La Jolla Groves, which serves modern American cuisine, opened today at the south end of the mall among the center’s other sit-down restaurants. Malawi’s Pizza, so named because the owner will donate one meal to the African country of Malawi for every meal sold at the restaurant, is opening Wednesday on the mall’s second floor next to the AT&T store. La Jolla covers 6,313 square feet, while Malawi’s Pizza is 5,985 square feet.
Both are owned by Utah County restaurateur, Kent Andersen, who has the same two restaurants in Provo.
With the two new restaurants, the Gateway Mall now has 14 restaurants and seven eateries in the food court. The mall also has more than 100 retail stores.
But the Gateway has experienced a crucial exodus of stores that have fled the outdoor mall to relocate to the new City Creek Center, which opened up earlier this year on Main Street. That mall is owned and operated by Michigan-based Taubman Co.
Since its spring opening, more than a dozen stores such as Anthropologie, J.Crew and LOFT, left the Gateway for City Creek. While not officially announced yet, the management company at the Gateway said one of its most popular stores, the Apple Store, would also relocate to City Creek by the end of the year. And a Salt Lake City construction permit indicated that Microsoft also is building a new retail store at City Creek. Salt Lake Tribune
