P.F. Chang’s among new restaurants at Butler Town Center

A P.F. Chang’s China Bistro will be among the new restaurants added to Butler Town Center in the fall of 2018.

Construction on the 267-acre project has not begun, but the upscale Asian bistro has already signed its lease, said Mary Reichardt, the director of marketing for Butler Enterprises.

P.F. Chang’s will be one of the first additions to the new Butler Town Center.

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner, featuring classic Asian dishes for about $10 to $20 a plate, and a wine, beer and cocktail menu for about $10 a glass.

“The town center is going to be something very special that Gainesville has never been able to see at this scale before,” she said.

The center will be an open-air shopping, dining and living experience off Archer Road and 34th Street, she said.

More than just shopping and dining, Reichardt said it will be a place for people to live, work and play.

Butler Town Center’s leasing team has selected a very specific mix of tenants, she said. The team does not want all of their spaces to be geared toward a certain demographic.

“They very carefully look at each location and fit it together like a beautiful puzzle,” Reichardt said.

In addition to the P.F. Chang’s, Gainesville residents can expect to see a Whole Foods Market, which is a specialty grocery store; Bahama Breeze Island Grille, where customers can order Caribbean cuisine; and Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, a new lunch and breakfast restaurant.

For many students like Kristen Hansen, 18, the news came as an exciting surprise. She said she eats at the P.F. Chang’s in her hometown of Orlando often but did not expect for one to open in Gainesville.

“I kind of consider it high-end Chinese food,” the UF chemical engineering freshman said. “It’s like a step up from Panda Express.”

She said she looks forward to going for special occasions like birthdays or a night out, because Asian-inspired food is something she enjoys.

“We’re sick of Panda,” she said. “We need something new.”

Photo of P.F. Chang's that recently opened in Texas.