Qdoba opens, sub shop delayed and 2 other fast-casual chains coming at Westgate Mall

Jersey Mike’s is pushing it’s tentative opening date by a good week, while Qdoba Mexican Eats has officially opened at the newly-revamped Westgate Mall in Bethlehem.

Qdoba Mexican Eats on Monday grand opened in a newly-constructed strip mall at the shopping center, along Schoenersville Road, an employee confirmed to lehighvalleylive.com. It becomes the second regional location with another Qdoba site along MacArthur Road in Whitehall. As of last year, there were over 750 locations nationally, as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico, the chain’s website states.

Qdoba Mexican Eats is known for its bowls, burritos, tacos, nachos, salads and cheese-crusted quesadillas. Protein choices include grilled adobo chicken; ground beef; hot and sweet chicken; steak; pulled pork; and brisket birria. Toppings don’t cost anything additional. They include fajita vegetables, guacamole, queso and seven different salsas at various heat levels, according to the menu.

Qdoba’s opening follows the 2,300-square-foot Starbucks with drive-thru, which opened on Aug. 16, at the end of the new strip mall. People’s First Federal Credit Union additionally softly opened on Aug. 19 and is planning a grand opening on Wednesday, said Tyler Welk, vice president of marketing at People’s First Credit Union.

Welk described the Bethlehem branch as being People’s First “most technologically-advanced” site. Festivities for the grand opening will include prizes and free food, as well as sign-ups for new members.

The credit union is on the site of the former Dempsey’s American Kitchen. The restaurant in the mall’s parking lot previously sat vacant since the diner closed in 2005. It was then demolished to make way for the credit union.

Additionally, a 4,540-square-foot, newly-constructed McDonald’s, featuring a dual-lane drive-thru, outdoor patio and ordering kiosks, softly opened in March. The fast-casual giant grand opened on April 25. The site sits at Westgate Mall’s corner at Schoenersville Road and Westgate Drive.

Another new tenant — Oak Street Health — in June 2023 opened its 12th statewide clinic in space that previously occupied Rite Aid. The 10,000-square-foot Rite Aid, at the south end of the shopping center, previously sat idle for two years. It shuttered in May 2021.

The shopping destination also welcomed Fine Wine & Good Spirits back to its original location following some upgrades. The liquor store prior was operating in a temporary location next to the former Amateur Athlete space. The original space was totally gutted and expanded before reopening in September 2023, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokesman Shawn Kelly had said.

Jersey Mike’s is slated to open its doors next at the newly-constructed strip mall within Westgate Mall. The strip mall, near the new Weis Market, was constructed at the site of a former interior portion of the mall.

The sub shop now plans to tentatively open on Sept. 25 — seven days from its initial Sept. 18 target date, franchise owner Geritt Curran told lehighvalleylive.com this week. All construction work is completed, and the location is now awaiting final inspections from the city, Curran said.

“Once the town is able to conduct our inspections, then we should be good to go,” he said.

The Bethlehem sub shop will become Curran’s 22nd franchise in the chain. He also operates regional sites in Forks Township; Lower Nazareth; Lower Macungie; and Whitehall. He recently added a South Whitehall location.

Jersey Mike’s is known for its premium meats and cheeses, sliced on the spot and piled high on in-store baked bread. There’s cold choices, such as “Jersey Shore’s Favorite,” which is provolone and ham and cappacuolo; and “Club Supreme,” which is roast beef, Swiss, applewood smoked bacon and turkey. There’s also hot selections, such as “Chipotle Cheese Steak,” with grilled onions, peppers, white American cheese and chipotle mayo; and the “Grilled Portabella Mushroom & Swiss,” with portabella mushrooms, green bell peppers, onions and Swiss.

Fans know they can top their creations off with “Mike’s Way,” which includes onions, lettuce and tomato topped off with a zing of “the juice,” meaning blended red wine vinegar and olive oil. Subs can be purchased in three sizes — the 5-inch mini, 7-inch regular, or 14-15-inch giant — alone or part of a meal with chips and a drink.

Two other fast-casual restaurant chains – So Fresh and Tropical Smoothie Cafe – are expected to fill two remaining units of the building sometime this fall, had said Marjorie Kaplan, vice president of public relations for Axiom Communications, which is handling communications for Westgate.

SoFresh and Tropical Smoothie Cafe will be opening their first regional eateries at Westgate. Tampa, Florida-based SoFresh is known for serving up bowls, salads, quesadillas and wraps while Tropical Smoothie Cafe offers a variety of beverages, as well as sandwiches, bowls, wraps, salads, breakfast items, and sweet treats, according to the chain’s menu.

A freestanding Penn Community Bank with drive-thru is being built between the new strip mall and new Weis. The bank also is expected to open in the fall, Kaplan had said.

The multi-million-dollar Westgate Mall redevelopment project is being spearheaded by Onyx Equities of Woodbridge, New Jersey.

The mall itself was built in 1973 on Schoenersville Road near Routes 22 and 378. Onyx Equities around 2021 started its four-phase transformation of the mall’s empty spaces. The 50-year-old mall is getting its second biggest overhaul in nine years.

There was a $5 million facelift in 2015, which added Sky Zone Trampoline Park. Westgate changed hands in October 2018 when it was bought by Onyx. That move came after the mall lost its anchor, The Bon-Ton, earlier that year.

Onyx’s first three phases included: moving Weis Markets in May 2021 from a 33,000-square-foot building at the end of the center to the larger, former Bon-Ton space; the redevelopment of the former Weis space into two portions, which includes Calabasas, California-based Harbor Freight Tools; and the the demolition of about 50,463-square-feet of existing interior mall space.

The interior demo work forced at least six existing retailers — Hawk Music; Westgate Jewelers; Holiday Hair; Fashion Nails; Amateur Athlete; and Subway — to relocate. All, with the exception of Subway, have since found other locations. Subway ended up closing at Westgate Mall for good.

Just a few empty spaces remain at Westgate Mall. They are mostly around Harbor Freight Tools, ranging from 1,200 to about 13,000 square feet. As of early August, signs at the mall indicated an estimated 13,000-square-feet of space remained available for leasing.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.