What has Garden City Center actually added to a Cranston day since January?
In January, WS Development said four new restaurants were coming to the center off Sockanosset Cross Road. WPRI reported the list as Anna's Taqueria, PopUp Bagels, Sally's Apizza and Lanner Noodles. Nearly nine months later, the two quick-service openings are serving. The full-service pizzeria with a bar is still listed as "Coming Soon," and so are the noodles. So far this year, the center has gained a bagel morning and a fast lunch or late dinner. A sit-down dinner with a drink is the part that hasn't arrived.
Four Familiar Storefronts, Four New Names
Each of the four restaurants is moving into a space that already had a tenant. That makes the lineup easy to place on a mental map of the center.
| Former tenant | New restaurant | Status as of Oct. 11, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Market, Whole Foods Plaza | Anna's Taqueria | Open since Feb. 25 |
| Yankee Candle | PopUp Bagels | Open since May 29 |
| Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, near L.L.Bean | Sally's Apizza | Listed as "Coming Soon" |
| Bistro 22, next to Chaska | Lanner Noodles | Listed as "Coming Soon," aiming for early 2027 |
None of these brands started in Cranston. The Cranston Herald's account of the announcement described Anna's as a Boston-grown Mexican restaurant launched in 1995, with more than a dozen Massachusetts locations. PopUp is a Connecticut bagel chain. Sally's started in New Haven in 1938 and has five Connecticut locations and two in Massachusetts. Lanner is based in Boston. That fits the owner. The Herald notes that WS Development bought Garden City in 2020 and holds about three dozen properties in Massachusetts, including Legacy Place in Dedham and The Street in Chestnut Hill.
The Burrito Came First, a Day Late
Anna's was scheduled to open first, and it did. It just missed its date. The Providence Journal reported that the planned Feb. 24 opening moved because of the Blizzard of 2026, and the doors opened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Super burritos were $3.50 that day, which the Journal described as the 1995 price.
The restaurant is at 185 Sockanosset Cross Road, next to Dunkin' in the Whole Foods Plaza. Anna's location page lists hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Of everything new at the center this year, those hours matter most. Anna's is the one new food spot that stays open well past dark, seven days a week. The menu covers burritos, tacos and quesadillas, and diners customize their order. Anna's has taken on some of the dinner role, as long as you're happy ordering at a counter.
The Bagel Line on Hillside Road
PopUp came next, and its opening day drew a crowd. The Cranston Herald reported that lines stretched along the sidewalk when the shop opened on Friday, May 29. According to WPRI, a coffee-milk schmear made only for Cranston sold out at Rhode Island's first PopUp Bagels. Coffee milk is Rhode Island's official state drink, so the flavor was a nod to local taste from a chain new to the state.
The format is unusual for a bagel shop, and it's worth knowing before you go. PopUp serves whole, hot bagels with rotating cream cheese and butter spreads. It does not sell bagel sandwiches, according to the Herald's opening story. The Herald traced the company to a pandemic project. Founder Adam Goldberg baked bagels at home in Connecticut and handed them to friends through a backyard pickup window.
PopUp's location page gives the address as 75 Hillside Road. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Together, the two openings cover the hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and both are counter service.
The Table Service That Hasn't Opened
Sally's is the restaurant meant to fill the gap the other two leave. Garden City Center's tenant page describes a Cranston location with an expanded menu of appetizers and entrées and a full-service bar. That would make it a sit-down dinner with drinks, the one kind of meal neither newcomer offers. The page still says "Coming Soon."
In January, the owners said Sally's would open "later this year." The Herald reported that signs announcing the move were already up in the windows of the old Anthony's space near L.L.Bean. As of mid-October, nothing has replaced that estimate with an actual date. Here is where the public record stands:
- Sally's own locations page doesn't list Cranston among its open restaurants or its named coming-soon locations.
- A company development document from early 2026 puts Cranston under "development starting 2026" and says opening timelines can vary.
- The company's careers page lists jobs in other cities but none in Cranston.
- Sally's didn't appear on the September special agendas of Cranston's Safety Services and Licenses Committee or on the Sept. 22 City Council docket.
None of this says the project has stalled. A pipeline stage isn't a promised opening date, and the committee has another meeting scheduled for Oct. 13. What the record does show is that no opening date has been announced, with less than three months left in the year.
Lanner Noodles was always set to open last. WPRI reported a target of early 2027 for the former Bistro 22 space beside Chaska. The menu will center on hand-pulled noodles and bone broth, and the Herald notes the dishes feature locally sourced ingredients. Its "Coming Soon" label fits a target that is still months away. Sally's has the same label, with its "later this year" window now down to its last quarter.
The Rest of the Center Moved Faster Than the Kitchens
Outside of food, the center has been busier. LaserAway held its grand opening on June 10 with giveaways and free consultations. Splendid's tenant page said "Now Open" by July 30. FP Movement holds its grand opening this Thursday, Oct. 15, with refreshments from Rookie, according to the center's listing. Those three retail and wellness openings came in a single season, while two of the four announced restaurants are still unopened.
That leaves the outdoor season carrying the center's social side for one more week. The Sunday farmers market on the gazebo green has run since June 7. Its last day is Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with live music from 11 to 2. It's free and runs rain or shine. For a Sunday visit that uses what's actually open, here's one plan:
- Get to PopUp at 75 Hillside Road early. It closes at 4 p.m. on weekends.
- Walk over to the gazebo green for the market's final morning and the music that starts at 11.
- Grab a late lunch or an early dinner at Anna's on Sockanosset Cross Road, which stays open until 10 p.m.
After Oct. 18, the market is done for the year and the gazebo green goes quiet. Until Sally's or Lanner opens, Garden City's new food is the same counter-service pair through the winter. Anna's is the only new spot serving dinner at the center.
Every opening date and hour in this post has a public source behind it. When a new address opens near you, the questions about it often turn practical: what the space used to be, what's planned for it, and how long the "Coming Soon" sign might stay up. If you're keeping an eye on the Sockanosset corridor, Lisa Ardente is happy to compare notes on what's changing there. Let's Connect.
