[As Phillyvoice, reports, Netflix is planning to open large brick-and-mortar venues that combine permanent immersive experiences based on its film and television properties with dining, retail and other activities. The first tentative announced location is in the King of Prussia mall in Philadelphia (the third largest mall in the U.S.). The Bloomberg story linked in this report is behind a paywall, but Smithsonian Magazine has similar details and includes this: “We’ve seen how much fans love to immerse themselves in the world of our movies and TV shows, and we’ve been thinking a lot about how we take that to the next level,’ Josh Simon, Netflix’s vice president of consumer products, tells Bloomberg.” –Matthew]
[Image: Sign on roof at Netflix’s campus in Hollywood, California. Source: Smithsonian Magazine. Credit: Aaron P / Bauer-Griffin / GC Images]
Netflix House, a restaurant and event space, could open at King of Prussia Mall
The company is seeking to convert the former Lord & Taylor into one of its planned retail, dining and entertainment concepts.
By Michael Tanenbaum, Phillyvoice Staff
March 15, 2024
Netflix is seeking to open one of its first Netflix House venues at the King of Prussia Mall in 2025. The new concept, unveiled by the streaming giant late last year, would include a restaurant, retail store and multipurpose space for fans to attend events centered on the platform’s hit shows.
A proposal the company submitted to the Upper Merion Township planning commission calls for Netflix House to fill the space of the mall’s former Lord & Taylor department store at 180 North Gulph Road. While the vacant building is part of the broader mall complex that’s owned by Simon Property Group, it is separately owned by Hudson’s Bay Company and includes about 120,000 square feet that’s available for lease.
At a meeting Wednesday, the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of Netflix’s conditional use application to turn the former department store into a multipurpose entertainment venue. Netflix said it would fully renovate the interior of the building with permanent restaurant and retail outlets. It would also create theater space and experience rooms for themed events and activities throughout the year.
In its application, the streaming service said the proposed Netflix House in King of Prussia would be “among the first of its kind.” The company is aiming to open two Netflix House locations in 2025, but it has not shared details about where else it may be planning to introduce the concept.
Attractions at Netflix House could include escape rooms, mixed reality games, art installations, live events and immersive theater performances with actors and special effects, the company said. There also could be screenings, fan meet-and-greets, book signings, comedy shows and one-off reunion events with actors from Netflix series.
The project is expected to go before the township’s Board of Supervisors at a meeting on April 11, said Jarrett Lash, Upper Merion community development and planning officer.
In October, Bloomberg reported that Netflix wanted to emulate other media companies that have developed in-person attractions to build fan communities around its brands. The company already hosts pop-up events like “The Stranger Things Experience” and “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience” in major cities around the world, but Netflix House is viewed as a permanent attraction for ticketed events, dining and shopping.
With about 450 retailers across 2.9 million square feet, the King of Prussia Mall is the third-largest mall in the United States behind only Minnesota’s Mall of America and North Jersey’s American Dream Meadowlands. The mall expects to open about 20 new stores this year, defying trends that have seen malls scale back as consumers increasingly shift to online shopping. Next year, the mall is expected to open an outpost of the Italian food hall Eataly, a marketplace that includes restaurants, groceries and cooking classes.
Netflix could not be reached for comment about its plans to open in King of Prussia.