REAL ESTATE

Michaels coming to Mill Creek Mall in New Jersey
New Rochelle, N.Y. – Welco Realty Inc. has leased 21,500-sq.-ft. of retailer space to Michaels Stores Inc. at The Mill Creek Mall at Harmon Meadow in Secaucus, N.J. Jerry Welkis, a principal of Welco Realty, represented the landlord, Hartz Mountain Industries.

The tenant was represented by Jamie Sackeim of The Dartmouth Company. Other tenants in the center are PetSmart and Marshall’s/Home Goods. Adjacent tenants include Bob’s Furniture, Sports Authority, T.J.Maxx, Toys / Babies R Us, and Kohl’s.
Outlet mall coming to Orange County in October
San Clemente, Calif. – The Outlets at San Clemente announces its grand opening coming in October. The lifestyle center will be designed in the style of a Spanish village and offer up to 70 retailers at opening.

Ikea on the move

St. Louis -- Ikea is expanding in the Midwest.

The chain will open a store in St. Louis on Sept. 30. It will be the Swedish company’s first store in Missouri, and 41st in the United States.

The 380,000-sq.-ft. St. Louis Ikea is being built on 21 acres along Interstate-64 at Vandeventer Avenue. It will house Missouri’s largest rooftop solar array, consistent with the Ikea renewable energy presence at 90% of its U.S. locations.
Corner Bakery Café taking off in airports

Dallas - Corner Bakery Cafe has found another route to help it reach its goal of doubling its national footprint in the next two years.

The company, which operates more than 185 company-owned and franchised locations around the country, said it plans to expand in the nation's busiest airports. The chain is basing the plans on success of its Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport location in Atlanta.
Bigger is better for this furniture retailer

Warren, Mich. -- At least one retailer is bucking the current smaller store trend by opening its biggest location to date.

Art Van Furniture will open a two-story, 112,000-sq.-ft. store showroom in Downers Grove, Ill., on July 30. It will not only be the largest Art Van Furniture store among the company's 90 Midwest locations, but also and the largest furniture store in Chicagoland.
Johnny Rockets sets course for Poland

Aliso Viejo, Calif. - Johnny Rockets is expanding into Poland, with its first Polish location expected in Warsaw in early 2016. The casual dining chain has reached a development agreement with HDS Polska Group to build and operate 10 Johnny Rockets restaurants during the next 10 years.
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HDS Polska Group is a subsidiary of publicly-traded company Lagardere Services that operates a network of more than 800 outlets in the Polish market including convenience stores, coffee shops and full service restaurants.
Gap moving into Times Square in a big way

New York -- It’s official: Toys “R” Us is moving out of Times Square and Gap is moving in, but not just with one store.

Gap is planning to open two separate flagships, one for its namesake brand the other for Old Navy, in the space now occupied by Toys “R” Us.

“We're pleased to confirm our plans to construct our newest Gap and Old Navy flagship stores in one of one of the world's most well-known locations – Times Square,” the company said.
Another brand is going brick-and-mortar

New York -- Put your dukes up: Everlast Worldwide is going to open physical stores.

Everlast Worldwide, a global leader in the design, manufacturing, licensing and marketing of authentic boxing equipment and apparel, will open its first-ever U.S. stores this summer. The company, whose roots date back to 1910, will open three locations in Florida, at Westfield Broward Mall in Plantation, Pembroke Lakes Mall in Pembroke Pines, according to Licensemag.com.
Bass Pro Shops on expansion track

New York -- Bass Pro Shops will soon be fishing for new customers in Florida. The fast-growing chain is on track to open its 10th location, in Tampa Bay.

Read more here.
Another online player to open physical stores

New York – Online jewelry retailer BaubleBar is making the leap to brick-and-mortar.

Launched in 2011 by two former investment bankers with Harvard MBAs, the retailer will open its first-ever, permanent brick-and-mortar location, a 1,200-sq.-ft. shop at Roosevelt Field Mall, in Garden City, New York. The mall is one of the nation’s largest shopping centers.