Updated Oct. 31, 2026, 5:52 a.m. ET
Erie area diners have been looking forward to a BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse at the Millcreek Mall.
But it looks as if there won’t be one.
The popular California-based chain submitted a plan to Millcreek Township to build a restaurant at the mall three years ago, but there’s been little or no action on the plan since.
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BJ’s Restaurants Inc. did not submit a stormwater management plan required for the site, and the last communication from the company some months ago was that the project was on hold, according to the township.
BJ’s since then has not replied to Erie Times-News inquiries about its plans for the mall site. Now, a spokesman for the Youngstown-based Cafaro Co., which owns the mall, confirms that BJ’s is not moving forward with construction.
The scuttled plan
BJ’s had planned to build next to Sonic Drive-In along the mall’s outer drive, on a site previously occupied by Sears Auto Center.
Plans called for the restaurant to include a decorative silo representing its brewing heritage.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse specializes in deep-dish pizza and craft beers made at its seven breweries. The chain owns and operates more than 200 restaurants in 31 states, the nearest in Mentor, Ohio, and in McCandless, north of Pittsburgh.
There may be something else coming soon to the site where BJ’s had planned to build.
The property is for lease and there is active interest in it, according to Cafaro Co.
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And according to Millcreek Township, a developer has done some preliminary investigation into the development process for the site.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@usatodayco.com.