Northridge Mall

This article is about a mall in Salinas, California. For the abandoned mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, see Northridge Mall (Milwaukee). For the fashion center and mall in Northridge, Los Angeles, California, see Northridge Fashion Center.

Northridge Mall is a shopping mall in Salinas, California, the largest in Monterey County.^[3] Located off Highway 101 near Boronda Road and North Main Street in the northern part of the city,^[4] the single-story structure encompasses 976,913 sq ft (90,758 m²) of retail space. Northridge Mall features more than 110 shops, two restaurants, a fast-food court with eight outlets (2 vacant), a Round One Entertainment, and three department stores including Hobby Lobby, JCPenney, and Macy's with one vacant anchor last occupied by Sears. It receives approximately 7.2 million visitors annually^[4] with approximately 5,800 spaces^[3] in the open-air parking lot. It is the only indoor shopping mall between San Jose and Santa Maria.^[5]

Northridge Mall

North Wing entrance of Northridge Mall
Location	Salinas, California, United States
Coordinates	36.71763°N 121.65803°W / 36.71763; -121.65803
Address	796 Northridge Drive
Opening date	1974
Management	Spinoso Real Estate Group
No. of stores and services	127[1]
No. of anchor tenants	4 (3 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area	892,824 sq ft (82,946.1 m2)[2]
No. of floors	1 plus 2nd floor access to Round One Entertainment (2 in Macy's and former Sears)
Parking	5,800+
Public transit access	Monterey Salinas Transit (MST): 23, 29, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 72, 95
Website	shop-northridge-mall.com

History

Northridge Mall opened in 1974 with 60 stores and Emporium Capwells, JCPenney, and Mervyns as anchor stores. It was owned by the insurance company Northwestern Mutual. Sears moved from its original South Main Street location to its mall location, which, at the time, was disconnected and was not affiliated with the mall. It was not until the new south wing was added in 1982, that the pre-existing Sears outlet became part of the mall. The new wing also nearly doubled the shopping center's retail space and stores.

In 1994 the mall was remodeled and in 1996 the Emporium Capwells outlet was replaced by Macy's; both Sears and JCPenney underwent extensive remodels. In 1998, the Mervyns outlet was extensively remodeled to incorporate the brand's new image.

Macerich acquired Northridge Mall in 2003 from Northwestern Mutual for a purchase price of approximately $128.5 million.^[6][7][8]

Starwood Capital Group purchased Northridge Mall in 2013 from Macerich for a purchase price of approximately $120 million.^[9]

In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Northridge Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties.

On November 4, 2016, JCPenney opened a new 127,000 sq. ft. one-story building on the west side of the mall facing the 101 freeway.^[10][3] The former building was set to become new mall shops on the first floor which would connect the east and west side of the mall. An entertainment complex was set to take over the former second floor of JCPenney. After the relocation of JCPenney, the mall added new seating and new flooring throughout the entire mall.

On March 9, 2019, Round 1 opened as the entertainment center in the former JCPenney's second story.^[11] Also, Forever 21 moved from the anchor building next to JCPenney to a location inside the mall. The former Forever 21 became Hobby Lobby and opened on September 16, 2019.^[12]

A Panera Bread location was built detached from the mall which opened in mid 2019. After Panera opened, a new building broke ground, which was set to open as a Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A opened on April 8, 2021.^[13] On November 14, 2019, it was announced that Forever 21 would be closing this location as part of a plan to close 111 stores nationwide. The store closed in January 2020.^[14]

Sears closed in 2020.

On May 16, 2024, Burlington announced that they would be opening a new location at the south end of the mall where the old Sears once resided. At the time, renovations were only at early stages.^[15] As of July 2025, renovations are continuing underway after they had been halted in August 2024 due to inadequate inspections of the area.

In December 2024, Raising Canes announced that they would be opening a new location at the mall, while in April 2025, it was reported that the it was to be opened in either December 2025 or January 2026. The new restaurant is to be located next to the Big 5 Sporting Goods on the corner of North Main Street and Madrid Street. Construction has already commenced with a fence surrounding the area. There is also a banner on the fence stating that they are now accepting applications for new restaurant employees.^[16]

Raising Canes and Burlington are not the only businesses coming to the mall with others including O'Reilly Auto Parts, Dave & Buster's, Smash n' Axe, and Gohan Buffet, all of which have signed leasing agreements with the mall. The latter four businesses are to be located in the same building as the Burlington, in the old Sears with O'Reilly Auto Parts already opened as of July, 2025.^[16][17]

The Sears store, which was incorporated into the mall in 1982, closed in 2020 and is set to become a new Burlington Department Store, along with other new businesses by 2026.