Beating the Odds: Thriving Iowa Mall to Welcome 8 New Stores
It's a rough time for malls all over the nation with many struggling to attract customers and stores that will pull them in. Many have already shuttered their doors or are on that path. One mall in Iowa is bucking the trends.
Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines is red-hot. The mall, which opened 19 years ago, it at almost 100 percent capacity according to Randy Tennison, the shopping center's general manager. He told the Des Moines Register, "Jordan Creek is definitely thriving right now... We have great restaurants, we have the movie theatre, we have events around the lake so it's kind of an all-inclusive entertainment location."
That's not all. The largest shopping complex in Iowa and 4th-largest in the Midwest, Jordan Creek has an incredible 156 businesses. That includes 26 restaurants that vary from Zombie Burger to P.F. Chang's, Joe's Crab Shack, and the Cheesecake Factory. I mean, c'mon, I'd make that drive just for the food. Oh, and a Dave & Buster's is coming in 2023.
According to the Des Moines Register, Jordan Creek will welcome Von Maur as an anchor store on November 3. Von Maur is relocating from Valley West Mall, which is permanently closing. They'll be taking over a former Younkers store that's currently being renovated at Jordan Creek.
Tavern Grill, "home of the build your own burgers, pizzas, and salads," will also be opening at Jordan Creek Town Center this fall.
Jordan Creek is also welcoming a GNC store, Lovesac Designed for Life Furniture Company, Kids Empire, and Blue Zoo ("More Than an Aquarium, More Than a Zoo) are also on their way.
Perhaps the biggest news of all is something that Jordan Creek Town Center can't reveal just yet. The mall is relocating three stores to make room for a national retailer that will be taking over five leased spots. They should be moving in by mid-October but what that retailer is hasn't yet been revealed.