Irvine Spectrum Center is getting bigger as it marks its 30th anniversary. And it’s getting taller.
The nearly 1.2-million-square-foot center, which opened in 1995 and last year ranked No. 6 among OC’s largest shopping centers by taxable sales, with $601M in sales (up 5% year over year), has in recent months announced a bevy of new retail and restaurant additions slated for 2025.
Notable new additions on tap: a new Rivian showroom, located near the mall’s Cheesecake Factory. It’ll be the first store of its type in the hometown for the nearly $12B-valued EV maker (Nasdaq: RIVN), and its second such location in OC, along with its flagship showroom along Coast Highway in Laguna Beach.
Foodie-friendly additions to the center expected later this year includes a Mastro’s Ocean Club, taking the space of a shuttered Del Frisco’s Grille, and the city’s first Din Tai Fung, located between Target and Nordstrom.
Also on tap for the center: a new, larger Ferris wheel, according to Irvine Company’s recently-released 2025 Community Report.
The new ‘Giant Wheel’ was made, like its 108-foot-high predecessor, in Casale di Scodosia, Italy, just south of Venice, according to Irvine Co. The center’s owner said in its community report that the new attraction is being prepared for shipment through the Panama Canal and will run 23 feet higher than the current 10-story edition, which opened in 2002 and is reported to get nearly 700,000 riders annually.
Irvine Spectrum Center reports getting nearly 17 million visitors annually.
One additional entertainment option coming to Irvine Spectrum Center this year is Holey Moley Golf, a high-energy indoor mini-golf venue, with 27 interactive holes and a variety of food and drink options. It’ll be the 3rd California location for Holey Moley; its Santa Monica spot runs nearly 10,000 square feet.
It’s one of two big golf-themed entertainment venues under consideration in OC. City filings from January indicated the City of Tustin remains in closed-door discussions with Top Golf International for a new venue at Tustin Legacy.
Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) last week announced plans to cut 1,100 corporate employees, affecting nearly 7% of the Seattle-based firm’s executives.
It’s among the biggest moves for CEO Brian Niccol since the Newport Beach-based exec took over the role last fall.
“We believe it’s a necessary change to position Starbucks for future success,” Niccol said in a letter to employees, noting the need to “operate more efficiently” and “reduce complexity.”
Baristas are not part of the layoffs; the company has about 361,000 full-time employees.
Starbucks’ stock last week hit its highest point since late 2021. The company’s valued around $130B, and shares are up over 60% since Niccol’s appointment.
Niccol’s former employer, Newport Beach-based Chipotle Mexican Grill (Nasdaq: CMG), late last month announced plans to hire 20,000 restaurant workers for its upcoming ‘Burrito Season,’ the company’s busiest time of the year, running from March to May.
OC’s most valuable public company, with a $71B valuation, counts over 110,000 employees worldwide. Its shares are off about 5% over the past 6 months.
