What’s cooking at Irvine Company Retail Properties?

The developer and manager of more than 40 open-air retail destinations, best known for its Southern California shopping centers like Fashion Island, Irvine Spectrum Center and The Market Place, has been elevating its guest experiences with a smorgasbord of new tenant arrivals, including a significant number of food and beverage businesses and fashion brands. Irvine’s strategy capitalizes on a market with high per capita spending, estimated at $85,000 to $110,000 per household annually in Orange County, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At Fashion Island in Newport Beach, new tenants this year include Ralph Lauren and Ralph’s Coffee, Rothy’s and Telefèric Barcelona, which serves Spanish cuisine and tapas set amid a Mediterranean-inspired decor. Levain Bakery, known for its cookies, is coming soon to the center, as is contemporary fashion brand Varley.
 
At the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, Din Tai Fung, where you can watch how dumplings are made and feast on noodle and vegetable dishes, recently opened, as did La La Land Coffee, with its signature yellow coffee cups.

And at Westcliff Plaza, also situated in Newport Beach, Whole Foods Market is moving in, serving a selection of natural and organic foods.

In the following email Q&A, Ken Gillett, president of Irvine Company Retail Properties, talks about his company’s buildup in food and beverage over the past 10 to 15 years and its impact on shopping destinations. Irvine Company Retail Properties is part of the privately held, Newport Beach-based Irvine Company, which has a portfolio of more than 590 office buildings, 125 apartment communities with 65,000 units, one coastal resort, three golf courses and five marinas, as well as the 40 plus retail destinations, all told spanning 129 million square feet.

WWD: How much has the F&B offering at Irvine Properties been growing as a percentage of leasable space?

Ken Gillett: Food and beverage has become an increasingly important part of the overall merchandising mix across our portfolio over the past decade, serving as a modern-day anchor that drives traffic, increases dwell time and enhances the overall guest experience. As our regional centers continue to evolve as integrated shopping, lifestyle and entertainment destinations, dining has become a key component alongside best-in-class retail, wellness and entertainment concepts. We’ve thoughtfully expanded and elevated F&B offerings as consumer behavior has evolved and demand for experiential retail has grown.

WWD: Did Irvine start focusing on F&B at a certain point in time?

K.G.: We began placing a greater emphasis on F&B in the early- to mid-2010s. Consumers increasingly wanted places where they could shop, dine, gather and spend time throughout the day and evening. That evolution has continued well beyond traditional dining. Today, our centers are curated to offer a complete night-out experience, blending innovative retail, entertainment, wellness and hospitality-driven F&B concepts.

WWD: What are some of the hottest F&B brands in your portfolio?

K.G.: Our portfolio includes a strong mix of nationally recognized brands, emerging concepts and locally loved operators. Some of the brands generating strong guest engagement include Din Tai Fung, Mastro’s Ocean Club, Javier’s, RH Ocean Grill, Ocean 48, La La Land Cafe, Habana, Orange County-based family-run Blk Dot Coffee, and brands with strong social media followings like Gram Café and Bofomofo, along with highly anticipated openings later this year including Levain Baker and Teleféric Barcelona. We’re also seeing strong momentum around experiential concepts that blur the line between dining, entertainment and hospitality, including concepts like Holey Moley Golf Club and the first U.S. Hijinx Hotel — a series of hotel-themed challenge rooms where you play, not stay — which offer a robust F&B program as consumers increasingly seek immersive social experiences in additional to traditional dining.

WWD: Has F&B been underplayed in the past?

K.G.: Historically, many shopping centers treated dining as an ancillary use that primarily supported retail. Today, that mindset has changed dramatically across the industry. F&B is now viewed as a major traffic driver and a key component of placemaking. In many cases, guests visit specifically for dining, coffee or entertainment-driven experiences and then extend their visit into shopping, wellness or social activities. The strongest retail centers today are destinations that seamlessly combine all of those elements into one experience.

WWD: Has F&B mostly grown by taking space vacated by retailers?

K.G.: Growth comes from a combination of strategic redevelopment, remerchandising, new construction opportunities and adapting spaces to better align with evolving consumer demand. Our regional centers continue to perform strongly across categories, with some of the country’s most innovative retailers and brands. F&B is being integrated as part of a broader merchandising strategy that enhances the overall customer experience and complements retail performance.

WWD: How many new restaurants and cafés are being added this year to Irvine properties?

K.G.: We continue to actively evolve our portfolio with new restaurant and café openings across multiple centers this year. In the past 12 months, we have welcomed 30 new dining concepts ranging from chef-driven restaurants and cafés to experiential hospitality concepts. We are seeing strong momentum in both full-service dining and quick-service concepts as brands continue to prioritize high-performing lifestyle destinations with strong demographics, outdoor environments and consistent foot traffic.

WWD: On average, what percentage of a center’s space should be devoted to F&B? Does it vary much from property to property?

K.G.: The industry has seen a steady increase in F&B allocation over time as dining, entertainment and social experiences become more central to how consumers engage with physical retail environments. By strategically curating these elements with the retail, we create a synergy that significantly elevates the overall guest experience.

WWD: Do people spend more time and money in a center when they stop to dine or have coffee?

K.G.: Culinary experiences meaningfully increase dwell time and often lead to cross-shopping throughout the center. Guests who come for coffee, lunch, dinner or entertainment tend to spend more time on site, visit more retailers and return more frequently overall. Creating environments where guests can seamlessly shop, dine and socialize throughout the day is a key part of how today’s top-performing retail destinations operate.

WWD: To what extent does Irvine focus the leasing on local F&B businesses?

K.G.: Local and regional operators are an important part of our merchandising strategy. They help create authenticity, reflect the surrounding community, and often bring unique concepts that differentiate a center from competitors. We aim to maintain a balanced mix of established national brands alongside emerging local favorites to create a dynamic, curated experience that feels unique to each property and market.

WWD: Is the rent structure with F&B any different from retailers selling hard or soft goods? If so, how?

K.G.: Restaurant leasing structures can differ from traditional retail due to the operational complexity and capital investment involved in food service. Factors such as patio space, ventilation requirements, infrastructure needs, operating hours and percentage rent structures may vary from traditional retailers. Each deal is tailored to support a healthy long-term business model while aligning with the goals of the property, overall merchandising mix and guest experience strategy.