What's Actually Open in Kimball Junction This Fall, and What's Still Almost There

Kimball Junction's daily errand route is moving. Two ramen shops are moving into the lower part of the old outlets. The Summit County Library branch is moving half a mile up the road into the former Skullcandy building, and the Richins Building it leaves behind is scheduled for demolition in the spring. On Sept. 8, the Summit County Council approved a plan that will eventually tear down the upper loop of Junction Commons stores.

Most of the new places aren't open yet. As of Oct. 4, almost every one of them is waiting on a final inspection, a certificate of occupancy or the end of a buildout. Here is where each one stands, and why they're clustering where they are.

The Status Board, as of Oct. 4

The Ramen Is Going Into the Half of the Mall That Stays

Tosh's Ramen is the one people have been waiting on longest. Maxwell and Annie Peck told the Park Record in mid-September that they hoped to open before the end of the month. They also said final inspections were still ahead and they couldn't name a day. As of Oct. 4, the Junction Commons directory still lists the shop as "Coming Soon" in unit H145 at 6699 North Landmark Drive.

The recipes have Park City roots. Toshio Sekikawa worked as a sushi chef in town and helped open Hapa Grill decades ago. He started making ramen there as a special, and diners began calling it "Tosh's Ramen." He later opened his own shop in Salt Lake City in 2014, one of the state's first ramen restaurants. The Pecks bought the Holladay location in 2022 after Sekikawa took them on as apprentices. The Park City menu will center on tonkotsu ramen, with Annie Peck's curry ramen, a spicy karai ramen, bento lunch specials and a seasonal Thai-inspired special. The owners have floated hours of roughly 10 or 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., depending on demand.

The location matters as much as the menu. Maxwell Peck said he had real estate alerts set up for years, and nothing fit until Junction Commons started "allowing food to go into the lower outlets, as we used to call it." Alix Suter, the center's marketing manager, said owner Singerman Real Estate wants more food and more local brands alongside Shake Shack, Chipotle and Jersey Mike's. She said the goal is a place "where locals want to spend time." The Border Foodtruck already serves Mexican food there year-round.

Koyoté is the second ramen shop on the way. Co-owners Hiro Tagai and Felipe Oliveira run the original in Salt Lake City's Fairpark neighborhood, which was named Michelin Recommended in the first Michelin Guide Southwest. The Kimball Junction restaurant is going into the former Hana Ramen Bar space. It's aiming for October, though Tagai has said the timing depends on the buildout. The space is smaller than the Salt Lake City restaurant, and the owners plan to expand into an upstairs unit later. The opening menu will match the original: Tokyo-style clear-broth ramen, chashu-don, shioyaki saba, gyoza, and whipped tofu with scallion pancakes.

The two shops serve different styles. Tosh's makes a rich tonkotsu, and Koyoté makes a clear Tokyo-style broth. Once both open, Kimball Junction will have two quite different bowls a short drive apart. Koyoté would also join Handle, Matilda and The Nelson Cottage by High West as Park City-area restaurants with Michelin recognition.

The Library Moved a Half Mile, and the Old Building Has a Date

The PEAK Center's Oct. 3 event was billed as a grand opening. In practice it was a preview. More than 100 people formed a book brigade and passed One Book One Community titles hand to hand from the old Kimball Junction branch to the new one. The books included "Refuge" by Terry Tempest Williams and "Go as a River" by Shelley Read. The program has run since 2003 with the Park City Library and Dolly's Bookstore.

Library Director Dan Compton said the branch won't officially open for about another two weeks, and some areas are still under construction. "We're at the finish line," he said. The building is also still waiting on its certificate of occupancy.

The move is mostly done. During the "Check Out the Move" drive, patrons borrowed about 15,000 items in roughly two weeks, which Compton put at about 35% of the collection. By Saturday, about two-thirds of the collection was on the shelves. The new space has separate areas for adults, teens and children, conference and study rooms, a soundproof phone booth, and windows facing the open space around Utah Olympic Park.

Until the branch opens, here is how library service works:

1. Pick up holds from the bookmobile in the Richins Building parking lot, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. Expect the official opening around mid-October, based on Compton's two-week estimate. The county hasn't announced a date or regular hours.
3. Check with the county before making a DMV trip. County plans put the DMV on the east side of PEAK's first floor, and a March plan aimed for the move around July, but none of the October coverage says DMV service has started at PEAK.

Summit Park resident Yvette Connely has used the Kimball Junction branch for about 20 years. She told the Park Record she feels bittersweet about the Richins Building's demolition but is looking forward to the larger space.

What the Council Approved on Sept. 8

The council vote explains why the new restaurants are choosing the lower outlets. The Summit County Council unanimously rezoned Junction Commons from town center to neighborhood mixed-use and approved its master plan. It's the first use of the Snyderville Basin's mixed-use zone. A binding development agreement still has to be drafted before construction can start.

The upper loop of stores will be demolished for housing and two parking structures, and apartments will also go on the lower parking lot. The project has shrunk since Singerman first proposed it in June 2024. That plan had more than 500 homes, and the approved plan has 370: 300 multifamily units and 70 townhomes, with about 220 of them affordable. The approved plan keeps about 55,000 square feet of commercial space. That is about 56,000 square feet less than what's there now, so the shopping area will be roughly half its current size.

The full build has six phases and will take eight to 10 years, with the upper loop alone taking two to four. Council Chair Canice Harte called the mix of homes and an "enhanced" commercial area "something that I think the community will benefit from." Published reporting doesn't yet say which current tenants will move, close, or stay open during each phase.

Where the New Everyday Stops Are Clustering

Other new tenants are choosing the same parts of Kimball Junction. Fourth Space Studios, founded by Madeleine Vargas and Kendall Banks of Park City, is opening this fall in Suite F110 at 6699 N. Landmark Drive, with heated-mat Hot Pilates and Hot Flow classes alongside Strength classes taught without heat. Nearby, Fontaine McFadden has leased about 7,500 square feet in the former Best Buy building for Treehouse, an indoor play space and café planned for winter. She describes it to TownLift as a community spot for adults as well as kids.

On a map, the pattern is clear. Ramen, hot Pilates and a kids' café are going into the lower outlets and nearby buildings on Landmark Drive. The library and DMV are going into the PEAK Center at 6301 Landmark Drive. The Richins Building and the upper loop are the ones scheduled to come down.

If you own a home near Kimball Junction and want to know how the Junction Commons plan and the new PEAK Center might affect your property's value over the next few years, Mountain Lux Realty can walk you through it over coffee, maybe at Tosh's once it opens. Ask for a valuation whenever you're ready.