Q: Construction activity at the old Orchard Supply store at the Granada Shoppes at U.S. 41 and Immokalee Road next to Hobby Lobby. Is something else moving in? — Lauren Fraclose Osborne, Naples
A: HomeSense, a chain of discount home furnishing stores in the HomeGoods family, will open a location later this year in a nearly 30,000-square-foot store next to Hobby Lobby in Granada Shoppes, said a spokesperson for the shopping center on the southeast corner of U.S. 41 and Immokalee Road in North Naples.
“HomeSense will be occupying a portion of the former Orchard Supply Hardware at Granada Shoppes, and a junior anchor tenant will be taking the remainder of the space,” said Maria Pace, vice president of marketing for New York-based Brixmor Property Group, the retail real estate investment trust that owns Granada Shoppes.
At 29,012 square feet, the HomeSense store will fill the majority of the 37,125-quare-foot space vacated by Orchard Supply Hardware in early 2019 when Lowe’s permanently shuttered all of its Orchard Supply stores nationwide. That will leave 8,113 square feet still available for a future tenant between HomeSense and Petland. 
The project’s demolition permit was granted Feb. 21, Collier County development records show. The scope of the mostly interior demolition work entails removal of interior partitions and plumbing and lighting fixtures. The exterior tilt-up walls will be selectively demolished to prepare for future doors, storefronts and a façade redesign suitable for new tenant improvements.
HomeSense will be the fourth-largest store in Granada Shoppes, behind Hobby Lobby, Haverty’s and Marshalls. The retail brand is part of Massachusetts-based TJX Companies, which includes retailers T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, a similar store to HomeSense, which carries home décor merchandise, furniture, lighting, rugs, art and seasonal items. The store includes a “work from home” section with items needed for a home office. HomeSense stores are said to have more furniture than HomeGoods locations.
“HomeSense brings customers even more of what we know they love – beautiful, quality home merchandise at incredible values,” said John Ricciuti, president of HomeGoods and HomeSense in the United States.
Promoted with the tagline “Home of your next discovery,” HomeSense started in Canada more than 20 years ago but didn’t expand to the United States until 2017. The retail brand has about 50 stores in the nation and was targeted to add seven stores this year. The retailer has Florida stores in Sarasota, Port St. Lucie and Lake Mary.
Brixmor also owns Park Shore Plaza and Freedom Square, the two retail centers in Collier County that are home to HomeGoods stores. Those stores are slightly larger than the future HomeSense store. The HomeGoods store is 31,000 square feet on U.S. 41 in Park Shore, while it is 29,446 square feet in Freedom Square near the corner of Collier Boulevard and U.S. 41 East. 
More Brixmor
Brixmor Property Group also owns the Center of Bonita Springs, where Burlington and Kohl’s department stores soon will replace the Old Time Pottery store on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Bonita Beach Road. Old Time Pottery is expected to close its 70,012-square-foot store next month after operating there since November 2014.
That large space that formerly was Kmart will be divided to create a 41,800-square-foot Kohl’s and a 28,640-square-foot Burlington store. The larger Kohl’s will be sandwiched between Burlington and medical offices for NCH Healthcare System in that Publix-anchored center in Bonita Springs. Brixmor also has Burlington stores in its Park Shore Plaza and Freedom Square properties.
In Freedom Square, Brixmor also has leased a 2,500-square-foot unit to Just Puppies, a puppy boutique that will open this year next to the existing Pet Supermarket, Pace said. The vacant space formerly was part of a Dollar Tree store. 
Cheddar’s check-in
Q: Do you know what’s going on with the previous Sweet Tomatoes building at 41 and Immokalee Road? They are doing a lot of work on it. — Jennifer Buyse-East, Naples
A: Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen is under construction in the shell of the highly visible former space of Sweet Tomatoes on the southeast corner of U.S. 41 North and Immokalee Road in North Naples.
Construction on that Granada Shoppes outparcel is targeted for completion near the end of May, when work will begin by Darden Restaurants to open Cheddar’s, one of its casual dining brands with a full bar. The new freestanding restaurant is expected to launch this summer, said Rich Jeffers, senior director of communications for Orlando-based Darden. 
Cheddar’s only other regional location is near Gulf Coast Town Center on the corner of Alico Road and Ben Hill Griffin Parkway in Lee County. The growing chain features a scratch menu of comfort food favorites such as chicken pot pies, country fried steak and honey butter croissants.
The 7,000-square-foot restaurant space in North Naples was vacated in 2020 by Sweet Tomatoes. That’s when the California-based company permanently closed all of its locations nationwide after its defunct dining concept — built around an expansive salad bar and all-you-can-eat buffet — was sidelined during the COVID-19 pandemic. The North Naples location operated for 10 years in an outparcel that previously was Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com.
