"When we first started driving the property, we could feel the parking garage move underneath the car." That's how Josh Poag, president and CEO of Poag Shopping Centers, described his first visits to RiverTown Crossings in a WOOD TV interview published Oct. 1, 2026. His company bought the Grandville mall in 2024. The deck next to Barnes & Noble is still there. Until it's torn down, the restaurants Poag says want to come to the property have nowhere to go.
That one structure explains the mix of shops opening on both levels between now and winter.
The deck that's holding up the restaurants
After structural engineers looked at the garage, Poag Shopping Centers decided to tear it down. Demolition hasn't started, though, and Poag told WOOD TV the delay comes from how the mall is set up. "When you have department stores and anchors, which we have seven of on property between department stores and Dick's (Sporting Goods) and Barnes & Noble and Celebration, you have to get the approvals of everybody in order to move forward on a dramatic change like that," he said.
The plan is to replace the deck with surface parking and two new outlots for restaurants. Poag hopes demolition can wrap up next year. He said "some restaurants that have just been on hold" are interested, and that depending on construction, they could open "in theory" in 2028.
So 2028 is the earliest the outlots could have restaurants, and only if every anchor signs off. In the meantime, the mall is leasing what it can lease now, inside the existing building.
What's filling the storefronts in the meantime
On Sept. 28, 2026, the mall announced 11 new tenants, as WOOD TV reported that day. The leases total 33,208 square feet, according to WZZM 13. That works out to about 3,000 square feet per tenant. These are small shops, a long way from the department-store footprints the mall was built around.
| Tenant | What it is | Where in the mall | Opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Throw it Back Dirty Soda | Customizable nonalcoholic dirty sodas | Lower level, next to Vito's Sports Shop | Open since Aug. 15 |
| MooZoo Slime Shop | Handmade slime, DIY kits, slime activities | Lower level, Center Court | Oct. 17 |
| Sweet Kisses Bakery | Brownies, cookies, custom cakes | Second level, near JCPenney | Nov. 15 |
| Kako Claw | Skill-based claw machines | Lower level, next to Build-A-Bear Workshop | Fall 2026 |
| Summit Comics and Games | Comics, board games, trading card games | Lower level, next to Aerie | Fall 2026 |
| Katie's Heart & Home | Year-round Christmas décor, gifts, subscription boxes | Lower level, across from Old Navy | Fall 2026 |
| Addiour Perfume | Designer and specialty fragrances | Second level, across from Barnes & Noble | Fall 2026 |
| Ventrora Perfume | Luxury fragrances | Location not yet announced | Fall 2026 |
| Cell Repair Xpert | Phone, tablet and console repair | Upper level, next to GameStop | Fall 2026 |
| JD Sports | Athletic apparel and sneakers | Lower level, next to Bath & Body Works | Winter 2026 |
| Snack'd | Snacks, drinks and candy from more than 40 countries | Lower level, next to Victoria's Secret | Winter 2026 |
Three of the eleven sell treats: the soda counter, the bakery and Snack'd. Three more are built around kids and hobbies: slime, claw machines and comics. Every one of them fits in an ordinary inline storefront. None of them needs a kitchen with outdoor frontage, which is what the outlots would offer.
The first date coming up is Saturday, Oct. 17. MooZoo's grand opening on the mall's event calendar runs from noon to 4 p.m., with free slime and cotton candy offers and a kids market. Sweet Kisses Bakery follows on Nov. 15 upstairs near JCPenney. The other fall tenants have only a season listed, not a date. JD Sports and Snack'd are listed for winter.
The newest place to eat is inside the theater
With the outlots years off, the newest place to eat on the property is inside Celebration Cinema. It joins the food court and the five sit-down restaurants listed on the mall's homepage. Poag told WOOD TV his company put "a large capital allocation" into the theater because "it draws a lot of people, it drives a lot of traffic and it helps brand the property."
According to WOOD TV's January 2026 report, the first phase of the renovation gutted the auditoriums, installed heated recliners, added a C Premium theater, renovated the hallways and redid the bathrooms. WOOD Radio reported that the theater stayed open throughout the work. The lobby restaurant and bar, Oscar's, opened in late April 2026. FOX 17 reported that it serves pizza, sliders, quesadillas, appetizers, desserts, beer, wine and cocktails. Moviegoers can order by QR code and have food brought to their seats. Local news coverage calls it Oscar's Restaurant & Bar. Celebration Cinema's own RiverTown page lists it as Oscar's Kitchen & Bar.
Reported costs vary. WOOD TV puts the total at more than $5 million, and FOX 17 reported $5.8 million. Either way, that's several times what Poag spent on the grounds. In December 2024, WOOD TV reported more than $1.3 million spent on landscaping, merry-go-round repairs, parking lot potholes and new LED lighting. Poag says the theater is now "doing exceptionally well."
The closest new restaurant planned off the property isn't at the mall. Dave's Hot Chicken is headed to 3148 44th Street SW, next to Dublin Jerkey & BBQ, with an opening planned before the end of 2026, according to WZZM 13.
The event calendar is aimed at the same families
Poag's case for events matches the store lineup. "It's about bringing families. It's about bringing kids," he told WOOD TV. He also gave a number. In the 90 days before the Oct. 1 interview, traffic was up 2% over the same stretch a year earlier. On a base he estimated at about 4.5 million visitors a year, he put that at roughly 90,000 more people coming to the property. He linked that traffic directly to the new leases: more visitors mean more sales, and more sales mean more retailers want to move in.
Here's what's on the mall's calendar through New Year's Eve:
- MooZoo Slime Shop grand opening, Saturday, Oct. 17, noon to 4 p.m., lower-level Center Court.
- Boo Bash, Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 to 7 p.m. It's free and includes trick-or-treating at participating stores while candy lasts, a DJ and dancing, and a costume contest with four prize categories. Guests older than 14 can't wear masks that cover the face. The City of Grandville's recommended neighborhood trick-or-treat hours that night are 6 to 8 p.m., per WOOD TV's list, so the two windows overlap by an hour.
- Holiday Craft & Vendor Show, Black Friday, Nov. 27, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with handmade goods, gifts, seasonal décor and local makers. These are the show's hours, not the mall's holiday shopping hours.
- Holiday performances, weekdays Dec. 1 through 18, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The mall invites local schools, choirs, bands, orchestras and community groups to book slots of up to 60 minutes in advance.
- Noon Year's Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m. to noon, with DJ Tron, face painting, party favors and a 3,000-balloon drop.
Santa's 2026 dates and holiday shopping hours haven't been posted yet. The mall's holiday page says to check back in November. The Photos with Santa page still shows the 2024 schedule, so those dates don't apply this year.
What the next two years look like from the food court
Poag is drawing families in with the theater, the event calendar and kid-focused shops, and pointing to the 2% traffic gain to sign more retailers. Small inline tenants can move in this season. Restaurants can't until all seven anchors approve the demolition, the deck comes down and the outlots are built. Poag's hopeful timeline puts those restaurants in 2028. Until then, the new food on the property comes from Oscar's in the cinema lobby, Throw it Back on the lower level and Sweet Kisses starting Nov. 15, with Snack'd due in winter.
Changes at a mall this size affect the homes around it, from the traffic on Rivertown Parkway to how the neighborhood shows to buyers. If you own a home in Grandville and wonder how changes like these figure into its value, Bryan Anderson Real Estate can walk you through it. Get Your Instant Home Valuation, and we'll talk through what's happening near you.
