Grocery tenants continue to be highly sought after by retail owners as a great way to fill space. Owners and landlords like grocery stores since they bring all-day traffic to the property and typically tend to offer reliability, even during uncertain economic times. As mentioned in a recent Crittenden Report article, grocery-anchored centers also are extremely attractive to all lender types as a great way to get money out the door.
Breslin Realty announced the recent opening of Trader Joe’s newest Long Island store in a newly constructed 13,500-s.f. building in Miller Place N.Y. Breslin Realty has a long history with Trader Joe’s through leasing or building all of their Long Island locations, as well as their store in Yorktown Heights. Miller Place marks the company’s eighth location on Long Island.
Trader Joe’s also signed a 16,975-s.f. retail lease in northwest Oklahoma City for its first grocery store in the state capital and fourth in the state. The space is located within the 155,000-s.f. Rockwell-Northwest Shopping Center. Trader Joe’s will join Hobby Lobby and Burlington as the center’s anchor tenants. Blanton Property Co. represented the California-based grocer in the lease negotiations.
Trader Joe’s opened a new 13,750-s.f. grocery store at The Avenue Peachtree City, an open-air shopping center located in Peachtree City, Ga., a southern suburb of Atlanta. The store represents the first location in the city for the California-based grocer. JLL manages The Avenue Peachtree City on behalf of the owner, Memphis-based Poag Development Group. Other retailers operating at the property include Kendra Scott, Lovesac, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Motivate Studios, Rack Room Shoes, Sephora, Ted’s Montana Grill, Warby Parker and 9292 Korean BBQ.
Whole Foods Market recently opened a 47,918-s.f. grocery store in the northern Dallas suburb of McKinney, Texas. The store offers more than 600 local items that are sourced from more than 120 suppliers in Texas and neighboring states. Whole Foods Market also recently debuted a 42,000-s.f. store in Cheshire, Conn., located roughly midway between Hartford and New Haven.
Whole Foods Market also opened a new 39,500-s.f. grocery store in Rogers, Ark., last month. The store represents the third Arkansas location for the Austin-based grocer. The store will anchor Summit Marketplace, a mixed-use development by Atlanta-based SJC Ventures that also features the Vista at Summit apartments. Other tenants include Woof Gang Bakery and Grooming, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Veterinary Emergency Group, Chase Bank, E’lan Nails and PJ’s Coffee. The new Whole Foods will offer more than 120 different products sourced from Arkansas and its surrounding states, including coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab and craft beer from Ozark Beer Co.
Torburn Partners announced plans for a Whole Foods Market at Sarasota Square, the redevelopment of the former Sarasota Square Mall in Sarasota, Fla. The Chicago-based developer recently signed leases with Whole Foods and HomeSense to anchor the first phase of the 96-acre mixed-use project. Whole Foods will occupy a 35,828-s.f. grocery store and HomeSense will occupy a 24,214-s.f. location. The retail portion is under construction, and the multifamily component will break ground in first quarter of 2026. Full plans for Sarasota Square include 1,200 luxury residential units; 530,000 s.f. of retail, restaurant and commercial space. Other committed tenants include Chipotle Mexican Grill, CAVA, Joe & The Juice and Charles Schwab, which will open a 5,163-s.f. bank branch.
Also in the Sunshine State, Gateway Jax signed a lease with Publix to anchor Pearl Square, a 1.5 million-s.f. mixed-use development underway in downtown Jacksonville, Fla. The new Publix will span 31,000 s.f. in a building that will also include a 15-story residential tower with 250 apartment units and 400 parking spaces. Gateway Jax and Corner Lot are expected to begin construction on the grocery store this summer. Colliers handles the retail leasing assignment at Pearl Square on behalf of Gateway Jax. Upon completion of Pearl Square, the $2B development will comprise 1,250 residential units, approximately 200,000 s.f. of retailers and restaurants and a renovation of the 100-room Ambassador Hotel. Gateway Jax is a locally based real estate development firm sponsored by JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital.
Asian supermarket chain H Mart will open a 100,000-s.f. flagship store at Pacific Commons Shopping Center, a 1.1 million-s.f. super-regional power center located on the shore of San Francisco Bay in Fremont, Calif. The new store will introduce H Mart’s multi-level prototype, which will include a food hall with fast-casual eateries, full-service dine-in restaurants, and a bar and entertainment offerings. Construction on the development is expected to begin in late 2026. Owned by Heitman and managed by Vestar, Pacific Commons Shopping Center is home to more than 55 retailers and restaurants such as Target, T.J. Maxx, Costco, Nordstrom Rack and Sephora.
Regional grocer Weis Markets opened a 64,000-s.f. store and serves as the anchor tenant at Bayberry Town Center, a 280,000-s.f. development in Middletown, Del. The site is located within the 1,500-acre Village of Bayberry master-planned community. Blenheim Group is the master developer of Village of Bayberry.
