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IRVINE, CA—It may sound cliché, but it's nonetheless true: the new collection of small restaurant concepts generates remarkable sales per square foot, attracting routine customer traffic to projects, CBRE EVP Philip Voorhees tells GlobeSt.com. In this retail roundup, we spoke with Voorhees and other retail experts about the prospects they see for the future of this sector, and several mentioned food concepts and restaurants as gaining strength. (For a more in-depth view of the retail sector, see the Annual Retail Review in the May issue of Real Estate Forum.)

According to Howard Wong, managing director of retail for Passco Cos., we will continue to see an increase in the rise of unique concepts and independent retailers, among these are the food retailers. “The rise in food retail will continue to grow over the next several years. In fact, we've already seen this trend start to take form in centers throughout the country,” he tells GlobeSt.com. Previously, restaurants would typically account for approximately 10% to 20% of a retail center. Today, they make up approximately 30% to 40%. “Consumers today are demanding experience-driven environments and unique centers that emulate the latest in exciting new restaurants and fast-casual food options.”

Wong adds that this shift has proven successful in centers across the country, and in many cases, dining and restaurant sales are rapidly outpacing traditional retail sales including department stores. In fact, we may start to see restaurants and foodie concepts act as the anchor for retail centers. One of the reasons for this is that restaurants bring consumers to a center at a much higher frequency than traditional retail. “Many consumers will go back to the same center to visit its restaurants weekly and even daily versus traditionally, where traffic has been driven seasonally by items such as back-to-school and holiday sales. This has resulted in higher traffic and more sales for a center.”