Big changes coming to the Hanford Mall

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Business is booming in one South Valley city and the talk of the town right now is what's happening at the mall. Four new restaurants are expected to open at Hanford Mall within the next six months.

After seven years, Forever 21's Hanford Mall location will close in April. Within the last year, other tenants on the mall's property have also decided to leave, but Hanford city manager Darrel Pyle says closed doors have recently opened up new ones. "Leases were up, tenants moved out, which provided some great opportunities for pent up demand here in Hanford for some new restaurant experiences," Pyle explained.

Four new restaurants will open at the mall this summer: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Pieology Pizza, Dunkin Donuts and Buffalo Wild Wings.

"I'm a huge Buffalo Wild Wings guy and I love all the TV's," Israel Otto of Lemoore exclaimed.

Otto works in Hanford. The closest Buffalo Wild Wings is in Visalia, so now he'll save both time and money. The city of Hanford is seeing a surge of economic growth across the board, both residential and commercial -- creating new opportunities and jobs for the community. "It's single-family housing, multifamily housing, commercial development, on both the east side and the west side, as well as industrial park interest," Pyle said.

"Living here so long you never expect that Hanford would be able to develop so fast," Otto said. "And I think this is going to be great for Hanford, and I feel like we're going to be able to grow with all the money and everything that these businesses are going to be making. It's going to be a great change."

Driving by the mall, you can't miss it -- change is coming, and the restaurants are opening soon.