Following two years of renovations, Stanford Shopping Center is unveiling 45 new stores and restaurants in the space formerly occupied by the old Bloomingdale’s location. Some stores are already open for business; others will open in the coming months.
Stanford Shopping Center’s plans to revamp the now 60-year-old mall began in 2012, with a proposal to demolish Bloomingdale’s and build four new retail buildings in its place, including a “lifestyle-oriented retail complex” – as well as a fifth standalone building for the steakhouse Fleming’s. The planned changes did not require any overall expansion of the 1.4 million-square-foot outdoor mall, which is leased from the University by the Simon Property Group.
A smaller Bloomingdale’s has reopened in a different area.
The new stores will include a number of fashion outlets, including All Saints, Spagnoli, UNOde50 and the sustainability-focused clothing store Amour Vert. The mall’s food offerings will expand to include Minamoto Kitchoan, which sells “wagashi,” or traditional Japanese desserts such as mochi; the vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurant True Food Kitchen; California chain Tender Greens; and Pink Posy, which specializes in cakes and other baked goods.
In addition to adding new options for customers, the center has recently renovated its common areas and expanded its walkways. In August 2014 the center announced plans for a new plaza with gardens and a grassy sitting area, as well as an open-air fireplace near Louis Vuitton, set to be completed in late 2015 according to the Palo Alto Weekly.
David Contis, senior executive vice president of Simon Property Group Inc., told the San Francisco Chronicle that the new stores will continue to cater to relatively affluent communities such as Palo Alto, Atherton and Menlo Park. The shopping center’s higher-end stores include Wilkes Bashford and Tiffany & Co.
“We’re re-merchandising the tenant mix there,” Contis said, describing the area’s customers as having “an outdoorsy lifestyle – casual yet still with a demand for luxury and suits.”
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