Three national chains are joining Highland Lakes Plaza on U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor: Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill, Code Ninjas and J.Crew Factory, continuing the shopping center's transformation after years of vacancies.

The additions follow a major turnaround at the plaza, which lost its anchor tenant when Stein Mart filed for bankruptcy in 2020. As we reported Aug. 5, Kimco Realty had signaled that more national tenants were coming. Now the specific names are public.

Three new tenants join the mix

Costa Vida, a fast-casual Mexican chain with more than 90 locations, will take over the former Pizza Hut space. The Palm Harbor restaurant will be the chain's first Florida location, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Costa Vida's website currently lists the restaurant at 33505 U.S. 19 N. as opening in December.

Code Ninjas, a children's coding and STEM franchise serving kids ages 5 to 14, will replace the former Allied Healthcare space. J.Crew Factory will open in the former Hallmark storefront.

Kimco's current site plan lists the three spaces at 1,960 square feet for Costa Vida, 1,250 square feet for Code Ninjas and 6,300 square feet for J.Crew Factory.

Kimco rebuilds the tenant mix

Kimco Realty, the New York-based real estate investment trust that acquired Highland Lakes Plaza in 2024, spent millions upgrading lighting, landscaping and signage along U.S. 19, according to the Tampa Bay Beacons.

Vicky Anthony, Kimco's vice president of leasing for its southern portfolio, said the company chose Palm Harbor for its suburban, family-centric demographics and proximity to the coast.

"You want to create a great tenant mix, where people are going to come, stay, walk, shop and have coffee," Anthony said.

Kimco's strategy leans toward national chains because those tenants generate stronger sales and can support higher rents, Anthony said, though she called local mom-and-pop shops "obviously ideal."

The plaza already houses Trader Joe's, Barnes & Noble, Perspire Sauna Studio, Michaels, Orangetheory Fitness and Famous Footwear. Kimco expects to announce three additional leases with large national companies, though no timeline for those announcements has been given.

Some shoppers want more local businesses

Not everyone is sold on the direction.

Palm Harbor resident Homa Kadivar, a longtime plaza shopper who used to visit Stein Mart, said she thinks Trader Joe's is good for the neighborhood but doesn't see much difference from before Kimco's effort. She misses Hallmark.

Skye Bellasea, another Palm Harbor resident who visits twice a week for Trader Joe's and Barnes & Noble with her daughter, said she'd like to see local juiceries and coffee shops added. There's nowhere to hang out in the plaza, she said, and she admires the small mom-and-pop shops in nearby Dunedin.

Costa Vida currently lists a December 2026 opening. Specific opening dates for Code Ninjas and J.Crew Factory have not been announced.