The mall may be making a comeback, and it’s likely being driven by restaurants. According to pedestrian traffic data From Placer.aiMall visits, including indoor malls, outdoor malls and outlet malls, continue to increase.

Comparing the analytics firm’s first quarter visits to shopping malls in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 with the first quarter of 2019 shows the positive trend of the recovery in shopping malls. The data reveals that the pre-pandemic visitation gap has narrowed steadily across all mall formats over the past four years. In the first quarter of 2024, visits to outdoor malls even surpassed 2019 levels for the first time since the COVID-induced lockdowns of 2020.

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There is now strong evidence that restaurants are a big part of this recovery. New data released today from Yelp reveals that people have increasingly been visiting malls for dining experiences over the past five years. National casual dining and quick-service chains represent 17 of the top 25 mall brands in the food category, and Yelp notes that this trend is reshaping the way malls are both perceived and used, moving dining from an afterthought to a destination .

Yelp data shows that the number of restaurant concepts in shopping malls increased by 7% from 2019 to 2024. Bubble tea was the fastest-growing category, with a 113% increase in stores from 2019 to 2024. In contrast, traditional tea businesses have shrunk by 49% since 2019. Other categories seeing significant growth include waffles (up 77%), vegan foods (up 54%) and Filipino food (up 36%).

According to Yelp data, restaurant brands ranked first in the top 12 among the 25 most popular shopping mall brands based on consumer interest last year:

1. Cheese Cake Factory
2. Din Tai Fung
3. Macy’s
4. BJ’s Restaurant and Beer Bar
5. Real Food Kitchen
6. Starbucks
7. Olive Garden
8. Aim
9. California Pizza Kitchen
10. panera
11. P.F. Chang’s
12. garden house

The rest of the top 25 included Chipotle (17^he), Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ (18^he), Ruth’s Chris Steak House (20^he), Chili’s (21^st), Panda Express (23^third), California Grilled Fish (24^he) and CAVA (25^he).

“The rise of restaurants and dining experiences as the primary reason for mall visits represents a significant shift in consumer behavior. While traditional retail remains important, the focus has shifted to food and entertainment, with restaurants playing a central role in attracting visitors. This trend is driven by shopping with distinctive culinary offerings and unique experiences.” As malls continue to evolve, the integration of dining and entertainment will play an increasingly important role in their success, Yelp said in its report.

Contact Alicia Kelso (email protected)