Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is planning to throw down his Bobby’s Burger Palace in Burlington, the eatery’s first location in the state.

The Burlington Planning Board has approved plans for Flay’s 72-seat restaurant to be built in the Burlington Mall.

The 3,400-square-foot eatery will occupy a portion of space most recently used by an Eddie Bauer store. Flay hopes to throw open the doors in late fall, according to Mark Vaughan, an attorney with Riemer & Braunstein in Burlington.

"From a real estate attorney’s perspective, I think this continues to speak to the fact retail developers are looking at restaurants as key anchors to their centers," Vaughan told Banker & Tradesman. "But those days seem to have ended. The shopping center is now providing more of an entertainment destination for customers. This is a great location for [Flay] because there is a tremendous amount of office space in close proximity to the Burlington Mall. The ability to have good restaurants within a walk or drive is hugely helpful in retaining tenants or attracting new ones."