turned into a food hall<\/a> anchored by sushi bar Yunomi Handroll. <\/p>\n ![\"Topanga](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792174930_186_.jpeg\")
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Topanga Social in Westfield Topanga shopping mall in Canoga Park.<\/p>\n
(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Westfield Topanga has long been at the cutting edge of mall culture. <\/p>\n
It was one of California\u2019s first major enclosed shopping malls when it opened in 1964 with an ice rink surrounded by food sellers. The kind of food court many people remember from the 1980s was created after the rink closed. <\/p>\n
The food court was relocated to a new wing in 2007. Panda Express is the only remaining brand from the original food court, Abbene said. Other classic mall fare on the second floor includes Wetzel\u2019s Pretzels and Jamba Juice.<\/p>\n
Downstairs, illuminated by skylights and chic industrial pendant lamps, is Topanga Social. It occupies what used to be part of the failed department store Sears.<\/p>\n
The food hall launched three springs ago with promising outlets including Fat Sal\u2019s sandwiches, Mini Kabob, Burrata House, Poke Me and Shrimp Daddy. It had bars, live music and DJs and lush plants. <\/p>\n
1 <\/p>\n
![\"Rows](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792174930_117_.jpeg\")
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2 <\/p>\n
![\"Cheez-IT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792174930_643_.jpeg\")
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1. Rows of various cereal boxes seen inside the long term pop up \u201cChain Snacks\u201d inside of Topanga Social food court at Westfield Topanga shopping mall on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 in Canoga Park, CA. 2. Cheez-IT Court at Topanga Social food court in Westfield Topanga shopping mall on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 in Canoga Park, CA. (Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os\/Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n
After the initial buzz wore off, some shoppers started griping about noise levels and the quality of food at some outlets. Critics complained that the food was too expensive for the experience and the location was too loud. Many didn\u2019t like the central payment system where each customer had to use kiosks to order. <\/p>\n
With the relaunch, Westfield has tried to address some of the issues with new management, new restaurants and a rotating roster of interesting pop-ups. It got rid of the centralized payment system and centralized kitchen, and it\u2019s going to bring in different groups to temporarily run some storefronts. <\/p>\n
First up to bat is Chain, a popular pop-up restaurant with Hollywood connections that became Instagram-famous in recent years, with fast food turned into haute cuisine by celebrity chefs. The company, co-founded by actor and writer B.J. Novak, will operate in the food hall for at least six months. <\/p>\n
![\"Mei](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792174931_303_.jpeg\")
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Mei Lin\u2019s Mapo Wagyu Cruncho Perfecto, inspired by the Crunchwrap Supreme, at Chain\u2019s food-court residency in the Westfield Topanga mall.<\/p>\n
(Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Chain\u2019s food offers reimagined dishes found in popular mass-market eateries such as an elevated Blooming Onion-inspired appetizer, a Wagyu beef Taco Bell dish or a Pizza Hut-like pan pizza with 24-month aged Vacche Rosse Parmigiano \u2014 all with the help of Michelin-starred chefs. <\/p>\n
Leading the menu at Westfield Topanga is chef Mei Lin\u2019s Mapo Wagyu Cruncho Perfecto, a $17 Sichuan peppercorn and Wagyu beef Crunchwrap-style creation, and chef Calvin Eng\u2019s $16 Crispy Cantonese Fishwich, a Cantonese-spiced wild cod and shrimp patty with scallion tartar sauce. <\/p>\n
The unexpected pairings are attempts to mine the origins of mall food and other fast food but elevate it to a level more sophisticated mall-goers can enjoy, said Chain President Steve Milton. <\/p>\n
![\"Various](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792174931_330_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Various boxes of Cheez-It crackers inside the Cheez-It Court restaurant at Topanga Social food court in Westfield Topanga shopping mall.<\/p>\n
(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re tapping into that nostalgia, that celebration of pop cuisine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Chain is also testing branded collaborations, including Cheeze-It Court last month, where the snack food was turned into cracker-infused fare such as a Cheeze-It-flavored cheesesteak and a Wagyu hot dog coated in crushed crackers. <\/p>\n
Chain is also collaborating with General Mills to develop snacks and desserts, turning well-known cereals into such creations as Lucky Charms Taco Frio ice cream sandwiches and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Tiramisu. The latest addition is a Pillsbury shop <\/a>with biscuit sandwiches.<\/p>\nTo build its profile as a culinary destination, Topanga Social will soon add Kura Revolving Sushi. Nearby, the mall plans to bring in Din Tai Fung, one of the country\u2019s top-grossing restaurant chains, next summer. It has knocked down the walls between four stores and relocated a Tesla dealership. It\u2019s set to open late next summer. <\/p>\n
To be sure, the old food court is still doing great, mall general manager Abbene said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo one stopped going to the food court,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Westfield Topanga is one of the region\u2019s most popular malls, but it has grappled with what to do…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[31250,3163,9182,5397,193443,111369,17757,48,52,51,47,50,49,193441,193448,193446,193445,9791,193447,193444,193442],"class_list":["post-498332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-attempt","tag-chain","tag-customer","tag-fast-food","tag-food-court-fare","tag-food-hall","tag-hot-dog","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-mall-food","tag-new-management","tag-new-outlet","tag-noise-level","tag-sandwich","tag-snack-food","tag-topanga-social","tag-westfield-topanga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792174929_505_.jpeg\")
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