Districts around Naperville, including the I-88 corridor, downtown and the Riverbrook Shopping Center, will see an influx of new businesses in the coming months.
Monica Conners, president of the Naperville Development Partnership, shared some of the additions residents can expect.
Riverbrook Shopping Center brings Asian market
The old Riverbrook Shopping Center is being transformed into a hub for Asian companies. The center will be renamed Asia Market, operated by NewQuest Asia-Pacific Retailer from Houston, Texas.
“We are getting a look at brands that are really not looking [at] very many other places in Illinois,” Conners said.
Following the opening of Japanese fashion store TESO Life earlier this year, the center will see three more businesses over the next couple of months, with still more expected.
Asian supermarket 99 Ranch Market will be opening its first Illinois location in Naperville. Vietnamese coffee shop Fat Milk is also on the list, and its chef was featured on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars. The center will also welcome Japanese restaurant Tokyo Shokudo. Conners said the three will be open by early 2027.
Other additions to the market will be Ba Le Sandwiches and CHICHA San Chen, with opening dates to be announced.
Downtown Naperville gets more business
Coming soon to downtown Naperville is Ann Arbor, Mich., menswear company State and Liberty. The Naperville store will be its first outside of Chicago and only the second location to open in Illinois.
Conners said the city is also looking forward to welcoming national fitness group Barry’s to the Main Street Promenade, though it is still a couple of months away from opening.
Downtown’s restaurant scene is also growing, as Mexican restaurant Cantina Taco Grill and pizzeria Slyce of NY are putting together the finishing touches on their stores. Conners said the restaurants are expected to open soon.
She said that Lizzano, an Italian restaurant with four Chicago locations, is “still in the early phases” but will move into a space on Water Street.
A new company has purchased the old Everdine’s spot, and Conners said they are “touring it right now with some really interesting concepts.”
I-88 corridor expansions bring more jobs
In Naperville’s I-88 corridor, Conners says she’s excited about the job opportunities arriving, a topic she will cover more at this year’s State of the Real Estate on Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Yellow Box.
“We’ve got a number of companies that are expanding, relocating to the [I-88] corridor,” Conners said.
That includes ASK Power, owned by parent company Sicame, which has purchased a building next door to the business’s Frontenac Road location for an expansion.
Conners said viaPhoton is also adding jobs, and CellCarta and Eurofins are expanding with new jobs as well.
New business boosts Naperville economy
Conners said the continued interest from new businesses is good news for Naperville, reflected in the economic growth for areas around the city.
“So the impact of all these great new stores and our existing stores is really an increase in visitor traffic and increase in sales tax revenue, which helps diversify the economy for our community,” Conners said.
She shared that, according to a software tool the city uses called Placer AI, downtown Naperville’s economic growth is up 15% year over year. Block 59 has seen a 125% year-over-year increase, and the Riverbrook Shopping Center has increased 11% since TESO Life opened.
“We expect those numbers to continue to generate increases as these other restaurants come online, hopefully in early 2027,” Conners said about new additions to Riverbrook.
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