Source: Philadelphia Business Journal, Kenneth Hilario

The King of Prussia Town Center development is set to open its first of many restaurants next week, and hundreds of jobs are being created in the process for area residents.

The 400,000-square-foot King of Prussia Town Center broke ground in May last year, and it’s been leasing its available spaces since then. Eight restaurants have signed on so far to open as part of Chevy Chase, Maryland-based JBG Cos.’ vision to create a unique dining destination.

The restaurants’ developments are creating hundreds of jobs for area residents as a result.

JBG strategically chose the type of restaurants opening at the Town Center. The restaurants would help create “the downtown for Upper Merion,” similar to what Center City has become for Philadelphia.

“The King of Prussia region will experience a significant and positive economic impact, specifically as it relates to employment opportunities, as a result of transformative development projects like the King of Prussia Town Center,” said Tom Sebastian, senior vice president of development at JBG Cos. “With the addition of restaurants, retailers and services, there will be hundreds of job openings, and an increase in commerce, benefiting the county as a whole.”

Fogo de Chao, with a opening date of July 21, will be first tenant at the Town Center to open. It has created two management-level positions and will fill 75-90 additional positions.

The Town Center location will include the more casual Bar Fogo concept, featuring smaller, shareable plates; a variety of craft cocktails and wines, and other drink options. It will also offer the new “Gaucho Lunch” menu, a customizable menu designed for weekday diners.

Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, opening in late August, will be hiring about 120 employees between the new restaurant and the Galleria at the Town Center. Positions available include server, bartender, host and hostess, prep and pantry cook, and more.

Davio’s will hold a job fair on July 20, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and July 28, 2-7 p.m. It will be held at 1000 First Avenue, Suite 101.

The Town Center location is Davio’s first restaurant in the Philadelphia suburbs. It leased 9,000 square feet of space.

City Works, which will open in September, will be filling about 90 positions, including general manager, managers, chefs, servers, hosts, bartenders, cooks and more. City Works leased about 7,700 square feet of space.

Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar, slated to open in late September, will hire about 120 local area residents. Applications are being accepted for a number of management positions, including executive chef and front-of-house manager, and other positions including servers, bartenders and kitchen staff.

A full job list can be found online, and Paladar will host job fairs every Wednesday beginning in August. Paladar leased 6,500 square feet at the Town Center.

Honeygrow, a Philadelphia-based healthy fast-casual restaurant concept, is slated to open in mid-autumn. Each of its locations employs an average of about 50 people, and the company employs more than 300 employees overall.

The company is in aggressive growth mode, including additional locations in Washington, D.C., Baltimore as well as Temple University’s campus. The company leased 2,400 square feet of space at the Town Center.

B.good, a healthy fast-casual chain is slated to open its fourth local restaurant on Aug. 15. The 2,400-square-foot location will hire about 25 employees.

Philadelphia is the fastest-growing U.S. market for the chain outside of Boston, where it started. The company’s locations in Wynnewood, Pa., and Mount Laurel and Marlton, N.J., employ 80 people.

Naf Naf Grill , a Chicago-based restaurant concept that specializes in Middle Eastern food, pita, shawarma, falafel and the like, will open in late August. About 20 jobs will be created.

The fast-casual restaurant, which has locations in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, will occupy 2,500 square feet of space. The chain will also open multiple locations in the Philadelphia region, including one in Center City. Three locations are also planned for Malvern, Pa., and Mount Laurel and Marlton in New Jersey.

Founding Farmers, a Washington, D.C.-based restaurant concept that focuses on green, sustainable practices, will be opening in spring 2017. The restaurant will create about 14 jobs with salaries ranging from $55,000 to $200,000-plus a year for its management positions, and up to 225 jobs for hourly, full- and part-time staff.

Hourly income ranges from $11-$12 an hour, and $30-plus an hour for tipped employees.

“We create an excellent career ladder to climb because we have such intensive and varied training and paths within the restaurant,” owner Dan Simons told the Business Journal.

Founding Farmers, which has four locations in Washington, will take up two levels and 14,000 square feet of space on the western end of Main Street at the Town Center opposite restaurant Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar.