Northeast Modesto shopping center lands two new restaurants, one familiar coffee shop
Three new eateries are opening in northeast Modesto’s The Marketplace complex, adding new neighbors for the city’s flagship Save Mart store.
The Marketplace at the corner of Oakdale Road and Sylvan Avenue debuted in October 2019 with the opening of the new supermarket. Since then the shopping center has slowly added tenants, including La Parilla Mexican restaurant and The Pho Vietnamese restaurant.
Now, two new restaurants and a well-known coffee shop will join the ranks, said Tom Solomon of CoSol Commercial Real Estate, which is handling leasing for the center’s property owner and developer, Berberian Holdings.
The two restaurants will move into vacant existing space in the center. Also, ubiquitous coffee seller Starbucks is building a standalone shop with drive-thru on an empty pad in the complex.
The new restaurants will add to the center’s food options, and offer diverse choices for diners.
Japanese sushi, steak on menu at new center addition
The new Japanese restaurant Okawa Sushi & Steak will move in next door to La Parilla. This will be Southern California-based restaurateur Jing Lin’s second eatery in town. She also owns the existing Osaka Sushi on McHenry Avenue.
The new restaurant will have a full sushi menu, as well as specialize in steaks served on sizzling hot volcanic stone slabs. Once completed the 3,027-square-foot space should seat about 120, and have a staff of 15 to 20 offering lunch and dinner service daily.
Lin, who splits time between the San Diego area and the Central Valley, has 20 years experience in restaurants. Her family has run Chinese and Japanese restaurants, and she has operated an Okawa Sushi in Southern California for the last decade. She bought Modesto’s Osaka sushi from its previous owners four years ago.
Plans for the restaurant have been submitted to the city, and Lin is aiming for a spring opening.
Indian fusion pizza place opening in The Marketplace
Nearby in the same retail strip, the fusion pizza place Pizza Twist is set to open next year as well. The national chain has locations from California to Texas and New Jersey. It blends Indian spices and flavors to create unique pies like the chicken tikka masala pizza and spicy lamb kabob pizza.
Local franchisee Vick Sekhon, who will manage the business for his father and uncle, said they are excited to bring the concept to Modesto. The Ceres resident and his family emigrated from India to California in 2006, settling in the Modesto area.
“We’ve been eating this Indian style fusion pizza since we’ve been in this county,” Sekhon said. “We chose this franchise because it offers flavorful pizza with unique Asian flavors and some healthy approaches.”
This will be the family’s first restaurant. Pizza Twist has more than 50 restaurants across the country, and offers vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, halal and other specialty options.
Sekhon said plans for the new 1,500-square-foot restaurant should be ready next month, and they intend to start construction soon after. He said they hope to open in early 2022. Once complete the space will seat about 30 to 40, and offer pickup and delivery.
Across the complex, just south of the center’s main Oakdale Road entrance, a vacant pad will soon welcome a Starbucks with a drive-thru. The coffee giant has more than 20 locations in Modesto already, and this will be its fifth shop on Oakdale Road alone (two existing locations in Modesto, two in Riverbank)
Solomon said he anticipates a spring 2022 opening for the new Starbucks.
The Marketplace still has several spaces available, as well as empty pads in the complex. The retail strip closest to Sylvan Avenue has about 6,000 square feet of retail space that can be leased. Next to Save Mart, the finished 10,000-square-foot adjoining building is also still available and Solomon said they’re “searching for the right use” for the space.
Solomon said he would like to attract a hair or beauty salon to the center, as well as perhaps a wireless store. They would compliment the other existing businesses, he said, which besides the restaurants includes an eye care center, children’s dental office and nail salon.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
