If you didn’t know better before seeing all the vacancies, you might guess that Anaheim GardenWalk hadn’t been open since 2008, and that the shopping and restaurant destination’s name was “Coming Soon” – the words appear on so many signs that we lost count. Within walking distance of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, GardenWalk offers multiple dining alternatives to Downtown Disney, notably including some big chains (The Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang’s, McCormick & Schmick’s, Johnny Rockets, House of Blues) alongside an AMC movie theater, beauty and jewelry stores, a La Michoacana ice cream parlor, redemption machine arcades, and an incomprehensibly numerous collection of boba tea cafes.
Efforts to bring more Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese businesses into the space appear to be underway. Taiwanese gift store Yiya Formosa is open on the second floor, with “coming soon” signs for Angry Birds Cafe, Boiling Point, Meet Fresh, One Zo Boba, Paris Baguette, and two Japanese restaurants, Gozen Edo and Gyuzu Japanese BBQ. Other spaces, such as the Anaheim House of Jerky and Grasslands Meat Market Churrascaria & Steakhouse, appear to have been abandoned years ago with no replacements incoming. Despite its seemingly weak foot traffic, GardenWalk is known for offering less expensive parking than Disney’s, in a spacious and well-kept garage.
