Joe Pierik is vice president for retail leasing and acquisitions at Carpionato Group, a third-generation property development company, which recently announced five new dining destinations coming to its Chapel View development on Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston.
The five new food establishments coming early next year to Chapel View, which was first established in 2008, include Applebee’s, CAVA, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Ugly Dumpling and Wonder. Throughout his 15 years at Carpionato Group, Pierik has focused on regional retail acquisition opportunities, handling specialty retail lease assignments and supervising retail development entitlement/permit processes for the real estate development company.
PBN: With seven new food concepts added in just over a year, how does this latest wave of restaurant tenants fit into Carpionato Group’s long-term strategy for balancing dining, retail, residential and professional uses within Chapel View’s mixed-use ecosystem?
PIERIK: It’s always a balancing act. Over the past six to nine months, the available Chapel View units have all been earmarked for restaurant use. Fortunately, at Chapel View, our mixed-use ecosystem consisting of professional office and residential remains full, with little to no turnover.
PBN: Applebee’s relocation involves repurposing the former Orangetheory/Hair Cuttery/Warhammer space. Can you speak to how Carpionato approaches space reutilization, and what this says about demand patterns within the center?
PIERIK: Applebee’s is and has been an iconic Cranston community gathering place for decades. Reopening Applebee’s at Chapel View accomplishes a couple of our important goals. It reestablishes a community favorite restaurant in the center; equally important, the new Applebee’s fills two vacant units – Orangetheory and former Great Clips – with a national retailer on a long-term lease.
PBN: Given the addition of both national brands and first-to-market concepts like Ugly Dumpling and Wonder, what trends are you seeing in tenant demand for mixed-use environments in southern New England?
PIERIK: Seeing the continued expansion of the most popular QSR (quick-service restaurant) concept continues. This includes concepts like Dave’s Hot Chicken, Raising Cane’s, CAVA and a host of other brands. Demand is driving the expansion within the health/wellness concepts with tenants such as Prime IV, Restore, The Good Feet Store, Degree Wellness and Club Pilates.
PBN: How do you expect the introduction of these five food establishments to influence foot traffic, dwell time and property value or leasing velocity across Chapel View’s retail and office components?
PIERIK: It’s important to understand the impact of vacant units and their negative impacts on foot traffic, dwell time and value. All are substantial. Leased occupied units create increased traffic, and most importantly boost synergy within Chapel View.
The Chapel View office tenants are the beneficiaries of vibrant retail and restaurant spaces. Hence why Chapel View maintains its dominant position within the West Bay suburban office market, both in terms of rents and office occupancy levels.
PBN: Chapel View continues to attract professional services alongside dining and retail. What additional categories or development phases are you prioritizing next to keep the property competitive and aligned with changing consumer and tenant behavior?
PIERIK: Always in demand are the best-in-class food/beverage and emerging retail concepts that integrate elements of entertainment and experience. We strive to curate retail brands that are truly “authentic” and often first to market for the area.
The addition of TopGolf is a great example of this type of retailer driving traffic to the center and area in general. Expect to see a continuation of this type of leasing with the redevelopment of 100 Sockanossett and the former training school acreage just west of TopGolf next to Chapel View.
Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @Marc_La_Rock.
