"What's been lacking is that retail component to go with the residential growth," Vice Mayor Scott Somers told ABC15 in July, the week the new Target opened at Medina Station. The station's report summed it up: residents moved in first, and businesses are now catching up.
Since July, that catching up has come in quickly along Signal Butte Road, at Ray and Ellsworth, and around Gallery Park. Most of these openings save a drive. The opening that adds something new is set for Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. That's when Signal Butte Park Phase II formally opens with a bike park that stays lit until 10 p.m. every day. Stores keep southeast Mesa residents closer to home. The park gives them a free place to be outside on a November evening, and the area didn't have one like it before.
The Errands That Stopped Requiring a Freeway
One shopper told ABC15 the old trip for basic shopping took about 20 minutes, and that it was nice to have it close to home now. The Target at Medina Station hired about 220 employees, almost all from the surrounding community, according to its store director. That's a sign the new retail is local in both directions.
Here is what was confirmed open by mid-October 2026:
- Target, 1517 S. Signal Butte Road. Target says it officially opened July 26 as the first retailer at Medina Station.
- Boot Barn, 1441 S. Signal Butte Road. It's listed as open, with a grand-opening weekend held July 31 through Aug. 2.
- Einstein Bros. Bagels, 1235 S. Signal Butte Road, Suite 105. The company lists it as now open.
- Handel's Homemade Ice Cream, 1361 S. Signal Butte Road, Suite 105. The company's locator shows the Medina Station shop as open.
- Sprouts Farmers Market at Eastmarket, northeast corner of Ray and Ellsworth roads. It opened Sept. 18 as the 23,299-square-foot anchor of a 50,500-square-foot center on 6.6 acres, according to Greater Phoenix In Business.
- Zeitouna, 3515 S. Ellsworth Road. This Middle Eastern restaurant near Ellsworth and Elliot was among the new Mesa arrivals in PHOENIX magazine's August 2026 openings roundup.
- Tempo by Hilton Gallery Park and Homewood Suites Phoenix-Mesa Airport, 5057 S. Power Road. The 174-room dual-brand hotel held its ribbon cutting Sept. 28, as the Mesa Independent reported.
The list covers groceries, bagels, ice cream, boots and a weeknight dinner option. Other parts of the Valley already have these same kinds of stores. What changed is that southeast Mesa now has them on Signal Butte Road and at Ray and Ellsworth.
What Is Still Announced, Not Open
Several names in the southeast Mesa conversation have not opened their doors yet. When ABC15 published the Medina Station tenant roster in May, it listed DICK'S Sporting Goods, Café Zupas, As You Wish, Five Guys, Zara Nails, Mission BBQ, CAVA, OHSO Brewery, Cheba Hut, Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers, GoodVets, Pacific Dental Services, U.S. Bank, V's Barbershop, America's Best, Brooklyn Bedding and My Dr Now, and said shops would open in phases. Target, Boot Barn, Einstein Bros. and Handel's from that group are open. The rest are best treated as coming.
At Eastmarket, First Watch, Qdoba, SoFresh, Petersen's Ice Cream, GoodVets, Pacific Dental Services, Zara Nails, Lapels Dry Cleaning and PNC Bank are on the tenant lineup next to Sprouts. In September, the developer said the restaurants and customer-facing businesses were preparing to open.
Three more items are on a near-term clock:
- ALDI, 6853 E. Elliot Road, was scheduled to open Oct. 22, according to What Now Phoenix.
- The William New American Chophouse & Bar at Gallery Park was slated to open "at the end of October" in the city's October 2026 retail review.
- Gateway Crossing, Vestar's 37-acre plan at the southwest corner of Williams Field Road and SR 24, got a City Council-approved development agreement in September. The plan includes hotels and a 166,000-square-foot retail anchor that hasn't been named, per ABC15. It is moving through later development stages and isn't close to opening.
The Nox, a planned 70,000-square-foot music venue near Ray and Sossaman roads, is targeting an early-2028 opening, according to AZCentral. That makes the evening entertainment pipeline for this part of Mesa mostly a matter of years. The park opens in days.
Nov. 7 at 3355 South Signal Butte Road
The entrance to Signal Butte Park Phase II is next to Fire Station 219. In a city Rec Report post from Oct. 7, Mesa calls the $5 million addition the largest asphalt pump track in Arizona. The same post says construction crews reported trespassers trying to ride before opening day.
| Feature | What the city describes |
|---|---|
| Tracks | A beginner "tot track," an intermediate pump track with multiple transfer opportunities, and advanced flow trails |
| Size | About 43 acres of new play space, which the city says is roughly half the size of Disneyland Park in California |
| Walking | A 1.25-mile loop around the tracks, plus a new pedestrian bridge to the original park, which opened in 2020 |
| Amenities | BBQ zone, ramadas, restrooms and a new 48-space parking lot |
| Hours | LED lighting keeps the bike park open until 10 p.m. daily |
Mesa Parks and Recreation staff call it the biggest project completion since the Reed Park revamp last year. The walking loop matters as much as the tracks. Someone who will never get on a BMX bike still gets a new 1.25-mile route, connected by bridge to a park the neighborhood has known for six years.
Why 10 p.m. Matters in November
The hours set this opening apart from the retail list. Most of the new storefronts on Signal Butte Road cover a need that already existed, just closer to home. A public space lit until 10 p.m. gives the area something to do on a cool weeknight after dinner, and it costs nothing to show up.
The city's own writer said night riding in cooler weather is the better way to go. The park opens just as southeast Mesa's evenings are cooling off. For neighbors closest to the fence, the city says light spill outside the park boundaries is minimal.
The 48-space lot is modest for a park the city expects to draw interest. It's the kind of detail that makes the neighborhood walking loop and the pedestrian bridge from the original park more practical for nearby households on opening weekend.
A Saturday That Lines Up
Opening morning falls on a Saturday when the Eastmark Farmers Market is already running. The market sets up at Eastmark Great Park, 5100 S. Eastmark Parkway, from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, October through April, according to Visit Mesa. Before then, Falcon Field has a free Halloween morning.
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | 8 a.m. | Haunted Hangar, a free Halloween edition of Cockpit Close-Up | Historic WWII Hangar, 4626 E. Fighter Aces Drive |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | 8 a.m. to noon | Eastmark Farmers Market | Eastmark Great Park, 5100 S. Eastmark Parkway |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | 8 a.m. to noon | Eastmark Farmers Market | Eastmark Great Park |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | 10 a.m. | Signal Butte Park Phase II formal opening | 3355 S. Signal Butte Road |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 21 and 28 | 8 a.m. to noon | Eastmark Farmers Market | Eastmark Great Park |
On Nov. 7, there's time to shop the market at Eastmark Great Park when it opens at 8 a.m. and still get to Signal Butte Road for the 10 a.m. park opening. After dark, the lights at the new tracks stay on until 10 p.m.
When a neighborhood gets a new public amenity like this one, that's part of what we bring up as we talk with homeowners about what their area offers today and what's still in the pipeline. If you're curious how southeast Mesa's newest openings fit into your own plans, The Agency Collective would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a white‑glove consultation.
