Brandon Exchange Is Playing Musical Chairs, and the Courtyard Is the Last Seat

Where did the old DICK'S Sporting Goods go, and what goes into the space it left? At Brandon Exchange, those two questions explain most of what has changed at the mall by I-75 and SR 60 over the past year. A store leaves one space and fills another. A new tenant then fills the space it left. The outdoor dining area is the one project adding new restaurant space instead of re-filling an old store, so it's the part to watch heading into the holidays.

Saturday, Oct. 31, marks one year since that chain of moves started.

The chain started in the Sears building

The first move was the largest. DICK'S House of Sport opened with a grand opening weekend from Friday, Oct. 31, to Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. It's a 125,000-square-foot store built on the old Sears site at I-75 and SR 60, as the Osprey Observer reported at the time. The Business Observer also reported the Oct. 31 opening date ahead of time. It's a different kind of store from a standard sporting goods shop. It has a climbing wall, multisport cages and an outdoor turf field for open play and community events. The mall's events calendar now lists birthday parties on that field as a regular offering.

That move opened up the space DICK'S Sporting Goods used to occupy. In its June 30, 2026 update, the mall said Primark will open its first Tampa Bay store in the former DICK'S Sporting Goods space in 2027.

Here's the order of moves so far:

1. Sears building: became DICK'S House of Sport, which opened Oct. 31, 2025.
2. Former DICK'S Sporting Goods space: Primark, scheduled for 2027.
3. Near DICK'S House of Sport: Designers Closet, announced for summer 2026 and now open, sells premium, streetwear, urban and athletic styles.
4. Western wear: Cavender's Boot City, announced for fall 2026, held its grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Cavender's is worth a closer look. The mall's October update calls it the chain's first Tampa Bay location and only its third in Florida. It's family-owned, has been in business for more than 60 years, and offers boot fitting, hat shaping and boot stretching in the store. Brands include Ariat, Wrangler, Resistol and Stetson, along with Cavender's own private labels. If you missed the grand opening, the event page says shoppers who join MyCavender's get $10 off their purchase.

Existing stores got renovated and local owners filled in

Large spaces trading hands get the headlines. Meanwhile, many stores that never moved were rebuilt where they stand. Foot Locker came back in a larger, redesigned space. Hollister rolled out a new store design. Journeys reopened after a complete renovation, and Sleep Number reopened in a refreshed space. Pop Mart added a shop selling collectible art toys. True Religion opened its newest store here as well.

Local businesses have also moved into the gaps. The October update names six of them:

• Hello Sweetie, a family-owned sweet shop with imported and pick-and-mix Swedish candy, viral ice cream trends and customizable dirty sodas
• Happy Hands World, a toy store whose products are designed around emotional growth and confidence
• Sugar Rush, with candy by the pound and snacks that are trending on TikTok
• Mimmic, selling jewelry and fashion-forward accessories
• Sacred Crystals, carrying apparel, crystals and accessories
• Relax in Comfort, with luxury massage chairs and smart beds

A national retailer takes over one of the big buildings, and smaller local owners take the inline storefronts. The mall itself is large. Its owner, NADG, lists the property at 1,150,000 square feet. At that size, even a full year of openings mostly fills existing space without adding any.

The courtyard is the one project adding space

The Restaurant Courtyard and Eatery Plaza are the exception. That remodel adds space instead of handing an existing store to a new tenant. The October update describes new restaurant space, reworked gathering areas, refreshed common areas, updated seating and new landscaping. The June update said the goal is outdoor space to sit between stores, meet friends for coffee or spend time in the sun. It also promised that restaurants and stores would stay open during construction.

So the courtyard's existing restaurants are serving while the work goes on: The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's, Red Robin and Azteca D'Oro, plus Ben's Pizza inside The Eatery. Ben's is a family-owned shop that serves New York-style pizza with an Italian twist. The mall singles out two menu items, the Classic Cheese and the Pepperoni Char Cup.

The mall is planning its holiday season around this space. It says the remodeled Restaurant Courtyard will host "festive events and experiences popping up throughout the season," with details still to come. Its posted calendar lists no courtyard dates yet. The December dates on it are a Little Brands Collective event on Dec. 5 and an autograph signing by Ilya Mikheyev at Palm Beach Autographs on Dec. 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. The mall also says the dining lineup "isn't finished yet," with more restaurants to come. The only restaurant it has named so far is Dave's Hot Chicken, which serves Nashville-style tenders and sliders and is scheduled for 2027.

The same pattern is spreading down Brandon Town Center Drive

The building-to-building shuffle doesn't stop at the mall's property line. Wright's Gourmet House, which has been a South Tampa sandwich and cake shop since 1963, plans a 15,000-square-foot location at 328 Brandon Town Center Dr., near the mall. The Osprey Observer reported that it will move into the building Abby Iron Doors most recently used, which was home to Peltz Shoes before that. It's another tenant taking over a space someone else left.

The Brandon location will be larger than a standard Wright's. Plans combine the cafe with a bakery, an espresso bar, a gourmet market and expanded catering. It will also offer grab-and-go meals, take-and-bake items and event desserts. Caspers Co., which bought Wright's in 2024, expects to employ about 100 people there. The target opening is summer 2027.

Off I-75, the Drury Plaza Hotel Tampa Brandon sits at 802 S. Falkenburg Road, according to Drury Hotels. The Osprey Observer reported that it opened May 28, 2026, with 210 rooms and an on-site Kitchen + Bar. Taken together, the area around the mall is adding places to eat and stay on roughly the same schedule as the mall's own openings. Most of them land in 2027.

The calendar from here

Here's what's dated between now and next summer, from the mall, the Osprey Observer and the Central Hillsborough chamber:

The Brandon Parade of Lights on Dec. 12 is the one holiday event on this list with a confirmed route and start time. Happy Beauty, which will sell makeup, skincare, fragrance and bath products, is the next store due to open at the mall. When the mall announces dates for the courtyard events, that will also be the first chance to see the remodeled dining area in use.

Changes like these around Brandon Town Center Drive shape how the surrounding area feels to live in, and they come up when you're weighing a sale or a purchase nearby. If you'd like to talk through what's changing near you, Rand Wilson Group follows these openings closely. Request a Free Market Consultation and we'll walk through it with you.