhouse that has long hosted heavyweights like Nobu and Ocean 44, the culinary roster has rapidly expanded. Since September 2025, the property has added the seafood and steak concept CATCH, the highly sought-after Taiwanese brand Din Tai Fung, a new American brasserie called Society Swan, and Telefèric Barcelona, marking the Spanish tapas concept's first U.S. location outside of California.

In Northern Virginia, Tysons Corner Center is undergoing a similar transformation. Following the June 2026 opening of a sprawling 17,000-square-foot Maggiano's Little Italy, the property secured a lease for the region's first Eataly. Slated to open in the fall of 2027, the two-level Italian marketplace will feature seated restaurants, quick-service counters, and artisanal retail, effectively serving as a modern, food-centric anchor tenant. A dedicated Din Tai Fung is also committed to the property.

The shift is not limited to enclosed malls. At Chandler Fashion Center in Arizona, the real estate trust is actively redeveloping an outdoor district entirely centered around dining and entertainment. This includes the July 2026 opening of a 66,000-square-foot Seafood City—a massive Filipino supermarket and food hall—alongside upcoming locations for La Popular Cocina Mexicana and the all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu concept Wagyu House.

Furthermore, the operator's development pipeline includes a massive overhaul at FlatIron Crossing in Broomfield, Colorado. The project, dubbed HiFi, is a 25-acre live-stay-eat-play destination attached to the enclosed mall. Set to open in phases beginning in 2027, it will feature concepts like Memoir, Blue Sushi Sake Grill, Shake Shack, and a 40,000-square-foot eatertainment venue called Pindustry.

The High-Stakes Financial Gamble

While the addition of cult-favorite food brands paints a rosy picture of bustling, revitalized community hubs, the financial mechanics behind these transformations are complex and capital-intensive. Transitioning a space from a traditional apparel retailer to a high-end restaurant requires massive infrastructure changes, including specialized electrical grids, industrial plumbing, and commercial ventilation systems.

To attract top-tier culinary talent, landlords must offer substantial tenant improvement allowances. Financial disclosures reveal that the company is spending heavily to facilitate these build-outs, projecting an average annual redevelopment spend of $125 million to $150 million across its portfolio. The FlatIron Crossing project alone carries an estimated price tag between $245 million and $265 million.

Despite the high upfront costs, commercial real estate experts view this as a necessary gamble. By securing long-term leases with high-grossing food and beverage operators, landlords can significantly boost their net operating income. The strategy appears to be paying dividends; the company recently reported a signed-not-open pipeline of $124 million in future contracted revenue, projecting a 6.5% compound annual growth rate for net operating income through 2028.

Crucially, these culinary anchors act as a rising tide that lifts all boats. When a consumer visits a property specifically to dine at a premium restaurant, their dwell time increases exponentially, directly benefiting the adjacent specialty retail and luxury tenants. It is a calculated ecosystem design meant to insulate the physical property from the continued encroachment of e-commerce.

Weathering the Macroeconomic Storm

Executing a restaurant-heavy leasing strategy is not without its macroeconomic risks. The hospitality sector continues to grapple with persistent labor shortages, wage pressures, and volatile food inflation. When operating margins tighten, restaurant expansion plans are often the first casualty.

To mitigate this risk, the leasing focus has been deliberately skewed toward premium, experiential brands rather than standard fast-casual operators. Brands like Eataly and Din Tai Fung possess immense pricing power and fiercely loyal customer bases, providing a buffer against economic headwinds. Furthermore, by integrating these operators into affluent, densely populated markets, the landlord ensures a consistent baseline of high-income foot traffic capable of absorbing premium menu prices.

The era of the passive shopping center is definitively over. As the retail landscape continues to fracture, the properties that survive will be those that successfully transform themselves from mere points of transaction into vital hubs of community interaction. By trading the department store for the dining hall, the industry is betting that the most reliable way to a consumer's wallet is, quite literally, through their stomach.