 Over the early years of Southdale , several tenants and restaurants opened in the center . A restaurant called Sidewalk Cafe , was an " outdoor " -themed restaurant , even though the venue was fully enclosed ; Sidewalk Cafe was the first restaurant of its kind . JCPenney , a Plano , Texas @-@ based department store , announced their interest in opening a location at Southdale Center . An addition to the mall was constructed , allowing JCPenney to open a 247 @,@ 902 square feet ( 23 @,@ 000 m2 ) store in 1972 ; it became Southdale 's third anchor store , following Dayton 's and Donaldson 's . Along with the new anchor store came an entire new mall corridor connecting JCPenney to the original structure of the mall . 
