Zara opens Wednesday at Mall of America

The wait is nearly over — just five more days to be exact.

The highly anticipated Zara store at the Mall of America will open on Wednesday, mall officials confirmed. The Spanish retailer, which offers a more sophisticated spin on fast fashion than some of its peers such as H&M and Forever 21, has long been on many Minnesotans' wish list.

It will open the same day as another new multibrand concept called "Debut" opens nearby, also in the mall's newer north wing. The 2,500-square-foot space includes a curated selection of nine designer brands including Askov Finlayson from the North Loop, West Elm Local, Pomegranate and Laurel Way by Pam Mondale. The brands in the collection will revolve throughout the year.

The two store openings come on the heels of a flurry of activity of late in the expansion that opened last year and is anchored by a J.W. Marriot and the mall's new front entrance. The third floor includes Shake Shack, Piada Italian Street Food and a recently opened Naf Naf Grill.

A 10,000-square-foot Anthropologie flagship location and a Toms store have also recently opened on the lower levels of the expansion. Also coming soon to that neighborhood is Rustica's new Cookies & Creamery concept.

Still, there are some empty spaces waiting to be filled in the new wing as mall officials have taken their time to lease out the space.

The Zara store will likely be one of the bigger retail draws. The company, which has 2,000 locations around the world, has just about 50 in the United States, mostly in big cities like Chicago and New York.

The Mall of America store, Zara's first location in the state, will be sizable. It will cover 30,000 square feet of space over two stories and will include clothing and accessories for women, men and kids.

Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113