New businesses that range from coffee and burgers to chicken and Chipotle flock to Cathedral City
CATHEDRAL CITY — Despite a worldwide pandemic, new businesses opened their doors here and more are on the horizon, which bodes well for jobs and the local economy.
The flurry of activity will forever change the landscape of this growing community.
The Crossings at Bob Hope has finished the initial build-out including the opening of the new 98-room Best Western Plus hotel. Along Date Palm Drive, residents will soon be able to shop at the new Grocery Outlet Bargain Market that is located in the former ACE Hardware store.
Several new restaurants are scheduled to be built at the Date Palm Plaza including Dave’s Hot Chicken and The Habit Burger Grill. Just around the corner on Ramon Road will soon be the new Juan Pollo Rotisserie Chicken.
Across from the US Post Office at Date Palm and Ortega Road the new Tower Market and Fueling Center is currently under construction. Tower Market offers many convenience-store type items as well as fresh produce and ready-to-go food. Tower Market is widely known for its their fried chicken.
At the Cathedral City Market Place, a store front vacated when Rite Aid moved years ago has now become of the new DD’s Discount Store, which is a division of the Ross Stores and offers similar deals.
The biggest change of all occurred with the November 2020 opening of the Agua Caliente Casino offering more than 500 slots machines, table games, and four restaurants from fine dining to one of the best sports bars in the Coachella Valley.
Across the street from the casino is a development in the works that promises to offer a Starbuck’s Coffee, Chipotle Mexican Restaurant, and a new Circle K Convenience Store and Fueling Center. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2022.
The most spectacular change was the new $22 million Shottenkirk Desert Lexus Sales and Service Center that opened in the fall of 2020. This new addition makes the Auto Center the largest of its kind in eastern Riverside County.
Directly behind the new Lexus facility will soon be the new College of the Desert Automotive Technology Center called Roadrunner Motors. This learning facility on 5.8 acres will train students about the latest automotive technology so that they can go right into internships and jobs at the Auto Center and beyond.
One of the biggest projects currently underway is the new Amazon “Last Mile” facility that is transforming the old Sam’s Club at the corner of Date Palm Drive and Converse Road into an e-commerce distribution center. This 9-acre site, featuring a 93,000-square-foot building, will be the final distribution location before packages destined for Coachella Valley are delivered to homes. The 24/7 operation will employ 152 workers and sort Amazon purchases into 60 local delivery routes. It will also allow customers to pick-up or drop-off Amazon products ordered online from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
