When the city of Burbank, California, sought to liven up its downtown, it looked to play to its strengths. The self-proclaimed “Media Capital of the World” decided what it needed most was more entertainment.
So city leaders set out to attract more restaurants and nighttime activities to turn their 9-to-5 studio town into a round-the-clock destination.
Their latest catch is an immersive restaurant and “intergalactic bar” called the Scum & Villainy Rendezvous Cantina, named for a line from “Star Wars” in its appeal to sci-fi fans.
Burbank’s pursuit is not unlike that of many of the municipalities and localities exhibiting at last week’s annual ICSC retail real estate conference in Las Vegas, pitching their strengths to developers and retailers.
The types of tenants that communities seek may vary, but the goal is shared by many cities: find ways to activate and revitalize their downtowns by selecting distinctive tenants that can raise a downtown’s profile.
In Burbank, that approach is playing out through the new Scum & Villainy location, which will be in addition to the bar and eatery’s existing establishment in Los Angeles. The new site is set to open this year at Burbank Entertainment Village at 346 N. First St., in the same complex as AMC Burbank 30 — the chain’s highest-grossing U.S. theater — in a move that underscores Burbank’s push to attract more experiential tenants.
Officials are betting that housing, restaurants, hotels and new employers can help the suburb evolve into one of the strongest noncore business hubs near downtown Los Angeles, 12 miles away. That strategy is now playing out as Burbank gives people more reason to stay there after work, in part by adding to its built-in residential population.
“We have over a thousand media and entertainment companies within our boundaries,” said Mary Hamzoian, Burbank’s economic development manager. The city’s top local employers are Walt Disney Co., Netflix, Tesla, Nickelodeon and Warner Bros.
She added that “we have over a dozen different developments that are going through the pipeline right now. We’re very big on tourism. We have a brand-new replacement terminal, coming into the Hollywood Burbank Airport ... that’ll be launching in October of this year. We have about four hotels in the pipeline that are coming through the city. And we’re adding as much housing as our council will approve.”
Wanted: ‘transformative tenants’
The city, already home to the nation’s largest Ikea store, is touting its growth. Downtown Burbank has attracted 28 new restaurants over the past four years, with at least seven more expected to open in 2026, according to the city and its property-based business improvement district.
The push comes as the downtown is recording 4.9 million visitors annually, while roughly 1,000 housing units are approved, under construction or newly opened. As mentioned, four new hotels are on the way.
Roughly 800 housing units, part of the 1,000, were recently added downtown, according to Hamzoian.
In the marketing brochure distributed at the conference, Burbank cited its daytime population of 250,000 people; its average annual household income of $151,000; and its 9,000 parking spaces for a city of some 104,000 people.
The city already has locations for many of the exhibitors that were on the ICSC conference floor, according to Hamzoian, such as Jersey Mike’s Subs.
“But I think it’s still important to be represented as a city here because we’re always looking for that next thing,” she said. “And we’re also trying to bring in different types of retail tenants. ... We want transformative tenants that are one-offs that are going to come in and really kind of generate that additional awareness for our downtown. ... You never want to rest on your laurels.”
Burbank needs to be actively meeting with prospective and current retail tenants, according to Hamzoian, so it has moved closer to the action by having a human presence on the convention floor at ICSC.
“So for the past probably three years now we’ve been in the Team California booth, which is a conglomerate of cities throughout the state of California,” Hamzoian said. “And a lot of tenants and developers will come directly here. So that’s been definitely beneficial to us.”
She had two meetings with housing developers during the show that wanted information on property availability in Burbank.
Immersive fan experiences
Scum & Villainy has leased space for its “intergalactic bar” in Burbank, a location larger than the one it debuted on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles roughly a decade ago. It is a self-described “immersive, multiverse fan experience” offering a sci-fi and fantasy-themed atmosphere.
That is exactly the kind of entertainment-oriented venue that Americans are flocking to, according to a study released by JLL at ICSC. And entertainment tenants are also what Washington, D.C., is seeking for its downtown, based on a study it unveiled at the conference.
“I’ve wanted to expand into Burbank for some time,” J.C. Reifenberg, Scum & Villainy creator and managing partner, said in a statement. “As the heart of the entertainment industry and home to major studios, year-round creative talent, and millions of entertainment tourists, it’s the perfect setting for our experiential destination. ... In an increasingly digital world, people crave genuine in-person connection around shared interests.”
The company’s investors include Kevin Smith, the filmmaker and pop-culture podcaster.
Scum & Villainy is exactly the kind of unique retail tenant that downtown Burbank wants, according to city officials.
“It’s completely an immersive experience,” said Marissa Cardwell, senior administrative analyst for Burbank. “It’s like walking onto the set of a movie. They have tons of exciting investors from the entertainment industry, so it’s really fun and will also be kind of family friendly. It does have a cantina component, but it’ll be really cool.”
Other new additions to downtown Burbank’s tenant roster include Sky Zone, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Color Me Mine, Flow Wine & Coffee and Miniso. The Melt — a restaurant chain serving the “meltiest” burgers and gourmet grilled cheese — is among the eateries slated to open in Burbank.
The city’s restaurant momentum comes at a complicated moment for Burbank commercial real estate overall. Its office vacancy has climbed above 21% after entertainment companies shed space following the writers’ and actors’ strikes, according to CoStar data. Meanwhile soundstage occupancy across Los Angeles remains far below boom-year levels even as Warner Bros. recently opened its nearly 1 million-square-foot Ranch campus with 16 new stages.
Still, Burbank has continued to attract users that want to be near the entertainment ecosystem without being in Hollywood or on the West side. A buyer tied to comedy streamer Dropout recently purchased a Burbank studio property so the company could write, shoot and edit under one roof, while Concorde Career Colleges signed a 48,000-square-foot downtown lease that city officials say will bring hundreds of students, faculty and staff into the local economy.