The Danbury Fair mall. Photo courtesy Daniel Case / CC BY 3.0

A major Fairfield County mall is bucking recent trends that have seen area malls lose many tenants as major retail chains pull back or go bankrupt amid tough economic times.

The Newtown Bee reports a Newtown restauranteur has signed a lease to open a branch of his popular eatery in the former Brio Tuscan Grille space in the Danbury Fair Mall.

Tommy Barbarie would open Barbarie’s Grill in the space in late November, he told the publication. The ex-Brio space faces the mall’s main entrance on Backus Avenue, next to a Cheesecake Factory location.

The mall has lost or will soon lose two of its five of its anchor stores. Sears closed its location there in 2019, and Lord & Taylor announced its intent to close its store as it goes out of business.

At the same time, it has also attracted some new tenants in recent years, like Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M.