3 new restaurants to open this year at KoP Mall

Three new restaurants will open at the King of Prussia Mall, including outposts from the parent companies of The Capital Grille and Phoenix-based True Food Kitchen.

The King of Prussia Mall over the past few years has cultivated a robust list of food and beverage concepts, specifically in the 155,000-square-foot connector that in 2016 linked the Court and Plaza buildings.

Three more eateries will open this year:

• North Italia, a concept by Fox Restaurant Concepts that will have pizza, pasta and cocktails. Slated to open in late summer, it will be located under the upscale food court, Savor.
• Eddie V’s Prime Seafood along Dekalb Pike just outside the mall, slated to open in the fall.
• Marketplace Eatery, a casual dining concept that will open in the spring in the Café Court.

The King of Prussia outposts will be North Italia’s first expansion in Pennsylvania and and Eddie V’s first in the Philadelphia area. This will be Marketplace Eatery’s second spot in the tri-state region; the first is in the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City.

With Eddie V’s, Darden Restaurants expands its presence in King of Prussia. The brands the group owns that have outposts in the area are: The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, and most recently Yard House, which opened in 2016 adjacent to new Outback Steakhouse.

This will be Fox Restaurant Concept’s second Philadelphia-area restaurant, and the first for the North Italia brand.

“With this being our first Pennsylvania location, it was important to find a spot that could introduce North to a large audience,” founder Sam Fox said.

“Given King of Prussia’s status as a top area attraction and its ability to draw large crowds, it was an ideal location for us,” Fox said.

Fox and Fox Restaurant Concepts first entered the Pennsylvania market with the health-conscious True Food Kitchen concept that opened in 2017 just outside the King of Prussia Mall in a 7,000-square-foot, ground-up development.

“We understand and appreciate that offering diverse dining options is an essential part of the customer experience,” mall manager Bob Hart said.

“It’s particularly compelling when we can offer our shoppers dining experiences that cannot be found anywhere else in the region,” he said.

Malls are now putting more focus on value-added elements to elevate the consumer experience, which includes dining, according a report by consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

The “emphasis on fine dining and events is also helping to make malls the hub of the local community – a place to share quality time with friends and family, not just wolf down a meal at the food court,” according to the report that specifically mentioned the King of Prussia Mall.

The King of Prussia area has become a sort of launching pad or test pilot area for restaurant groups and brands. First-to-market brands that opened in the area — at the mall and the nearby King of Prussia Town Center — include Founding Farmers, Choolaah Indian BBQ, The Habit Burger Grill, District Taco and Mistral.

The King of Prussia Mall owner Simon Property Group will enter the third phase of the mall’s renovation, which includes the renovation what was formerly called the Plaza.