Soul Spot reopens at Fox Valley Mall; leasing director Patty Ryan receives mayoral award

The Soul Spot, formerly Mandy’s Soulful Kitchen of Bolingbrook, was introduced as a new tenant at Fox Valley Mall during the Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 18, and the city presented a Mayor’s Award of Excellence to Patty Ryan for her leasing and business development work at the mall.

Patty Ryan, identified by the mayor as the senior director for local leasing and business development at Fox Valley, described efforts to diversify retail tenants and said the mall now hosts multiple minority- and women-owned businesses. "We are extremely excited to announce that Delicia will be opening at Fox Valley as a Soul Spot," Ryan told council members and attendees.

Delicia Bowling, identified at the meeting as the owner of the Soul Spot, spoke briefly and thanked mall staff and city partners for their support. Mayor Richard C. Irvin said the mall’s recent openings include six ribbon cuttings and highlighted that Fox Valley reached a milestone of 50 minority- and women-owned businesses in the center. "This plaque here is the grand opening of Top Trends... Congratulations on opening your business in Aurora," Irvin said during a string of recognitions.

The mayor presented Ryan with a Mayor’s Award of Excellence, citing work that the mayor’s office said helped secure more than 60 businesses at the mall in recent years and emphasizing retention and expansion. City staff from the mayor’s Office of Economic Development — named at the meeting as Omar and Selena — joined Ryan and the Soul Spot team for photos and the planned ribbon cutting.

Officials asked attendees to watch for a community ribbon-cutting announcement and said mall tenants will be added to the city’s small-business promotion efforts. The administration framed the openings as part of broader economic development outreach.