Two ribbon cuttings happened back to back in the last week of September. 7 Brew cut its ribbon at White Bear Avenue and Lydia Avenue on Wednesday, September 23. Ollie's Bargain Outlet held a store dedication at 1717 Beam Avenue the next morning. Both businesses moved into buildings that already existed, and both are small next to the department stores that once anchored this part of Maplewood.
The rest of the North End follows the same pattern. The space that has filled back in this year came in small pieces: a discount store in a former fabric store, kiosk vendors on the floors of a former Macy's, and single storefronts along Beam Avenue. The largest building in the area, the former Sears at Maplewood Mall, is the one still waiting. If you want to know what's open now, the size of the space is a better guide than the "coming soon" banner.
Here is where things stand as of early October 2026.
| Business | Location | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Ollie's Bargain Outlet | 1717 Beam Ave., Birch Run Station | Open since September 24 grand opening |
| 7 Brew | White Bear Ave. at Lydia Ave. | Ribbon cutting held September 23 |
| Cajun Express | 2015 Woodlynn Ave. | Listed among August openings |
| Pan Asian Center indoor flea market | Former Macy's, 3001 White Bear Ave. | Kiosk vendors operating |
| NativeCare | 2525 White Bear Ave. | Grand opening announced for August 28 |
| Dirty Flamingo Cannabis Company | 3094 White Bear Ave. | Company website says open |
| Chingu, Kyo Matcha, Lao Hu Tong | 1745 Beam Ave. | Announced, opening not confirmed |
| El Obero Work Gear | 1735 Beam Ave. | Listed by the city as "soon to be open" in September |
| Los Campeones Gym | 1852 Beam Ave. | Listed by the city as "soon to be open" in September |
| Food Depot | Former Sears, 3001 White Bear Ave., Building B | Announced, opening not confirmed |
| Cafe Zupas | 3069 White Bear Ave. | Proposed in spring 2026, no opening date found |
The old Jo-Ann filled first
Ollie's took over the former Jo-Ann Fabrics in Birch Run Station and opened on Thursday, September 24, with daily hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The company called Maplewood its 700th store. To mark the milestone, the company announced it is donating 700 books, one for every Ollie's location, to Gillette Children's through Children's Miracle Network.
The storefronts around it are part of the same story. On August 21, the city's weekly update from Community and Economic Development listed five businesses that building staff were helping get "ready to open their doors within the next couple weeks." Four of the five are on Beam Avenue:
- El Obero Work Gear at 1735 Beam
- Ollie's Bargain Outlet at 1717 Beam
- Los Campeones Gym at 1852 Beam
- Cajun Express Restaurant on Woodlynn Avenue
- Chingu, Kyo Matcha and Lao Hu Tong, sharing 1745 Beam
Taken together, that's a work gear store, a gym, a Cajun seafood spot and three food and drink names filling a single address. None of them needs anything close to an anchor-sized floor plate.
What "within the next couple weeks" turned out to mean
Six weeks have passed since that August list, so it makes a useful scorecard. Ollie's opened on September 24. Cajun Express made Bring Me The News' roundup of August restaurant openings. Its own site describes Cajun seafood, boils and po'boys at 2015 Woodlynn Avenue. The city's September newsletter prints that address as "21015 Woodlynn," so go by the business's own listing.
The others are less settled. The same September newsletter still listed El Obero Work Gear and Los Campeones Gym among Maplewood's "new and soon to be open" businesses. We found no confirmation yet that Chingu, Kyo Matcha or Lao Hu Tong have opened at 1745 Beam. That doesn't mean anything has gone wrong. It means a target date from the building department is a good-faith estimate, and final inspections, equipment deliveries and hiring can all move it.
Before you drive over for a matcha or a gym tour, check the business's own page or social account. The city's updates track readiness, not opening day.
The Macy's side has vendors. The Sears side has a certificate.
At Maplewood Mall, the small-first pattern shows up inside one property. The Pan Asian Center at 3001 White Bear Avenue covers two former department stores. HmongTown Marketplace founder Toua Xiong's group bought the former Sears in November 2023 for $5.25 million and the former Macy's in March 2025 for $3.25 million. The Pioneer Press reported in September that small kiosk vendors have moved into the Macy's building, which now runs multiple levels of flea market-style vendor space. The parking lot has hosted outdoor events such as New Year's dragon dances and the Asian Street Food Night Market.
The Sears building has a longer history. Sears announced in April 2018 that its Maplewood Mall store would close in mid-July of that year. Food Depot, a planned grocery with fresh produce, Pan-Asian goods and indoor and outdoor market stalls, announced a May 2026 grand opening in Building B. On July 17, the city reported that the building had received a Certificate of Occupancy "to allow a future opening of Food Depot." As of the Pioneer Press report on September 15, the Sears site had yet to be reoccupied. That same report covers a legal dispute between Xiong and the mall's owner dating to late 2025, plus a separate lender action against Xiong's HmongTown Marketplace. The defendants deny the claims.
The scale explains the gap between the two buildings. In 2025, the development partners described the two buildings together as 406,500 square feet on 24 acres. Their plans called for 20 restaurants, a grocery, kid zones, office space and an event center for more than 3,000 people, with a goal of being fully open by 2027. A kiosk vendor can set up on an open floor. A grocery and an event center need build-out and financing first. The Macy's side is operating because it is running the small-tenant version of the plan.
The outdoor farmers market and plant starter sale in Building A is advertised Thursday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., through October 31. That listing was posted in April and doubled as a call for vendors, so it can't confirm which stalls are there on a given day.
White Bear Avenue's single-building turnover
Farther up White Bear Avenue, change comes one building at a time. 7 Brew's drive-thru coffee stand at Lydia Avenue is the newest. The city lists it at 2982 White Bear Avenue and the company lists 2984.
Down the street, Cafe Zupas has been proposed as the tenant of a new building with a drive-through at 3069 White Bear Avenue. Under that plan, the existing Acapulco building would be demolished and that business would close. When the city reported the application in March, staff were working to make the project meet the North End design standards. Since the spring design review, we have found no construction schedule or opening date.
Two of Maplewood's cannabis dispensaries opened on this corridor in late summer. NativeCare at 2525 White Bear Avenue announced an August 28 grand opening. According to the city, it operates under tribal authority and does not count toward Maplewood's cap of four stores. Dirty Flamingo Cannabis Company at 3094 White Bear Avenue had state and local approvals by July. Its website now says the store is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
On Century Avenue, on the city's east side, the changes ran both ways. Casa Maya Cafe started selling fresh donuts out of the BP at 743 Century Ave. N. in July. The Maplewood Denny's closed effective September 3. That location sat at 255 Century Ave. N.
On the October calendar near the North End
A few dated events fall inside the next four weeks:
- Kaboom Card Show at the Pan Asian Center, Friday, October 23, at 1 p.m. through Sunday, October 25, at 7 p.m.
- Trunk or Treat at Maplewood City Hall, 1830 County Road B East, Sunday, October 25, 1 to 4 p.m.
- The Pan Asian Center outdoor farmers market's advertised final weekend, Thursday, October 29, through Saturday, October 31.
When the empty spaces on Beam Avenue get new signs, the next openings we can confirm will most likely be the 1745 Beam food tenants, El Obero and Los Campeones, all of which the city has already put on its list.
When a new tenant moves into a long-empty box, the nearby blocks feel it, and that change shows up in how buyers see the area. If you own near White Bear Avenue or Beam Avenue and want to know how this year's openings affect your home's value, White Bear Lake Realty will put together a free home valuation with the comparable sales and the net-proceeds math laid out, so you can read every number yourself.
