Tillys is opening a store in Manteca’s Stadium Retail Center on Tuesday, May 4.
It comes on the heels of another clothing retailer — the Boot Barn — opening earlier this month on the Spreckels Park commercial area between Target and Staples.
The clothing store openings are a precursor to three major openings anticipated this summer in Manteca.
*The 500-room Great Wolf Indoor Waterpark Resort welcomes its first guests on June 15.
*The two-story Veranda banquet hall that will anchor downtown is working toward a mid-summer opening.
*The 116,641-square-foot Living Spaces furniture showroom at Union Road and Atherton Drive is on track to open this summer.
Also expected to open in the coming months is the Raising Canes fast food restaurant built around chicken fingers now being built next to the Manteca Bowlero bowling alley and a car wash at Commerce and Phoenix drives behind Staples.
A number of smaller retailers and dining concerns have opened since the start of the year including Dutch Bros Coffee, Sourdough & Co., as well as Bath and Body Works in the Stadium Retail Center where La Estrella Mexican restaurant will soon be opening their fourth location.
The flurry of economic activity has taken place despite the pandemic lockdowns.
And while the $180 million Great Wolf project started before the pandemic and had its opening delayed for 11 months due to lockdown rules, the fact it is opening its doors this year will make 2021 a banner year for new economic activity in Manteca.
Manteca being able to land clothing stores such as Tillys and Boot Barn in today’s transformed retail world where the pandemic accelerated the shift to online sales and forced a rethinking of how chain operations are rethinking their brick and mortar presence reflects the lure of the city’s continued growth.
Manteca is adding 2,000 plus new residents annually as is Lathrop. Between the two cities as well as Ripon there are now 142,000 consumers within five miles of Union Road and the 120 Bypass.
It is why Living Spaces chose that locale for its newest mega-furniture store that will eventually include a restaurant. Interest is reported to be high in the rest of the Union Crossing project where developer Bill Filios is working with a number of retailers interested in the location.
Two Union Crossing parcels across the street have been sold. Chevron is preparing to break ground on a gas station on the southwest corner of Union Road and Atherton Drive. Just to the west of that project developers are expected to submit plans in the coming weeks to Manteca for a 281-unit apartment complex.
Tillys primarily sells clothing, shoes, and accessories for various active lifestyles. Among the brands sold are Adidas, Billabong, The North Face, Dickies, Ethinka, Obey, RVCA, Penny, Jansport, Herschel, Converse, Salty Crew, DC Shoes, Element, Fox, Huff Primitive, Brixton, Satnce, G-Shock, Riot Society, Hurley, Nike SB, O'Neill, Quiksilver, RVCA, Vans, and others, as well as an extensive selection of Levi's. They also sell store brands such as Blue Crown, RSQ, Micros, and West of Melrose.
The firm currently operates 237 stores in 33 states.
The closest stores to Manteca are in Weberstown Mall in Stockton and Vintage Faire Mall in Modesto.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
