Five months ago, the corner of County Roads 491 and 486 was a Target, an Aldi, a Starbucks, a Panera and a Texas Roadhouse. You had coffee in the morning, a steak at night and errands in between. By this week the corner also has a full-service breakfast spot, a second grocery store and, on LongHorn's own schedule, a second steakhouse. Most of the shops the developer announced are still empty. The corner filled in by meal times before it filled in by storefronts, so the spot that used to be a quick errand stop can now carry a whole Lecanto day.
Two centers, one corner
Right now this corner is two developments that are slowly joining up. The older one is The Shoppes at Black Diamond, anchored by Target. The Citrus County Chronicle listed Target, Aldi, Texas Roadhouse, Starbucks and Panera Bread as the chains already open there.
The newer one is Summit View at CORTA Commons, near the northwest corner of the intersection. When CORTA principal Cory Presnick announced LongHorn there, he told the Chronicle that the roads between Summit View and the Shoppes at Black Diamond would be connected. He also said CORTA has more projects lined up directly to the west. A separate Chronicle report described the Sprouts-anchored center as 17 acres, with construction starting in September 2025. It sits next to Target and directly across from the Walmart Supercenter.
Back in July, when we wrote about a Lecanto summer weekend, this cluster was one stop on a loop. Since then the new center has opened in a clear order.
| Opening | Business | Address | What it added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, May 29, 2026 | Sprouts Farmers Market | 3209 W. Norvell Bryant Hwy. | A second grocery store, open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily |
| Aug. 17, 2026 | Metro Diner | 3351 W. Norvell Bryant Hwy. | A sit-down breakfast and lunch |
| Recently opened | Bath & Body Works | 3257 County Road 486 | The first nonfood retailer in the new center |
| Scheduled for Monday, Oct. 26 | LongHorn Steakhouse | 3237 W. Norvell Bryant Hwy. | A second dinner anchor |
Of those four, three are about food: a grocery store, a breakfast place and a steakhouse. The retail list is mostly still on paper. That's why the corner works for a whole day now even though it looks half built.
The morning end arrived in August
Before Metro Diner, a morning at this corner meant a Starbucks cup or a Panera pastry. Metro Diner gave it a real sit-down breakfast. Its press release puts the opening at Aug. 17, 2026, with hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
The Chronicle's Comings & Goings column adds some detail. The restaurant is 3,710 square feet, with 134 seats inside and 24 on an outdoor patio. Managing Partner Melissa Deskins owns and runs it, and she has more than 20 years in restaurants. The menu covers diner basics like omelets, pancakes, burgers, barbecue ribs and Fried Chicken & Waffle. The Iron City Meatloaf was featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
The same column says Metro Diner plans to add dinner and stay open until 8 p.m. Until that happens, figure on a 3 p.m. close and call ahead at 352-366-0337 if you're planning a late lunch.
The middle of the day came first
Sprouts was the anchor everything else waited on. The Sprouts release set the opening for Friday, May 29, and the company's store locator lists the Lecanto store at 3209 W. Norvell Bryant Hwy., open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Those hours are the corner's outer edges. Sprouts opens at the same moment Metro Diner does and stays open later than anything else on the new side we have hours for.
Bath & Body Works followed at 3257 County Road 486, next to Sprouts. The Chronicle's Comings & Goings column put it neatly: "you can now get your three-wick candle fix without leaving Citrus County." Put that next to Target and Aldi on the Black Diamond side and Walmart across the road, and the midday stretch covers groceries, household basics and a gift run without leaving the intersection.
The evening end gets its second steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse has been the corner's dinner anchor for a while. LongHorn makes it two. The LongHorn new-locations page lists the Lecanto restaurant at 3237 W. Norvell Bryant Hwy., phone 352-285-3181, with "Opens October 26." The Chronicle called it LongHorn's first Citrus County restaurant. The restaurant's own page shows Wednesday hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Grand-opening weeks tend to change hours, so check the Lecanto location page before you plan a Friday dinner.
Here's how a day lines up on the new side using the hours the businesses have published:
| Time | What's open in the new center |
|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Metro Diner and Sprouts both open |
| 11 a.m. | LongHorn opens, going by its posted Wednesday hours |
| 3 p.m. | Metro Diner closes for now |
| 10 p.m. | Sprouts and LongHorn close |
That gives you fifteen hours with at least one anchor open. Before May, the new side had none.
What fills the empty storefronts next
Most of the announced roster is still to come, and nearly all of it is daytime retail and services. The Chronicle's report on the Summit View commitments names these tenants:
- Planet Fitness
- Ulta Beauty
- Five Below
- America's Best Eyeglasses & Contacts
- Dollar Tree
- Chase Bank
- Kay Jewelers
- Heartland Dental
- Mattress Warehouse
None of them has a published opening date. Planet Fitness could stretch the corner's hours, because a gym brings people in outside meal times. The others mostly fill the hours between breakfast and dinner, when a corner that already handles your meals starts handling your errands too.
The next phase sits on a separate site. In the Chronicle's report on the DIX Developments and CORTA partnership, the Sprouts center is described as having another 22-acre site lined up next door, anchored by BJ's Wholesale Club. Dutch Bros. Coffee is confirmed for that site, one of the brand's first locations in Citrus County. That puts a drive-thru coffee option on a corner whose mornings now start at Metro Diner's 7 a.m. door.
Getting there got easier first
The road work finished ahead of the storefronts. According to the Chronicle, the last 1.9 miles of CR 491 between State Road 44 and CR 486 were widened to four lanes and opened to traffic by the end of 2025. If you're coming up from SR 44, that four-lane stretch is how you reach both the breakfast end and the dinner end of the corner.
Farther north, the same Chronicle report describes a proposed CR 491 widening between Pine Ridge Boulevard and Hampshire Boulevard, plus county work on a signal at CR 491 and Hampshire. No construction date has been set. For anyone driving down from Citrus Springs or Pine Ridge, that's the next stretch to watch.
For now the dates to keep in mind are LongHorn's Oct. 26 opening, Metro Diner's planned move to dinner hours and whichever of the nine announced tenants opens first. More about the area lives on our Lecanto neighborhood page.
Want to know when the next storefront at Summit View opens, or when Metro Diner starts serving dinner? Join the Guild, the email newsletter from Jess Stone, and new Lecanto openings will come to you without you having to look for them.
