Old Magnets Just Don't Attract

(By Sean Kelly for The Washington Post)

"You could, without being bored, have three separate events going on without ever leaving the mall," said Framson, who brokered the deal with the movie theater.

But alternative anchors are not without risks. Full-service casual dining restaurants such as Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's are among the most sought-after tenants. But growth in the restaurant industry has been sluggish this year. Last week, Cheesecake Factory announced that second-quarter sales in restaurants open at least a year were down 0.8 percent. P.F. Chang's comparable sales were down 1 percent in the second quarter.

Analysts attribute the slowdown to rising gas prices and interest rates. Thomas Morabito of Susquehanna Financial Group said consumers are still eating out but may be cutting back on appetizers and desserts or skipping that extra beer. They're also saving money by trading down from full-service restaurants to quick-dining options such as Chipotle and Panera Bread.

"There's clearly consumer weakness being seen by these companies," Morabito said. But he added that "we believe it's short term in nature."

Supermarkets also come with a set of challenges. Wegmans has been looking at several mall anchor positions, as well as other nontraditional sites, as it seeks to expand along the East Coast. Ralph A. Uttaro, Wegmans senior vice president for real estate development, said shopping malls are attractive because they usually are easily accessible and draw plenty of traffic.

But those benefits could backfire during the holiday season, when malls are mobbed. Who wants to carry a bag full of groceries across the mall just to get to the car?

Malls "are really a challenge, which makes conventional supermarkets not the most competitive use," Uttaro said. But "that doesn't mean it can't be done."

General Growth Properties Inc., for example, has added Whole Foods as an anchor for one of its malls in Hawaii, said Bob Michaels, the mall developer's president and chief operating officer.

"I think the consumer has so many choices that anything you can do that's a little bit different is something that's appealing," he said.

The company has revitalized the Mall in Columbia in Howard County by adding a movie theater and, most recently, a Cheesecake Factory. Waits at the restaurant can hit two hours, and the parking lot is constantly full. And General Growth is considering adding three or four more restaurants to the center.

Michaels declined to specify how other retailers in the mall have fared after the movie theater and Cheesecake Factory were built, saying it is still too early to tell. But he said the Woodlands Mall near Houston saw sales increase by $100 per square foot and traffic jump by double-digit percentages after the company added a wing of open-air retail and five restaurants surrounding a lake.

That is the type of success that Fair Oaks is hoping for when its Cheesecake Factory opens in November. Michelle Yass said her friends are already making plans to go.

"Everyone's waiting," she said.