YAKIMA, Wash. — Shop Talk is on retail announcement watch.

Last month, I reported that CenterCal Properties, owner of the Valley Mall, had a letter-of-intent for the second anchor tenant at the Washington Plaza development at 1400 E. Washington Ave.

CenterCal CEO Fred Bruning said previously that the identity of the tenant would be revealed once the lease was signed.

YAKIMA, Wash. -- This blog post has been brought to you by the word makeover.

• One restaurant that will need it, at least locally, is Wendy’s. My Yakima Herald-Republic colleague Mike Faulk reported food safety issues are at the center of the closure of Wendy’s locations in Washington, Oregon and Montana, including two in Yakima.

Meanwhile, new Wendy’s CEO Emil Brolic... Read this post

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Target store will soon be getting a makeover.

Store manager C.J. St. Clair confirmed today the store will be receiving a remodel featuring an expanded fresh produce and grocery section, part of a the retailer’s new Produce Fresh, or P-Fresh for short, store formats.

Minneapolis-based Target first introduced the concept in 2008 to two stores in Minnes... Read this post

YAKIMA, Wash. —  A new espresso stand has opened just off the corner of Summitview and 32nd avenues.

Summitbrew Espresso has opened next to The Flower Garden (the business once used the stand as a potting area for its flowers).

The stand uses coffee from Batdorf and Bronson, an Olympia-based coffee brewer. Some of you may remember that was the same coffee used at Terrapin Station, a coffee shop that was Read this post

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Lots of interesting retail and restaurant news as we head into the weekend:

• Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches confirmed that a store will open in downtown Yakima. But Ali Goldner, a Jimmy John’s spokeswoman, says it was too soon to confirm when the eatery would open.

It’s been interesting to see the local vs. national brand debate in the pre... Read this post

YAKIMA, Wash. -- It looks like downtown Yakima will get another sandwich shop.

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches is looking to open at the ground floor of the Larson Building at Second Street and Yakima Avenue, according to a building permit report from the City of Yakima.

The Champaign, Ill.-based company has more than 1,200 locations nationwide. The Yakima location would be the fifth east of the Cascades — Jimmy John... Read this post

UNION GAP, Wash. — Since J.C. Penney filed for building permits in November, there hasn’t been much word from Fred Bruning, CEO of CenterCal Properties, the owner of the Valley Mall and Washington Plaza, about developments at the former Costco site.

Bruning broke his silence Wednesday, but he wasn’t able to reveal a whole lot.

He did mention there is a letter... Read this post

YAKIMA, Wash. — After the restaurant closed at the end of 2010, the former Casa Mia building has been empty for all of 2011. 

But it looks like the building at 3312 W. Nob Hill Blvd. will soon be home to a new Greek restaurant.

Co-owner Mo Harandi said he’s been working on renovations for the restaurant, which does not yet have a name. Harandi is aiming to have the restaurant o... Read this post

Good day, I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Anyway, it looks like there is plenty to catch up on:

• So perhaps the time to shop — if you hate the crowds — is the day after Christmas. At least that’s what my colleague Molly Rosbach found when interviewing local shoppers yesterday. 

• It looks like Sears Holdings Corp. —&... Read this post

YAKIMA, Wash. -- With the New Year coming quickly, it’s time to look back and write about the year’s retail and restaurant industry highlights for 2011.

But this year, I want you to help me to decide what to highlight for this year’s year-end Reporter’s Notebook column.

To get you thinking, here are a few possibilities:

• Creekside West opens — After Sage Restaurant and Wine Bar closed in June 2010, the restaurant’s investors... Read this post