Which New Green Acres Restaurants Open First, and Which Names Wait for 2027?

Which of the new Green Acres restaurants will be serving food by Thanksgiving weekend? As of October 12, 2026, none of them are open. The mall's own dining directory still lists The Cheesecake Factory, Shake Shack, Paris Baguette, Tony's Tacos, Panda Express, Dave's Hot Chicken and Wonder as "Coming Soon." Fogo de Chão and Sephora carry the same label in the full directory.

Black Friday 2026 is November 27, about six weeks away. That is the target Macerich, the mall's owner, has held to. Newsday reported on September 30 that most incoming tenants are expected to open by Black Friday, while the ShopRite is set for fall 2027. That target covers most of the tenants, but not all of them. The restaurant row along Sunrise Highway is pushing to open for the holidays. The ShopRite is dated to 2027, several retail and entertainment tenants have named 2027 targets, and a growing list of newer leases has no date at all.

The Third-Quarter Half of the Forecast Has Passed

In late July, Lee Ra Johnson, Macerich's assistant vice president of outlet leasing, told Greater Long Island:

"A lot of these brands are projected to open in the third or fourth quarter of this year."

The third quarter ended September 30 with nothing on the new row open, so every restaurant opening now falls in the fourth-quarter half of that forecast. The plan in that same article had restaurants opening first, set around a new main entrance and landscaped green space, with new pylon signs on Sunrise Highway to replace the old ones. Johnson said the goal was to "drive traffic and get more frequent shoppers by elevating our dining options."

Hiring Pages Are the Clearest Signal

No tenant has published an opening day. The best evidence of what comes first is who is hiring at the Green Acres address right now.

The Cheesecake Factory's careers page openly recruits for the Green Acres location. Shake Shack's career site lists management roles at the Green Acres address. Restaurants hire managers before they hire line staff, so those postings point to an opening on the way. Neither employer shows a posting date, so the listings show intent, not a calendar.

Fogo de Chão and Wonder have been in the plan the longest without a date. Newsday reported in March that the opening timing for both was unclear. Fogo's own May 11 announcement confirmed the Green Acres address but gave no date.

The mall's own staffing push lines up with this. A public Green Acres Holiday Job Fair is on the event calendar for Sunday, October 25, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The One Name on the Row That Started Nearby

Most of the new lineup is national chains. Tony's Tacos is the exception. Greater Long Island describes it as locally owned. Newsday identified Mike Scotto as the owner and listed existing shops in Floral Park, Franklin Square, Huntington and Garden City. The same January report described 2026 plans for Queens Center Mall, Holbrook and Green Acres, plus sites in Levittown and Babylon.

By mid-October, the brand's locations page lists Queens Center as open and still marks Green Acres and Holbrook "Coming Soon." For Valley Stream diners, that means the Franklin Square and Garden City locations are a short drive away for anyone who wants to try the menu before the Sunrise Highway shop opens.

The Half of the Plan Running on a 2027 Clock

The restaurant row is only one part of the overhaul. Macerich's project page describes a 400,000-square-foot redevelopment with outward-facing shops, a new main entrance and an 80,000-square-foot ShopRite. It says work broke ground in May 2025. Greater Long Island put the completion estimate at the end of 2027. These pieces have targets that are later than Black Friday.

1. ShopRite, fall 2027, according to Newsday's September 30 report.
2. Escapology, whose CEO described eight or nine rooms and an early-2027 target in Newsday's May 27 report.
3. Claire's, aiming to reopen "early next year" as of that same May 2026 report.
4. Timberland, a 1,608-square-foot store owned by VF Corp., targeting "next summer" in the September 30, 2026 Newsday story.
5. Sephora, which the Valley Stream Herald reported in August 2025 was expected in spring 2027. No newer store-specific date has replaced that projection.

The entertainment part of the plan has no published date either. In November 2025, Newsday described a 34,181-square-foot Launch Family Entertainment with bowling, trampolines, an arcade and a ninja course, plus a second 10,000-square-foot venue. Both are going up where the vacant Sears buildings stood.

Approved on Paper, Undated in Practice

The Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency holds title to the mall and Green Acres Commons under the property's tax-break deals, so every new sublease needs its vote. Those votes have added a steady stream of names this year, none with an opening date attached:

• A second Burlington in a space of nearly 93,000 square feet, per Patch in July, less than a mile from the Burlington already at Green Acres Commons, according to Newsday.
• Long Island's first Miniso at the Commons, plus Cava and Perfumes 4 U at the mall, approved August 18, per Newsday. A Cava spokeswoman had no confirmed Green Acres opening plan.
• True Religion, a 2,818-square-foot store from a retailer with no other Long Island locations, approved September 29.

Reports of that September 29 vote don't fully match. Newsday listed Club Pilates alongside True Religion and Timberland. The Valley Stream Herald's October 9 story listed T-Mobile Northeast LLC in that slot. Neither outlet explains the difference.

What Works at Green Acres This Month

The part of the property that is already done has kept growing during construction. JD Sports opened next to an expanded Foot Locker earlier this year. Greater Long Island reported that the Foot Locker added a Kids Foot Locker section and fit kiosks.

Trick-Or-Treat Acres is on the mall calendar for Saturday, October 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. The free Green Acres Connect shuttle runs on Saturdays too. The mall's shuttle page still advertises rides every Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m., with a stop at Green Acres Commons. When it debuted July 11, the Valley Stream Herald described it as a summer pilot with five stops, and said management would evaluate whether to keep it. The live schedule suggests it has continued, but no news report since summer has confirmed that. Johnson's reason for the pilot still describes the property: "it's not necessarily easy to walk."

Late-night trips need some planning this month. The New York State Department of Transportation scheduled overnight pavement work on Sunrise Highway this fall:

• Eastbound: two lanes closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. between the Queens/Nassau border and Harrison Avenue, starting September 22, for about four weeks.
• Westbound: down to one lane from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. between Harrison Avenue and the Wantagh State Parkway, starting September 29, for about four weeks.

If those schedules hold, the eastbound work wraps up around October 20 and the westbound work runs into late October. Both should be finished before the Black Friday deadline.

If you'd like to know how today's market views your property while Green Acres is mid-rebuild, The Evangelista Team can put the numbers together for you. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through what we see on your street.