Bass Pro Shops will open its first San Diego County store at Grossmont Center in La Mesa, a 148,000 square foot location announced July 1 and targeted for a 2028 opening. The commitment fills one of the region’s largest retail vacancies and hands the 64-year-old shopping center a destination anchor as it works through a generational turnover of tenants.
A 148,000 Square Foot Store Built Around the Region
The La Mesa store will be the sixth Bass Pro Shops in California and roughly the 182nd across North America. The company plans to hire more than 150 staff, and the building will carry a custom design drawn from the region’s outdoor heritage, with interiors modeled on local saltwater and freshwater fishing habitats. The site sits just off the junction of State Route 125 and Interstate 8, the freeway crossing Bass Pro named in its announcement as the access point for the store.
“It’s exciting to serve the great anglers and outdoor enthusiasts throughout the San Diego region,” said founder Johnny Morris, pointing to the area’s access to both saltwater and freshwater fishing. Bass Pro Shops was founded in 1972, merged with Cabela’s in 2017, and now operates nearly 200 locations across North America. Its closest existing store is in Rancho Cucamonga, more than 100 miles north.
An Anchor Deal in a Center Rebuilding Its Tenant Roster
Grossmont Center opened in 1961 and is owned by Federal Realty Investment Trust, which has been repositioning the property as longtime leases expire. Macy’s closed its store there in January after 65 years as the center’s anchor. Local coverage reports Bass Pro will take over a large vacant stretch of the property that includes the former Macy’s site and adjacent unused buildings. The turnover extends beyond the anchor space, with Reading Cinemas closing its theater at the center and AMC taking over the operation.
“Their commitment to outdoor recreation, family experiences, and community aligns perfectly with our vision for the future of Grossmont Center,” said Jon Stoeckly, a vice president at Federal Realty. La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis said the store “will bring new jobs, attract visitors from throughout the region, and further strengthen our local economy.”
Tight Supply Behind the Deal
The commitment arrives in a tight retail market, and the numbers behind it are specific. CoStar data cited by CRE Daily shows regional retail availability fell in the second quarter of 2026 for the first time in a year, to roughly 6.8 million square feet, below historical norms and a five-year low. New supply is barely moving, with about 50,000 square feet of retail under construction across the market, while nearly 400,000 square feet of older retail space is slated for conversion to housing.
Those numbers explain why a 148,000 square foot commitment happens inside an existing center rather than on new ground. Big-box vacancies of that scale are scarce, and the ones that open up increasingly get filled by experience-format retailers. Bass Pro builds its stores around aquariums, demonstrations, and family draw, the format that has kept large-format retail leasing while conventional department stores give space back.
A 2028 Opening and What Sits in Between
The two-year runway to opening covers design, permitting, and construction across a footprint that spans multiple existing structures. For the center’s smaller tenants, the payoff arrives earlier than the ribbon cutting, since anchor commitments of this size tend to firm up leasing interest around them well before doors open.
The deal adds retail to a run of major San Diego commitments this summer across biotech, defense, and hospitality, covered in San Diego Dealmaking Spanned Biotech, Defense, and Hospitality in June. A national retailer signing for six figures of square footage two years out is a long-horizon bet on East County foot traffic, made at a moment when almost nobody is building new retail to compete with it.
Sources
- Bass Pro Shops, Bass Pro Shops announces new mega adventure store to serve greater San Diego region
- Times of San Diego, Grossmont Center reels in Bass Pro Shops
- CRE Daily, Bass Pro Shops Brings Experiential Retail to San Diego
- NBC 7 San Diego, Bass Pro Shops to open first store in San Diego County in 2028
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