Cheesecake Factory to join revamped Green Acres Mall
The Cheesecake Factory will be among the new tenants opening at Green Acres Mall in 2026 as part of the Valley Stream property’s redevelopment. Credit: The Macerich Co.
The Cheesecake Factory is coming to Green Acres Mall as part of the Valley Stream property’s ongoing redevelopment, which aims to attract more upscale tenants.
The eatery is expected to open in late 2026, according to a spokeswoman for the company, Alethea Rowe. She confirmed the news Thursday in an email to Newsday.
The Calabasas, California-based restaurant chain tends to open in higher-end malls and is known as a strong driver of foot traffic, analysts said.
The Cheesecake Factory at Green Acres Mall will occupy an 8,000-square-foot space on the first floor of a two-story former Kohl’s store, according to Richard Madramuthu, vice president of leasing for The Macerich Co., the Santa Monica, California-based real estate investment trust that owns the mall.
“This addition reflects our ongoing vision of Green Acres as more than just a shopping destination — it’s a vibrant community hub where people come together to shop, dine, and unwind,” Madramuthu said in a statement on Wednesday.
Last year, Macerich announced plans to redevelop the mall to attract more high-end tenants to the Sunrise Highway property.
The project will include 370,000 square feet of new development in the northeast section of the mall, including the addition of a ShopRite supermarket, and more restaurants, entertainment venues and green spaces. The former Sears and Sears Auto stores will be demolished
Incoming fast-casual eateries will include Long Island’s first Panda Express, an Asian-food eatery, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Shake Shack, Newsday reported earlier this month.
The mall’s new tenants will open in phases beginning in 2026 and ending by fall 2027, Macerich said. Demolition work began this month for the redevelopment, which is estimated to cost between $130 million and $150 million, the company said.
The mall and an adjacent shopping center, Green Acres Commons, total 2.06 million square feet on a 100-acre campus.
The mall was built in 1956 and bought by Macerich in 2013. Its largest tenants are Macy’s, Primark, Uniqlo, H&M and Old Navy.
In 2016, Macerich built Green Acres Commons, whose tenants include Dick’s Sporting Goods, HomeGoods and Aldi.
A Walmart Supercenter is also on the property.
Green Acres is a strong mall that generates $1 billion in retail sales, according to Macerich, which declined to disclose the property's vacancy rate. But the “tired mall” needed a refresh, Madramuthu told Newsday in mid-May.
The only sit-down casual restaurants with table service inside the mall are TGI Fridays and Applebee’s. Freestanding restaurants outside the mall include Olive Garden, Hook & Reel, Red Lobster, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Foot traffic at malls is declining amid growing retail competition online, but restaurants are increasingly the biggest drivers of consumer visits to malls. The Cheesecake Factory topped the list of the 25 most-popular mall brands, according to an October report from Yelp, a San Francisco-based customer review platform.
Cheesecake Factory restaurants tend to operate in class A malls, “which cater to higher-end consumers/retailers. These consumers are less price sensitive and are less likely to drop trips when the economy weakens,” said Jim Sanderson, managing director and research analyst at Northcoast Research, an equity research firm in Cleveland.
Overall, casual-dining chains’ sales have been sluggish, with some chains closing hundreds of restaurants in the past few years as inflation-weary consumers cut back on spending.
The Cheesecake Factory has not been immune to issues.
The chain’s foot traffic is declining slightly but its sales are stable, mostly because it has increased its menu prices by 4% since last year, Sanderson said.
“Cheesecake Factory pricing has been able to offset labor and food cost inflation so Cheesecake Factory store margins have improved and are stronger than before COVID” pandemic that started in 2020, he said.
At its restaurants open at least one year, The Cheesecake Factory is maintaining sales growth of about 1%, he said.
The Cheesecake Factory Inc. has 355 restaurants in North America, including 215 Cheesecake Factory locations and 45 North Italia eateries. There are four Cheesecake Factory locations on Long Island.
The Cheesecake Factory is coming to Green Acres Mall as part of the Valley Stream property’s ongoing redevelopment, which aims to attract more upscale tenants.
The eatery is expected to open in late 2026, according to a spokeswoman for the company, Alethea Rowe. She confirmed the news Thursday in an email to Newsday.
The Calabasas, California-based restaurant chain tends to open in higher-end malls and is known as a strong driver of foot traffic, analysts said.
The Cheesecake Factory at Green Acres Mall will occupy an 8,000-square-foot space on the first floor of a two-story former Kohl’s store, according to Richard Madramuthu, vice president of leasing for The Macerich Co., the Santa Monica, California-based real estate investment trust that owns the mall.
“This addition reflects our ongoing vision of Green Acres as more than just a shopping destination — it’s a vibrant community hub where people come together to shop, dine, and unwind,” Madramuthu said in a statement on Wednesday.
Last year, Macerich announced plans to redevelop the mall to attract more high-end tenants to the Sunrise Highway property.
The project will include 370,000 square feet of new development in the northeast section of the mall, including the addition of a ShopRite supermarket, and more restaurants, entertainment venues and green spaces. The former Sears and Sears Auto stores will be demolished
Incoming fast-casual eateries will include Long Island’s first Panda Express, an Asian-food eatery, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Shake Shack, Newsday reported earlier this month.
The mall’s new tenants will open in phases beginning in 2026 and ending by fall 2027, Macerich said. Demolition work began this month for the redevelopment, which is estimated to cost between $130 million and $150 million, the company said.
The mall and an adjacent shopping center, Green Acres Commons, total 2.06 million square feet on a 100-acre campus.
The mall was built in 1956 and bought by Macerich in 2013. Its largest tenants are Macy’s, Primark, Uniqlo, H&M and Old Navy.
In 2016, Macerich built Green Acres Commons, whose tenants include Dick’s Sporting Goods, HomeGoods and Aldi.
A Walmart Supercenter is also on the property.
Green Acres is a strong mall that generates $1 billion in retail sales, according to Macerich, which declined to disclose the property's vacancy rate. But the “tired mall” needed a refresh, Madramuthu told Newsday in mid-May.
The only sit-down casual restaurants with table service inside the mall are TGI Fridays and Applebee’s. Freestanding restaurants outside the mall include Olive Garden, Hook & Reel, Red Lobster, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Giving malls a boost
Foot traffic at malls is declining amid growing retail competition online, but restaurants are increasingly the biggest drivers of consumer visits to malls. The Cheesecake Factory topped the list of the 25 most-popular mall brands, according to an October report from Yelp, a San Francisco-based customer review platform.
Cheesecake Factory restaurants tend to operate in class A malls, “which cater to higher-end consumers/retailers. These consumers are less price sensitive and are less likely to drop trips when the economy weakens,” said Jim Sanderson, managing director and research analyst at Northcoast Research, an equity research firm in Cleveland.
Overall, casual-dining chains’ sales have been sluggish, with some chains closing hundreds of restaurants in the past few years as inflation-weary consumers cut back on spending.
The Cheesecake Factory has not been immune to issues.
The chain’s foot traffic is declining slightly but its sales are stable, mostly because it has increased its menu prices by 4% since last year, Sanderson said.
“Cheesecake Factory pricing has been able to offset labor and food cost inflation so Cheesecake Factory store margins have improved and are stronger than before COVID” pandemic that started in 2020, he said.
At its restaurants open at least one year, The Cheesecake Factory is maintaining sales growth of about 1%, he said.
The Cheesecake Factory Inc. has 355 restaurants in North America, including 215 Cheesecake Factory locations and 45 North Italia eateries. There are four Cheesecake Factory locations on Long Island.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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