Hector Mendoza, owner of La Palmera, has no qualms about being one of the first businesses to open in Mill Creek Town Center.
His new Mexican restaurant at the corner of Main Street and 153rd Street SE opened Tuesday.
The new La Palmera employs about 50 people, up from 20 at the old restaurant, Mendoza said. It can seat up to 450 people and includes several outdoor seating areas that overlook a nearby creek.
At more than 9,000 square feet, it’s nearly four times larger than his former Mill Creek location on 164th Street SE. He also owns a restaurant in Everett.
“We’ve had the business established in Mill Creek for about five years,” Mendoza said, adding that the line for tables at his existing location sometimes trails out the door. “So, for us, this will be better.”
Mendoza’s not alone in his optimism about the new Town Center. The building his restaurant is in, Park Place Center, is almost completely leased, and more tenants are signing up in other developments planned along the brand new Main Street.
Already open in the two buildings on Main Street are Tuscadeli Cafe, a Curves fitness outlet, deVine Wines and a few business offices. In addition to La Palmera, House of Bread and Grizzly Sports are getting ready to open in the Park Place building.
While some of those businesses have reported slow sales at times because of ongoing construction in the Town Center, more people seem to be finding them.
The Central Market grocery store being built by Town &Country Markets Inc. is well under construction as well.
“We’re real pleased with how it’s gone,” said Bill Trimm, community development director for the city of Mill Creek. “I got the last application for the Town Center in this week.”
With that, all the developable land in the core area of Town Center is spoken for. The additional buildings planned for the area include a mix of residential and retail space, Trimm said.
G.E. “Red” Jacobsen, a retired financial planner from Mukilteo who built Park Place Center, hopes to break ground later this year on a five-building retail plaza that will include a performance stage. Already, more than 60 percent of the space in that development has been reserved, he said.
Additionally, L.A. Fitness is planning a large fitness club in Town Center. It will be the first location in the Puget Sound area for the California-based chain. Next to that, a residential development called Cottages at Mill Creek is working through the planning process.
Other confirmed tenants for Town Center include University Book Store (see separate story), Cold Stone Creamery and Jamba Juice.
Trimm said the balance of retail and residential space, along with the mix of businesses interested in the Town Center, is close to how he envisioned it.
“That’s the great thing,” Trimm said. “We’re going to have everything we wanted: a real mixed-use, walkable downtown.”
Eric Fetters is a reporter with The Herald in Everett.
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