Chandler Fashion Center Is Getting Serious About Food. Here’s What’s Coming.
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Din Tai Fung, Wagyu House and La Popular are headed to Chandler, but the mall’s new dining district is bringing a lot more than restaurants. And two more food concepts are on the way.
Photo credit: Chandler Fashion Center
For as long as I’ve lived just five or ten minutes from Chandler Fashion Center, I can’t say I’ve ever thought of it as a dining destination.
It’s been the place where I’ve dropped kids off to meet friends, gone to the movies, or wandered around with Jake when it’s approximately 900 degrees outside and walking in air-conditioning sounds like a perfectly reasonable date.
But the food?
Honestly: food court vibes.
There have always been restaurants around the mall, of course, but not many that made me think, We should go to Chandler Fashion Center specifically for dinner.
Lately, that’s starting to change.
The arrival of Arizona’s first Seafood City got me spending more time at the mall than I had in years. Now Chandler Fashion Center is preparing for a much bigger transformation, with a new dining and entertainment district taking shape near Harkins Theatres.
Din Tai Fung is coming. Wagyu House is coming. La Popular Cocina Mexicana is joining them.
And after getting some answers from the Chandler Fashion Center team, it turns out there’s even more happening than I realized.
Two more food-and-beverage concepts are in the works, and they’re keeping the names under wraps for now.
Naturally, I have questions.
Chandler Fashion Center’s New Dining District Is Taking Shape
This isn’t just a matter of filling a few empty restaurant spaces.
The redevelopment is transforming the area adjacent to the food court into a more connected indoor-outdoor gathering space, with restaurants surrounding a central courtyard.
According to Jon Diaz, Marketing Manager at Chandler Fashion Center, the project will include a covered gathering area, an expanded lawn for concerts and community events, landscaped seating areas, fire pits and a new interactive splash pad.
By night, that splash pad will become an illuminated water feature.
“The goal is to create a destination where guests come not only to shop, but also to dine, socialize and spend more time enjoying everything the center has to offer,” Diaz said.
And can we talk about the shade?
If you live in Chandler, you know there are several months of the year when “let’s hang around outside for a while” sounds less like a leisure activity and more like a threat. Shade matters.
Construction began in early 2026 with work on a pedestrian path connecting the east parking lot near Macy’s to the courtyard. Additional courtyard construction started later in the summer.
The completed courtyard is scheduled to debut in summer 2027.
And then there’s the food.
Din Tai Fung Is Coming to Chandler
This is probably the name that made a lot of East Valley people sit up and pay attention.
Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese restaurant famous for its meticulously folded xiao long bao, is expected to open at Chandler Fashion Center in 2027.
If you’ve never been, this is not a dumpling-and-dash situation.
The menu goes well beyond soup dumplings, with wontons, noodles, fried rice, vegetables, buns and wok dishes. Much of it is designed for sharing, which is great news if you’re the kind of person who wants to try a little bit of everything.
I am absolutely that person.
Chandler-specific menu prices haven’t been announced, so we’ll have to wait to see exactly what dinner will cost.
What I’m eyeing: The pork xiao long bao, obviously. But the chocolate-and-mochi dessert dumplings have also entered the conversation.
I’ve never needed much convincing to order dumplings, but this could get ridiculous.
Wagyu House Is Taking Over the Former Kona Grill
Then things get considerably meatier.
Wagyu House is headed into the former Kona Grill location with an all-you-can-eat Japanese yakiniku concept.
Translation: meat, tabletop grill and decisions.
The restaurant specializes in American and Australian full-blood Wagyu along with Japanese A5 Wagyu, with guests cooking their selections at the table.
The Chandler location is planned for fall 2027, according to the shopping center’s earlier announcement.
Chandler-specific pricing hasn’t been announced, and I’m not going to guess based on what other locations charge.
But something tells me this won’t be replacing the food court combo meal in anyone’s budget.
What I’m watching for: The opening date, Chandler’s menu and exactly how the Japanese A5 Wagyu fits into the all-you-can-eat options.
Jake may need to accompany me on this particular fact-finding mission.
For journalism.
La Popular Brings Mexico City Energy to Chandler
La Popular Cocina Mexicana is another major addition, with its first Arizona location expected to open in fall 2027.
The restaurant’s menu takes inspiration from Mexico City, combining traditional Mexican dishes with modern preparations and an extensive agave-spirit program.
Among the dishes being highlighted are ribeye tacos, ahi tuna tostadas, chicken mole poblano and churros served with chocolate sauce and cajeta.
The drink lineup includes a watermelon hibiscus margarita and a forbidden paradise mule.
This one has my attention for a different reason.
Chandler is not exactly hurting for Mexican restaurants. If you’re going to enter that conversation here, particularly as a higher-end option, you need to give people a reason to choose you.
Ribeye tacos certainly aren’t a terrible opening argument.
No Chandler-specific menu or pricing has been released yet, but this feels more like cocktails, dinner and ordering the churros even though everyone swore they were full.
What I’m eyeing: The ahi tuna tostadas and chicken mole poblano. Although I know perfectly well how this works. Someone will order the ribeye tacos, I’ll try one, and suddenly those will be mine too.
Seafood City Has Already Changed My Mall Routine
While most of the new dining district is still ahead of us, one major food arrival has already changed the way I use Chandler Fashion Center.
Seafood City is open.
The Filipino supermarket brought much more than groceries, with in-house food options, bakery items, prepared dishes and seafood selections.
And unlike the restaurants I’m currently waiting for, I can actually go there now. Which I have been doing.
Seafood City accomplished something Chandler Fashion Center hadn’t managed to do for me in a while: it gave me a food-related reason to go to the mall.
Not because I was shopping or catching a movie. Because I specifically wanted something there.
That’s a pretty significant shift.
Don’t Overlook Two for Joy Cafe
Here’s a smaller addition I don’t want to lose among all the big restaurant names.
Two for Joy Cafe is preparing to open inside Chandler Fashion Center in late October 2026, according to earlier information from founder Sejal Chaturvedi.
The South Asian-influenced cafe plans to specialize in artisan yogurt bowls and yogurt soft serve, with flavors such as rose-pistachio, mango, vanilla bean and chocolate truffle.
Rotating offerings will also take inspiration from South Asian sweets.
Okay, rose-pistachio yogurt soft serve?
You have my attention.
Two for Joy isn’t part of the new outdoor restaurant district, but it’s another example of how Chandler Fashion Center’s food options are changing.
Two More Food Concepts Are Still Under Wraps
This might be my favorite detail from the responses Chandler Fashion Center sent over.
“We are very excited to announce the next two restaurants by the end of the year (think coffee and dessert)!” said Jon Diaz, Marketing Manager at Chandler Fashion Center.
Coffee and dessert? Now you’re speaking my language.
No names yet, unfortunately. Believe me, I would have happily accepted a few.
Diaz also emphasized that the restaurant mix is intentional, with Din Tai Fung, Wagyu House and La Popular offering different dining experiences rather than more of the same.
And while those additional announcements are still under wraps, there’s already plenty happening to keep East Valley diners interested over the next year.
What’s Opening at Chandler Fashion Center?
| Restaurant or concept | Status or anticipated opening |
|---|---|
| Seafood City | Open |
| Two for Joy Cafe | Expected late October 2026 |
| Din Tai Fung | Planned for 2027 |
| Wagyu House | Planned for fall 2027 |
| La Popular Cocina Mexicana | Planned for fall 2027 |
| Two additional food-and-beverage concepts | Announcements expected by the end of 2026 |
| New dining courtyard | Scheduled for summer 2027 |
Opening timelines are subject to change. PhoenixBites will update this guide as additional information becomes available.
So, Is Chandler Fashion Center Becoming a Dining Destination?
I’m not ready to declare victory before most of these restaurants have even opened.
But I’m paying attention.
Chandler Fashion Center has always been convenient. What it hasn’t necessarily been is somewhere Jake and I look at each other on a Friday night and say, Let’s go there for dinner.
That could be changing.
Between the dumplings, the Wagyu, the ribeye tacos and whatever coffee-and-dessert surprises are still waiting to be announced, my trips to the mall might be getting a whole lot more delicious.
And considerably more expensive.
I suppose there are worse problems to have.
About the Author - Taryn Jeffries
Editor and Chief Eating Officer of PhoenixBites, 2017 Food Writer of the Year (Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame) Taryn grew up in a small town in Illinois with a doting Grandmother who taught her the way around a kitchen and that food is representative of love. Her current quest is to find the love in local dishes and the chefs behind them. In addition to running all things PhoenixBites, Taryn is also a freelance writer, sharing her insight on the best dishes and where to get them each and every month.
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