The city of Surprise is once again putting out its list of the most desired dining and retail options not in the city with the 2024 version of its Retail Survey.

At the top of the list are two businesses — Cheesecake Factory and IKEA — city residents have been pining for.

The survey, which had more than 5,000 responses, is aimed to provide insights into residents wants for the growing community, city officials said, and as a way to attract new businesses to the community.

City officials said the survey has helped land business including Hobby Lobby, Portillo’s and American Furniture Warehouse, which all have operations under construction in Surprise.

The list also was influential in landing the city’s first Costco a few years ago. It also has been behind the city’s push to publicly court IKEA with it’s “Surprise loves IKEA” campaign that included last year celebrating Swedish Meatball Day and Swedish Cinnamon Roll Day.

IKEA remains this year’s top target in retail, followed by Whole Foods Market and Joann Fabric and Craft Store. This also included At Home, Nordstrom Rack, Aldi, Macy’s, Old Navy, AJ’s Fine Foods and Dillard’s in the top 10

On the restaurant side, Cheesecake Factory is followed by P.F. Chang’s and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. The remainder of the top 10 was Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Cracker Barrel, Pita Jungle, El Pollo Loco, Postino WineCafe, White Castle and Wildflower

The survey also include residents’ current favorites for dining and retail.

For dining, the favorites were:

• Rio Mirage Café

• Bonfire Craft Kitchen and Taphouse

• Vogue Bistro

• Don Ruben’s Mexican Restaurant

• Angry Crab Shack

• Barrio Queen

• Babbo Italian Eatery

• Master Taco

• Saigon Kitchen

• Oregano’s

For retailers, the favorites were:

• Son Glow Boutique

• Karen’s Hallmark

• The Boyer Bakery

• Spencer’s Place

• Just Be Youtiful

• Savage Bicycles

• Arizona Quilts

• Surprise Comics

• Troub’s Butcher Shop

• A to Z Polish Market

While those were the overall places, the Surprise Economic Development staff also had a separate youth retail survey with more than 600 responses. Tops on that list was retailer Tilly’s followed closely by H&M, the Nike Store, Plato’s Closet and Hollister.

With youth looking for more local clothing shops, retailers are taking notice, city officials said. Both Plato’s Closet and Buckle are set to open in the Village at Prasada this year, and T.J. Maxx and Marshalls opened in 2023, both earning a spot among the top 10 favorite retailers in this year’s Youth Survey.

On the restaurant side of the youth survey, Chick-Fil-A took the top spot, followed closely by Raising Cane’s. In 2023, Chick-Fil-A opened its second location in Surprise. Hoping that Raising Cane’s will follow suit, Surprise youth voted a second Raising Cane’s location as the most wanted restaurant this year. The top five most desired restaurants were rounded out by The Cheesecake Factory, El Pollo Loco, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse and Zaxby’s.