"No one stopped going to the food court," Westfield Topanga general manager Logan Abbene told the Los Angeles Times this month. He meant the second-floor food court, where Panda Express is the only brand left from the mall's original food court and Wetzel's Pretzels and Jamba Juice still have their counters. Downstairs, Topanga Social has spent 2026 rebuilding itself, and it has done that by working more like the room upstairs. The food hall now has counter ordering, nostalgic fast-food dishes made by well-known chefs, and a calendar that changes every month. This is the version Woodland Hills will find on a Thursday night in late October.
The First Version Asked Diners to Change Their Habits
Topanga Social opened in 2023 in part of the old Sears space. It launched with more than two dozen places to eat, bars, live music, DJs, and upscale décor. The original lineup included Fat Sal's, Mini Kabob, Burrata House, Poke Me, and Shrimp Daddy.
The setup was the unusual part. Every restaurant appeared on touchscreen kiosks around the hall, customers paid through one central system, and the stalls shared kitchens. KTLA reported that guests complained about prices, limited parking, noise, and especially the kiosks. In February 2026, the company running the hall announced it was laying off 131 employees. By May, most of the restaurants and both bars had closed.
Wanderlust Creamery was one of the stalls that stayed open, and it shows where the hall's customers were coming from. Co-owner John Patrick Lopez told KTLA in May that the busy AMC multiplex, two floors above, kept the shop going: "AMC pulls in good traffic, so people come downstairs to us from the movie theater and from the rest of the mall." The business came from people already at the mall. Few were making a special trip for the hall.
Version Two Runs on Counter Service
Westfield brought in new management this summer and, as the Times put it, "basically started over again from scratch." The kiosks are gone. Customers now order and pick up at each restaurant's counter, and every stall cooks its own menu in its own kitchen. Management told KTLA that customers found the kiosks "disconnected and less authentic than ordering at the stall with the availability to talk to a human."
That is how a food court has always worked. The new tenants also cover food-court staples: hand rolls, kabobs, pizza, and coffee.
- Umari Hand Roll Bar
- Kabob Social
- Cilantro Lime
- Pompadour Cafe
- Ozzy's Apizza
- Mr. Chubby, a local Asian food chain
- Chubby Cove and Chubby Social, the two bars, reopened under new names
- Wanderlust Creamery and Red Door Escape Room, both open since the first version
- Hole in One Mini Golf and the anime pop-up The Loop
Westfield's current Topanga Social directory also lists Brewser's Coffee, Goooey, and Nugtown. Abbene told the Times that visitors are spending more time in the hall and that "every week seems to be a little bit more energetic than the last."
Chain Took the Food-Court Menu Downstairs
Counter service fixed the experience. The reason to visit is Chain, the pop-cuisine company co-founded by B.J. Novak. It started in 2021 as a pop-up in a West Hollywood parking lot. According to Eater LA, the Topanga stall is Chain's first long-term residency. It opened September 2 for a six-month run.
Chain's idea suits a mall. Each chef takes a well-known chain-restaurant dish and makes their own version, and those versions are now sold in an actual mall. "We're tapping into that nostalgia, that celebration of pop cuisine," Chain President Steve Milton told the Times.
| Chef | Dish at Chain | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Roy Choi | Charred Chicken Teriyaki Bowl | $18 |
| Mei Lin | Mapo Wagyu Cruncho Perfecto, inspired by the Crunchwrap Supreme | $17 |
| Mason Hereford | Spicy Chicken Chainwich | $16 |
| Calvin Eng | Crispy Cantonese Fishwich, a wild cod and shrimp patty with scallion tartar sauce | $16 |
Chain Snacks, the dessert counter, works with General Mills on cereal-based desserts. Current examples include a Lucky Charms Taco Frío ice cream sandwich and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Tiramisu, and new items arrive each season. Chain is open noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. You can also order ahead through Chain's Toast page for pickup or delivery.
A Monthly Calendar Gives People a Reason to Come Back
Chain runs a rotating brand collaboration alongside its main menu, and each one lasts only a few weeks:
- Cheez-It Court, September only. It served the Cheez-Y-Bun, the Cheez-Steak, and the Crunchy Cheez-Dog. This one has ended.
- Pillsbury Short King Sandwich Shoppe, October 8 through November 6. General Mills lists four biscuit sandwiches: Rise & Shine, Peachy Keen Clucker, Sweet Reign, and the Doughboy Deluxe. It runs for two more weeks after this post goes live.
- After November 6. No collaboration has been announced yet. Nation's Restaurant News described the series as a monthly partnership with a different Americana brand.
- The residency itself. The Times food section says it runs through February 2027. Westfield's six-month term, counted from September 2, ends in early March. The Times reports that Westfield plans to bring other groups in to run some storefronts temporarily.
The rotation keeps the hall in the news even when the main menu stays the same. A Cheez-It cheesesteak gets people talking for a month, and when it ends, the next pop-up is already on the way.
The Permanent Restaurants Are Arriving Too
Pop-ups bring people in, and established restaurants give them a reason to keep coming. Westfield is adding both. Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is coming to Topanga Social. KTLA notes that Kura's locations at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks and the Glendale Galleria are busy. No opening date has been announced. The Great Big Game Show, an immersive game-show venue, now appears in Westfield's directory as new on Level 1.
Din Tai Fung is the bigger build. According to the Times, the mall knocked down the walls between four storefronts and relocated a Tesla dealership to make room, and the restaurant is set to open late next summer. As of KTLA's August report, Westfield had not announced plans for the 28,000-square-foot space where Pinstripes, the bowling, bar, and restaurant concept, operated for less than two years.
Across Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Topanga Village is gaining a counter-service sandwich shop. Bread Head, founded by chefs Alex Williams and Jordan Snyder, who met working at the Michelin-starred Trois Mec, is taking the former Veggie Grill space at 6316 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 1180. What Now Los Angeles reports that the company's social media lists a December 2026 opening. The menu centers on house-baked focaccia, with a daily special for each weekday. Monday is a Meatball sandwich, Tuesday Roast Pork and Broccoli Rabe, Wednesday a Cuban, Thursday a Reuben, and Friday Sausage and Peppers. It will be the fourth location, after Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, and Westwood, and it will share Topanga Village with CAVA, Bacio di Latte, Dan Modern Chinese, Eureka!, and Pitfire Pizza.
Mall Food Has Always Changed Here
None of this is new for this mall. Westfield Topanga opened in 1964 as one of California's first major enclosed malls, with an ice rink surrounded by food vendors. The food court many people remember from the 1980s was built after the rink closed, and it moved to a new wing in 2007. Each version kept the same basics: walk up, order what you know, and eat near whatever brought you to the mall.
The first Topanga Social moved away from those basics, and the second one came back to them. Wanderlust's customers still walk down from the AMC. The kiosks are gone. Chef Mei Lin's $17 Crunchwrap-inspired dish comes on the same kind of red plastic tray used upstairs, and the biscuit sandwiches end November 6.
Plenty is changing along Topanga Canyon Boulevard at once: a relaunched food hall, a Din Tai Fung build-out, and a sandwich shop moving into a former Veggie Grill. The team at Frontgate Real Estate follows these openings closely across Woodland Hills and Warner Center. If you're thinking about a home near this stretch, we'll show you what's on the market, including off-market listings and homes not yet publicly listed.
