| Palm Beach Post
What’s in store for stores and restaurants this year?
From Rosemary Square in West Palm Beach to Mizner Park in Boca Raton, new shops and eateries have opened, or will open in the coming months, as the retail industry tries to regain its footing despite the ongoing pandemic.
Many leases were in the works prior to the pandemic’s arrival last March. Other deals were struck during the pandemic.
All face a world where customers are eager to venture out of their homes to eat outside, or shop in a store that isn’t part of an enclosed, indoor mall. Shopping centers that are open-air, rather than enclosed malls, have an edge, retail experts said.
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Two categories of retailers are coming to the market.
One is comprised of new stores or restaurants offering unique brands or experiences. Often these stores started out as online-only retailers but are now moving to have a physical presence for customers who want to shop in person.
The other category includes retailers that cater to personal pampering, said Lindsey Alexander, vice president of leasing at Fimiani Development Corp. in Boca Raton.
“If you look around Boca, the businesses that are able to emerge first out of COVID are the tenants that focus on people spending money on themselves,” she said.
At West Palm Beach’s Rosemary Square, formerly CityPlace, three new shops that started out as online-only just opened.
What makes these stores interesting is that they were brought to Rosemary Square by a company called Leap Inc., which brings e-commerce stores to physical locations. These e-commerce stores, called “digital natives,” use Leap to lease, build and operate the stores.
It’s a clever concept that is new to Rosemary Square but has been used in markets elsewhere. Each brand is a unique player to the market, but the space can be changed to another brand, said Amish Tolia, co-founder and co-chief executive of Leap.
The Leap-backed tenants at Rosemary Square are Faherty, featuring men’s and women’s clothing; Solid & Striped, a designer swimwear and apparel collection; and mint&rose, a contemporary shoe and accessory brand featuring products made in Spain.
Bringing new brands to Rosemary Square was a plan already in place prior to the pandemic, said Gopal Rajegowda, partner with Related Southeast, part of New York-based Related Cos., which developed Rosemary Square.
Some traditional retail stores, such as Macy’s, closed in 2017 as online shopping hurt store sales. But many stores saw sales flatten even more during the pandemic, as people switched to buying clothes online or stopped buying clothes needed for work or formal gatherings.
Photos: CityPlace through the years
“We knew retail was evolving because of the rise of e-commerce,” Rajegowda said. “We were pivoting pre-COVID, and we got ahead of it.”
Indeed, Rosemary Square already was working to bring in home furnishings stores selling casual, athletic clothing and unusual retailers. Those stores either have opened or will open in the coming months.
An example is lululemon, which opened at the center last year.
On the home furnishings side, West Elm, a boutique home furnishing and accessories store, will open this summer. And the funky Urban Outfitters clothing and home accessories also will open in the coming months.
Another newcomer is Lucid Motors, the electric car company, set to open this year in the former Mellow Mushroom restaurant space on Okeechobee Boulevard.
As for restaurants, there’s a host of new eateries, with plenty of outdoor seating to accommodate diners who want to avoid indoor space where the contagious coronavirus can easily spread.
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One eatery, Pura Vida, opened last month. The restaurant, which features organic, healthy food and juices, has five locations in Miami-Dade County but selected Rosemary Square for its first spot outside the county, Rajegowda said.
Other healthy-fare restaurants coming to Rosemary Square are Planta, a plant-based restaurant and True Food Kitchen, specializing in health-conscious and seasonally inspired fare.
Also opening soon: Bonito’s, serving tacos and tostadas, and Barrio, serving classic Latin neighborhood street food
Rajegowda said Rosemary Square is 85% leased, and there’s continued interest in the property from prospective tenants.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions over the last three to four months with some of the best local and national brands in the retail and restaurant category,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Boca Raton, several outdoor shopping centers are welcoming new retailers.
As previously reported, new restaurants coming to Mizner Park this year are American Social, a a popular South Florida restaurant and bar, in the former Truluck’s Seafood, Steak and Crab House space; and Calaveras Cantina, which will open this spring in the space formerly occupied by Junior’s Restaurant and Cheesecake.
New retail stores are taking space, too.
Egg New York, a boutique retailer of children’s clothing, will open on Feb. 1. The New York-based store, which bills itself as the largest independent seller of premium children’s clothing, has a strong presence online. It also has several stores, mostly in upscale cities in the Northeast.
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Edward Harrison, chief executive of Egg New York, said Egg New York previously had a location at the Boca Raton Resort & Club but is opening at Mizner Park because the hotel is closed for a lengthy renovation. Harrison said he liked the family-friendly environment of Mizner Park, which features Sloan’s Ice Cream and the It’Sugar candy store.
“And in this day and age, an outdoor center really does provide a positive opportunity to (interact) with customers in all circumstances,” Harrison said, alluding to the pandemic.
So Harrison not only brought his store to Mizner Park, he also brought his family to Palm Beach County, too.
“We were already bullish on South Florida, and in fact, I’m here for the near future,” he said.
Another store coming in to Mizner Park is Anna Zuckerman Luxury. The store, set to open at the end of the month, sells jewelry mostly costing less than $200.
The deal was struck during the pandemic, Zuckerman said, and Mizner Park was chosen because it’s an upscale place where people like to shop. The brand already is in more than 165 retail outlets across six countries as well as online. But Mizner Park is the company’s first stand-alone store.
Zuckerman said women need a little pampering, a reward for the hard times of the past year.
“A little sparkle goes a long way right now,” Zuckerman said.
Indeed, Duvall O’Steen, a publicist who specializes in jewelry and upscale brands, said jewelry sold well during the holidays because people didn’t spend money on travel last year but still wanted to reward themselves, or others, with a treat.
Also coming to Mizner Park is entertainment: Strike 10, an upscale bowling alley that’s been in the works for a long time. The location will open this summer in the former Uncle Julio’s restaurant space.
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And for one month, starting Jan. 21, Mizner Park will host a pop-up store called Shop EFG. The New York designer store sells couture fashion for women and men at affordable prices.
Even as Mizner Park brings in new tenants, The Blue Fish restaurant, which was sued for eviction last year in December, has closed.
At the Boca Center in central Boca Raton, health and wellness tenants moved into the center during the pandemic. They include Peter’s Place Hair & Color, led by veteran hair stylist Peter Coppola; and Namaste Nail Sanctuary, an upscale nail salon; and Agalia Jewelers, a local jeweler opening in March.
Boca Center features a large outdoor center patio, where restaurants such as Rocco’s Tacos, Tap 42 Craft Kitchen & Bar and Copperfish Kitchen can offer plenty of outdoor seating.
Copperfish is an upscale seafood restaurant that opened just as the pandemic began last year. Since restaurants were allowed to reopen after the government-ordered business shutdown, Copperfish has become popular with diners seeking something “fresh and new,” Alexander said.
But as new tenants cycle in, other stalwarts go out.
The venerable Guy La Ferrera men’s clothing store, a fixture at Boca Center for nearly 30 years, closed in December.
And Brio Tuscan Grille, a national chain, closed last year as part of a company-wide reduction in stores. But Brio’s corner space, with large indoor seating and a massive outdoor patio, won’t be empty for long. Five restaurants are vying for the space, Alexander said.
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Farther west, in suburban Boca Raton, the newly opened Uptown Boca is enjoying success as an open-air shopping, dining and residential complex.
The main retailer, REI, a sporting goods retailer from Seattle, opened in November and has been popular with shoppers seeking outdoor equipment and apparel, said Brian Schmier, chief executive of Schmier Property Group, one of the project’s partners.
Eateries such as Just Salad and BurgerFi are open, and another restaurant, Olive U Mediterranean Grill, is set to open soon.
Schmier isn’t certain the retail trends that emerged during the pandemic will remain once a vaccine is widely distributed.
Sure, people have gotten used to working in shorts at the office or sweatpants at home, he said. But as the vaccine rolls out and people eventually return to the office, “I suspect the pendulum might swing back toward less casual,” Schmier said.
He said it could take a a year or two for consumers to return to buying more upscale clothes.
Nevertheless, every so often, it feels good to return to the old days when dressing up was a thing.
During the holidays, Schmier said he had a small gathering with immediate fam
ily and decided, for the first time in months, to don a bit of formal wear: “I threw on a sport coat, and it was fun.”
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