Following through on a promise to add an entertainment component to the Del Amo Fashion Center, the mall’s owners are bringing a Dave and Buster’s to the center as part of its multimillion-dollar makeover.

Torrance city officials confirmed Friday that the large video game-sports bar-restaurant will occupy a space at the south end of the mall — between Sears and Burlington Coat Factory — where at least 16 storefronts were vacated earlier this month.

Some of those stores, including a GNC health food outlet, moved further north in the mall.

According to the mall’s website, the Outback Steakhouse also has temporarily closed to make room for the construction, but will reopen by July 15, presumably in a different location.

City planners said they are in the final stages of reviewing the demolition permit needed for work to begin in that portion of the mall.

A Dick’s Sporting Goods also will open this summer nearby in the south portion of the mall.

Deal not yet done

City officials say the arrival of the Dave & Buster’s remains a work in progress despite indications it’s moving rapidly.

The entertainment component of the business means it will require a conditional-use permit to open at the mall, where development is guided by a specific plan adopted for Hawthorne Boulevard.

“We’ve explained the filing requirements to them,” said Danny Santana, senior planner. “We’re waiting for them to submit (paperwork).”

A CUP requires approval by the Planning Commission.

Lindsay Hermance, the mall’s director of marketing and business development, did not respond to a message left seeking comment and neither did a representative of Dave & Buster’s.

Founded in 1982, the company has 92 locations in 30 states and Canada.

Discount clothing store TJ Maxx, located at the end of the mall just north of Carson Street near BJs Restaurant, also will move to the south end of Del Amo once the renovation is completed near Burlington Coat Factory, city officials indicated previously.

City officials had briefly posted information about Dave & Buster’s and TJ Maxx on Facebook in December before quickly removing it, presumably because it was not yet a done deal.

Mall owner Simon Property Group may not be talking, but the plans appear to support the retail and marketing strategy Del Amo has pursued since the renovation began in earnest in 2014 with the opening of a newly renovated, upscale food court above Carson Street.

The $300-million-plus project included a brand-new Nordstrom — poached from the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach — at the far north end of the 1.25-mile-long mall and an adjacent two-level, high-end fashion wing.

The moving of TJ Maxx to the south end — which has signs reading Del Amo Shopping Center in an effort to differentiate it from the more expensive stores to the north — also fits in with the mall’s retail strategy.

Mall retailers struggling

Moreover, malls are increasingly turning to entertainment-oriented businesses to fill space left by traditional brick-and-mortar retailers as they come under increasing pressure from Amazon and other online merchants.

The pace of retail closures and bankruptcies appears to be quickening.

In recent months, several traditional mall retailers in financial difficulty have announced plans to close all or some of their stores, including Wet Seal, Aeropostale Inc. and American Apparel.

Earlier this month, for instance, Carson officials confirmed the South Bay’s last surviving Kmart would soon close.

It’s replacement in the Carson Town Center, across from Alpine Village just off the 110 Freeway, will be a John’s Incredible Pizza, a chain of nine family-entertainment centers that offer a buffet and arcade games similar to Dave & Buster’s.