The Christiana Fashion Center is filling in the gaps in its initial phase of development.
Slated to open later this year are a Starbuck’s and Qdoba, a fast-casual Mexican food chain and a rival to Chipotle. Chipotle has a location inside the Christiana Mall food court.
Also adding to the fast food mix will be Jersey Mike’s, which recently opened a franchise location on the south end of Newark. On the retail side, Famous Footwear is preparing for the opening of a store.
Also going up last week were the walls for a larger store or stores. Speculation has centered on stores at Center Pointe Plaza across from Christiana Hospital. Earlier, Best Buy consolidated three stores, including its Center Pointe
Earlier, Best Buy consolidated three stores, including its Center Pointe location into a new store at the Fashion Center. Best Buy later opened an outlet store at Centre Point.
The center has anchors that include Raymour and Flanagan, Saks off 5th, Marshals/Home Goods, Best Buy, Nordstrom Rack, DSW, outdoor retailer REI and shoe big box store DSW. Other tenants include Ulta cosmetics and Jared, a large jewelry store.
Stores that opened over the past year include:
- Kirklands, a home décor retailer
- European Wax Center
- Massage Envy
- Carters, a children’s clothing store.
- Hair Cuttery, a national hair care chain.
- Lane Bryant
- Talbot’
- Vision Works
Also under construction is Chili’s, a fast-casual chain that closed a location a short distance away from the mall. Their former site became a Greene Turtle sports bar and restaurant. Another restaurant site with a patio is listed on the site plan but does not identify a tenant.
A site plan from Feb. 2017 does show a site for Harvest, a restaurant featuring farm to table foods and a wine bar. Harvest is the focus of regional restaurateur Dave Magrogan, who operates a Doc Magrogan’ s Oyster House at Dover Downs and operated a Kildaire’s pub-restaurant on Main Street in Newark for many years.
Harvest has a half dozen locations and is planning three more. The Newark site is not mentioned on the company’s website. There was no comment from Harvest on its plans and the site does not appear on later plans.
The Fashion Center is already the home of Ted’s Montana Grill, a restaurant featuring bison; Zoup!, Shake Shack and Zoe’s Kitchen.
Over the years, preliminary reports on the site plan have included a bowling alley/entertainment complex, multiplex theater complex and other possible tenants. Residents have been looking for an upscale grocer like Wegmans or Whole Foods.
Wegmans has ruled out any immediate expansion beyond its store near the Delaware line in Glen Mills and Whole Foods has been struggling with sluggish sales, but may be expanding again with the pending merger with online giant Amazon.
On the entertainment side, General Growth Properties’ Christiana Mall was able to secure a Cinemark theater at its periphery as well as the popular Cabela’s outdoor chain.
Christiana Mall, thanks to its location in a state without a sales tax, has one of the highest sales per square foot figures in the nation.
The Fashion Center might be able to snare some mall tenants as leases expire. One example is Talbot’s, which operated a store for many years at Christiana Mall, but later vacated and now has a location in the Fashion Center.
Marketing the space in the Fashion Center is MSC Retail, a company with offices in Philadephia and New York City.
