A new year means new business for the Centre of Tallahassee.
The mixed-use development has recently announced that it will be adding Culver’s and supermarket Tom Thumb to its latest list of budding projects. Both establishments are set to provide new eatery options for local citizens of Tallahassee. However, does this really fill the void in the lack of food diversity options in Tallahassee?
Culver’s is a restaurant popular for its butter burgers and variety of frozen custard options. Although serving similar menu options to average fast-food chains, Culver’s will provide a different nuance to the food industry locally because it is a fast-casual chain.
Fast-casual is conceptualized as restaurants that provides the convenience of fast food but do not offer the full service of fine dining such as full table service. These particular chains are informal as they serve a higher grade of freshly prepared food in a systematic fast-food like manner.
Culver’s pride themselves on selling their customers 100% fresh, never frozen beef served on lightly buttered toasted buns. The ensemble is often complemented with an array of different custard menu options such as sundaes, concrete mixers, cones & dishes, shakes, malts and floats.
“Culver’s is a chain growing significantly in Florida and is expected to bring one to two more locations to the Tallahassee community,” said Centre of Tallahassee director of Leasing, Elizabeth Poindexter.
When analyzing the fast-casual food options in Tallahassee, Culver’s is pretty unique compared to most others. Examples of fast-casual food options in Tallahassee are Chipotle, Panera Bread, Boston Market, Captain D’s, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Tijuana Flats.
Located on the corner of Allen Road and North Monroe will be the Texas-based supermarket Tom Thumb. Tom Thumb is a supermarket originating from Dallas, Texas in 1948. Tom Thumb provides consumers with groceries and pharmacy services.
Tom Thumb will be an asset to the mall and community because there are many state offices and stores that will be occupying units within the mall’s campus. Ultimately, this will provide employees a hub where they can have access to food options for their lunch breaks and pharmaceutical needs.
The new businesses will attract potential customers to the area. “To have more businesses surrounding us will definitely help bring more clientele. We have great food here and we hope the community gives us a try,” said Dreamland Barbecue manager Nate Richardson.
The Centre of Tallahassee has been in dire need of revitalization for the past few years. After the death of President of Blackwater Resources Alex Baker, process speeds within the redevelopment of the mall began to decelerate. During the redevelopment of the mall, major tenants such as Burlington Coat Factory, Belk, Ross, AMC Theaters and Barnes & Noble have remained open for business.
AMC Theaters have continued to generate traffic and interest to the mall with its weekly Tuesday movie deals. “I only go to The Centre of Tallahassee to catch the $5 Tuesday movie deals. I really wish they would bring more clothing store businesses and an Apple Store,” said Florida State University graduate student Beverly Graham.
Roughly 155,000 square feet of the mall will be destroyed to build an urban park, cross streets, special event venues and restaurants.