Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/704472
S T O R E F R O N T S • Upscale sushi restau- rant Nobu is to open an outpost at Simon's Houston Galleria late next year, as part of the mall's new luxury wing. • Joe Fatone, a for- mer member of sing- ing group NSync, will open a hot-dog kiosk called Fat One's, at The Florida Mall, in Orlando, in August. • Barnes Noble will redesign four stores later this year that will house larger café areas with expanded food offerings, wine, beer, and table service. The first of these new- concept stores will open in Eastchester, N.Y., in October, followed by one each in Edina, Minn.; Folsom, Calif.; and Loudon, Va. • Estefan Kitchen, the eatery chain created by Cuban-American music stars Emilio and Gloria Estefan of Miami Sound Machine fame, will open an outpost in Miami's trendy Design District. "Estefan Kitchen will feature traditional, fam- ily recipes," said Emilio Estefan in a press release, "presented in a new, healthy way that will appeal to both locals and our interna- tional guests." On the menu C h i n a w o k , a vendor of that popular fusion o f C h i n e s e - Peruvian food called chifa, is the latest concept driving Peru's growing global reputa- tion for flavorful food. Chi- nawok is expanding through- out Latin America and also has eyes for the U.S. The concept got its start in 1999 in the food court of Lima's Jockey Plaza mall. The strength of its following encouraged founder Carlos Manuel León Velarde to open 40 more restaurants in Peru over the next few years. The chain expanded to Ec- uador in 2003 and then to Central America the year af- ter that. Today there are 112 units, 46 of them in Peru. Nearly 60 percent of the sales are generated outside Peru, specifically in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ec- uador, El Salvador, Guate- mala and Panama. "Our goal is to reach the 224-store count in three years," said Rafael Montes de Oca, Chinawok's general manager. Some 15 million diners patronize Chinawok restaurants every year, he Latin American chain Chinawok is exporting its fusion of Peruvian-Chinese cuisine across the Americas CULINARY ALLIANCE FOOD & BEVERAGE By María Bird Picó 24 S C T / A U G U S T 2 0 1 6