Inside Westfield Topanga's struggle to reinvent mall food

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Set us as preferred Westfield Topanga is one of the region’s most popular malls, but it has grappled with what to do with the empty space left when it lost its Sears.Joining a national wave of malls trying to become fancy food destinations, it launched its food hall — Topanga Social — in 2023, with high-end menus and an upgraded ambiance, hoping to attract consumers looking for more than food court fare.

It didn’t work, and almost all of the restaurants that launched the food hall are gone.This summer, it basically started over again from scratch with new outlets and new management, betting it could do better with a rotating roster of nostalgic foods reimagined by local chefs and corporate-sponsored pop-ups serving up buzz-building concoctions like Cheez-It-flavored cheesesteak sandwiches.“We really looked to be more intentional about the food and the operators,” and visitors are now spending more time in the food hall.

said mall General Manager Logan Abbene.“The changes are working, and every week seems to be a little bit more energetic than the last.”While it is too early to say whether Westfield Topanga has pulled it off, its food journey illustrates how hard it is to convince consumers who have grown used to shopping and ordering meals online to come back to the mall.

For the shopping centers that still attract customers, mall food has rapidly evolved from fast food and hot dogs on sticks memorialized in historic teen movies such as “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” to upmarket food halls and sit-down restaurants.Upgrading malls with food halls that aim to elevate the eating experience is an attempt to make malls relevant again, said food hall consultant Phil Colicchio in a bullish 2026 industry report.“The food hall category continues to perform on par with or better than traditional restaurants, re...