MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. The mall turns 30 this year. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

MainPlace Mall has more than 15 restaurants including Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ, Wokcano Asian Fusion Restaurant & Bar (pictured) and Dog Haus. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Sound The gallery will resume in seconds

MainPlace Mall has more than 15 restaurants including Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ, Wokcano Asian Fusion Restaurant & Bar (pictured) and Dog Haus. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

More entertainment and restaurant options are among the biggest changes at MainPlace Mall in the last 30 years. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

MainPlace Mall has more than 15 restaurants including Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ (pictured), Wokcano Asian Fusion Restaurant & Bar and Dog Haus. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)



MainPlace Mall has more than 15 restaurants including Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ (pictured), Wokcano Asian Fusion Restaurant & Bar and Dog Haus. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Blaze Pizza and Dog Haus at MainPlace Mall. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Dog Haus at MainPlace Mall. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Applebee’s at MainPlace Mall. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

MainPlace Mall has more than 15 restaurants including Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ, Wokcano Asian Fusion Restaurant & Bar (pictured) and Dog Haus. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Olive Garden at MainPlace Mall is planning to relocate across the street to City Place in Santa Ana. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The food court at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Starbucks at MainPlace Mall. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Ashley Furniture at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana on Thursday, May 18, 2017. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Ashley Furniture at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Ashley Furniture at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Tesla charging stations at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In 2015, a 24 Hour Fitness and Round 1 Bowling & Amusement opened at MainPlace Mall.(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In 2015, a 24 Hour Fitness and Round 1 Bowling & Amusement opened at MainPlace Mall.(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In 2015, a 24 Hour Fitness and Round 1 Bowling & Amusement opened at MainPlace Mall.(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)



MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana features new stores such as Ashley Furniture and a 24 Hour Fitness. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. The mall turns 30 this year. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. The mall turns 30 this year. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. The mall turns 30 this year. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Tesla charging stations at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)



MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana in Santa Ana on Thursday, May 18, 2017. The mall will celebrate it’s 30th year this year. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A lot can change in 30 years, especially a shopping mall. Especially as the Internet reshaped how most of us shop.

In recent years, the 21st-century mall has evolved across Orange County, where retail thrives. Aging and traditional malls are saying goodbye to longstanding anchors and hello to hipster food concepts, entertainment venues and residential units.

This theme is playing out in Santa Ana, where MainPlace Mall has retooled its retail space several times under different owners. This year, it celebrates 30 years with an eye on expansion.

The mall, which started with just three restaurants and a modest food court when it opened, has lost what were once key anchors — Bullocks, Robinsons-May, the Macy’s Mens store and Nordstrom. Its newest owner, Centennial Real Estate, has doubled down on entertainment and more food options, creating an experience for consumers to lure them away from their computers.

“The retail landscape is evolving constantly,” the mall’s general manager Jonathan Maher said. “The biggest difference from malls today is malls 30 years ago were retail focused. Now, with computers, people are looking for an experience.”

Restaurants at the mall include Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ, Wokcano Asian Fusion Restaurant & Bar and Dog Haus. Entertainment and fitness options were added when the former Macy’s Men’s and Home store close shop and seven tenants moved in, including 24 Hour Fitness and Round 1 Bowling & Amusement.

Lucille’s, which opened in December 2015, has benefited from the tenant shakeup.

“They brought in a lot of new faces, new names and the mall itself is in a great area, in a great location,” Lucille’s assistant general manager Nick McMahon said. The Garden Grove resident has been going to the mall for years.

“The change since we’ve been here too has been great,” he said.

Extending the mall

Centennial Real Estate took over MainPlace Mall from Westfield at the end of 2015.

The mall operator has since been acquiring surrounding land it will develop in the future.The group so far has bought the parking lots surrounding the mall on Main Drive, with the exception of the Wells Fargo building lot.

Plans have not been finalized, but Maher said possibilities for the area include a hotel, offices and apartments.

“Malls now have more components,” he said.

It’s a similar story at other neighborhood malls in Orange County. Laguna Hills Mall is making a similar play.

The dated mall is adding luxury apartments, a movie theater, park and indoor and outdoor shops. Merlone Geier Partners bought the property from Simon Property Group in 2013.

Big players leave malls

As big-store anchors like Nordstrom, JCPenney and possibly Sears exit the malls, operators are reimaging the space left behind.

That scenario is playing out at Mainplace, where the former Nordstrom, which closed in March after 29 years, will likely see multiple tenants in its place.

“I’m less excited about putting one tenant in as I am about bringing in new uses,” Maher said.

To make room for even more new tenants, MainPlace will shift the Olive Garden restaurant across the street to City Place.

Irvine Spectrum Center was one of the first local malls to demolish what once was a key anchor to make room for multiple vendors. In 2016, its landlord Irvine Company tore down Macy’s and is nearing completion on a new construction that will be home to roughly 20 new shopping options.

JCPenney’s downsizing has left a hole at the Village at Orange. The store will shutter mid-June. It’s the only retail store in Southern California among 138 so far marked for closure nationwide by the company.

Tim McMahon, a leasing broker with CRBE, said the group is looking for a single tenant at the small Orange mall but remains open to the option of dividing the space.

The next big shoe to drop in retail will be the demise of Sears. The struggling retailer has hired Eastdil Secured to market and sell at least $1 billion of real estate properties.

If Sears does sell off its stores, retail analyst Greg Stoffel said area malls would most likely have first dibs, giving them a chance to redevelop the area with new concepts, particularly entertainment and experience-oriented stores.

Stoffel said MainPlace “took out” other nearby centers when it first opened.

Initially, the developers thought of the center as a high-end mall, but it has ultimately has appealed to lower-income demographics, he said.

“MainPlace is not in the upper tier of upscale centers in Orange County. South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island, the Shops at Mission Viejo and Brea Mall occupy that space. MainPlace is a solid B center, still better than Buena Park downtown and Westminster,” Stoffel said. “But the center’s busy. For what it is, it looks well tenanted. They just need to continue to do a really good job of meeting the needs of the customers who live in close proximity.”

Focus on events

MainPlace Mall will take advantage of its parking lots and proximity to the 5 freeway to host more events in the months ahead. In recent years it has hosted a handful of events including a fall food festival and a Latin music festival

“It’s the next phase in what makes a mall worth going to,” Maher said. “You can bring your family and stay for the day.”

Activities at the mall bring more people to the restaurants, McMahon at Lucille’s affirmed.

“Malls have always been a community gathering place and that’s becoming more important,” Maher said. “The bigger companies can’t be as nimble. They’re into national marketing campaigns but we are local.”

Upcoming events include Halloween Dia de los Muertos on Oct. 28 and Taste of Santa Ana on Sept. 30.