Shopping center on the coast filling fast

Alicia Robinson

Incoming tenants at Crystal Cove Promenade are hoping to give Orange

County shopping titans Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza a run for

their money.

With six new stores slated to open in the next several months, the

center will be close to full occupancy.

Three of the six new retailers are new to the area: Mitchell Gold,

a furniture vendor opening its only store in California; Eric Hanan,

a jeweler opening his first-ever namesake store; and the

one-of-a-kind Andavi Salon and Skin Therapy.

Store officials said they chose Crystal Cove Promenade for its

location on the coast and the shopping venue’s feel. What started as

an intimate neighborhood center is now attracting a wider crowd,

Andavi Salon director David Bartholomew said.

“At first I thought it was a lot of locals, but now I can see that

it’s more of a destination because of the shops,” he said.

What shoppers seem to like about Crystal Cove Promenade is that

it’s not a mega-mall.

“I come here every Sunday because I can walk from Corona del Mar,”

said Shirley Mariani, who was doing a crossword puzzle at an outdoor

table Sunday. “It’s just very peaceful to sit here and look at the

coast. It’s not all hustle and bustle like going to South Coast

Plaza.”

Linda Alexander stopped by the promenade to eat at the Pacific

Whey Cafe with her daughter Robin on Sunday. She said she likes the

center’s location on the coast and shops there once or twice a week.

“It’s obviously easier to park and a lot more pleasant,” she said.

“It’s just hard to get in and out of other places.”

Retail experts said even with the new stores, the center will

likely retain its neighborhood clientele and won’t be a threat to its

bigger competition.

“I don’t believe [it will be competition] because they don’t have

the critical mass,” Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce President

Richard Luehrs said. “They don’t have the department store anchors

that draw a tremendous amount of foot traffic.”

The shopping center overlooking the sea opened in 2002. The new

stores, announced this month, will join three restaurants announced

in April and slated to open over the next year. Other stores new to

the center include women’s and children’s clothing and accessories

store Trio, hair and beauty salon Trade Secret and casual home decor

store Pier 1 Imports.

“With the addition of these six merchants, it’s the perfect

rounding out of the merchandising mix at the center,” said Nina

Robinson, vice president of marketing for the Irvine Co.’s retail

properties. The Irvine Co. owns Crystal Cove Promenade.

Just one empty space for a free-standing store will remain.

Expansions also are planned by two existing stores at the center,

cookware seller William-Sonoma and furniture vendor Juxtaposition

Home.

Unique store decor and personal attention to customers are

hallmarks of some of the new retailers. Hanan, a fourth-generation

jewelry designer, will showcase his wares in a curved wall embedded

with river rocks. Andavi Salon director David Bartholomew said he

will install a state-of-the-art, water-softening system to minimize

hard water damage to clients’ hair.

Rather than competing with nearby centers such as Fashion Island

and Corona del Mar Plaza -- which the Irvine Co. also owns -- Crystal

Cove Promenade complements them, Robinson said.

“What ends up happening is, with Crystal Cove Promenade and Corona

del Mar Plaza, you’ve got this incredible collection of retail all

within a few minutes of each other all along the coast,” she said.

Even with the explosion of new stores, the retail market doesn’t

show any signs of saturation, UC Irvine marketing professor Mary

Gilly said. In addition to the growth at Crystal Cove Promenade,

seven new stores are scheduled to join Fashion Island and five are to

be added at South Coast Plaza by the holiday season.

“If the population weren’t growing, there might be that concern,”

she said. “At this point, the supply is keeping up with the demand.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].