Pacific Commons is changing in the reverse of the order people talk about it. The H Mart is the one everyone mentions, and it has no opening date. The Barnes & Noble announced for November now says December. The pizzeria will probably be the first new name you can actually walk into. If you live in Fremont and run errands along Christy Street and Boscell Road, the best thing to know this fall is how firm each date is.
Here is where each project stands, from smallest to largest. The order also runs from most certain to least.
The pizza shop is first in line
Slice House by Tony Gemignani is moving into 43456 S. Boscell Road, the former Dog Haus space. In early September, The Mercury News reported that a Slice House representative "envisioned" an October opening. That's a target, and late October is here. Before you plan dinner around it, check slicehouse.com for current hours.
This opening has a local story behind it. Gemignani is a Fremont native. Before he became a world-champion pizza maker, he learned to toss dough up the road at Pyzano's in Castro Valley. The Fremont shop will be run by franchisee Pritika Rajasanshi, who also runs the Slice House in Mountain View. She went to Washington High School too, and Gemignani told the paper that this "makes this opening even more meaningful."
You can order New York, Sicilian, Grandma and Detroit-style pizza by the slice or as a whole pie. Earlier, WhatNow reported that the menu would also include pastas, wings, salads and vegetarian options.
Fremont isn't the only Slice House in the works, either. The Mercury News reported that a San Jose location at 685 Coleman Ave. and a Menlo Park location were both tentatively set for November, and Brentwood was possibly October. If one opens before another, it's because each site is running on its own schedule.
The bookstore moved a month
The Barnes & Noble date is the one that shifted where you could see it. In its August 2026 issue, the City of Fremont's Fremont Economy Monthly bulletin announced a 24,638-square-foot store with a café and indoor and outdoor seating. It would take over the former DSW space and open "this November."
Barnes & Noble's own store page for Pacific Commons now lists the address as 43598 Christy Street and says "Opening December 2026." It gives no exact day. The events section of that page has no grand opening, only virtual author events.
One month isn't a big slip for a store this size. It does show how these dates work. The city's newsletter announced the deal. The retailer's page lists the store itself. When the two disagree, the retailer's page is the newer one. If you're hoping for a holiday book run in a Fremont store, plan on December and check the store page before you go.
The city's headline was "Barnes & Noble Returning to Fremont." The word "returning" is why this opening has drawn more attention than a typical retail announcement.
The biggest project has the least certain date
The H Mart planned for 43782 Christy St., the former Kohl's on the west side of the center, is a different kind of project from the other two. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in January that it will be a 100,000-square-foot, two-story store and H Mart's largest in the country. It will be the first location of the chain's new "multi-level prototype," with a food hall, restaurants and a bar along with the grocery. The company's press release called it "the largest investment in the company's history."
That January report said construction was expected to start later in 2026, and the company didn't give an opening date. Nine months later, Pacific Commons' H Mart page labels the store "Coming Soon."
The size explains the gap. A slice shop moving into a former burger restaurant is mostly a fit-out. Turning a single-story department store box into two floors of grocery, food hall and bar is a much bigger job. The Chronicle story also mentioned a Dublin H Mart that was announced earlier and still hadn't opened as of January. That's a regional example of how long these projects can take between announcement and opening day.
How firm is each date
Ranked by how much you can rely on each one:
- Pacific Commons' own events. The center has published days and times. Details are below.
- Miniso. It's already part of the center. The Chronicle reported in January that its store of more than 12,000 square feet was scheduled to open January 17, 2026. The city's August bulletin listed it among the center's "recent and upcoming tenants."
- Slice House. The target month is October, based on a representative's September estimate.
- Barnes & Noble. December, according to the retailer's own page. No exact day yet.
- H Mart. "Coming Soon." In January, construction was expected to start later in 2026, and there's no announced opening date.
The two dates you can plan around now
The center's own events calendar has the only firm dates this fall. Pacific Commons lists its Trick-or-Treat Trail and Halloween Spooktacular together on Saturday, October 24, both from 3 to 5 p.m. The Trick-or-Treat Trail invites kids in costume to visit participating stores around the center. That's this Saturday, two days after this post goes up.
The next one is the Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting on Sunday, November 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. On the current timeline, the tree lighting comes before Barnes & Noble opens. The bookstore won't be part of this year's kickoff unless its date moves earlier.
Why the center keeps signing tenants while it's for sale
The city's August bulletin said Pacific Commons is listed for sale and about 92% occupied. It presented the Barnes & Noble deal as evidence of the center's "continued ability to attract major retailers despite being listed for sale."
On September 1, The Registry reported that DLC Management Corp., a shopping center investor based in Elmsford, New York, had "moved to the front of the pack" to buy the 887,000-square-foot center. The headline put the price at about $240 million. As reported, that's a deal in progress, not a completed sale. If it closes, it would be the company's first major move into the Bay Area.
A center on the market looks better to buyers with signed leases from a national bookseller, a national pizza franchise and a grocery flagship. The leases are what make it attractive to a buyer. Opening dates come later, store by store, and the biggest store will take longest.
For now, the order is clear enough. Pizza on Boscell Road is likely first. The bookstore on Christy Street should come in December. The two-story H Mart in the old Kohl's comes whenever H Mart announces a date.
Rajiv Kohli follows changes like these at Pacific Commons because they shape how a neighborhood feels day to day, and that affects what homes are worth. If you're a Fremont homeowner wondering how what's happening around you affects your home's value, Rajiv Kohli can put together a free home valuation or set up a consultation.
