Main Street seeks identity

Businesses come and go downtown; crowds of drinkers and dirty streets are cited as problems by some merchants.Through the handcrafted glass doors sits one of downtown’s newest gambles. Flat-screen television monitors, mauve earth tones and a blown-glass bar with fluorescent lights -- 301 Ocean Front has all the trappings of a Long Beach ultra-lounge without the 562 area code.

Will it make it in laid-back Surf City? No one really knows, but dozens of downtown merchants and self-appointed gadflies will be watching closely to see if 301 Ocean Front can develop the successful business model that has eluded so many other downtown businesses.

November and December have brought many changes to the face of Main Street. Most of the businesses in Plaza Almeria -- 301 Ocean Front’s home -- have changed hands. The Christmas season brought the departure of clothing store Del Sol, a major expansion for women’s surf-wear boutique Dianne’s, and the departure of newcomer Music Trader.

Restaurateurs Michael Savage and Ed Bernadino have opened up a successful Italian place in what was the old Shed restaurant, while California Greetings owner Joe Shaw has recently expanded his own operation into an adjacent store focusing on Huntington Beach gifts.

Why do some businesses thrive downtown while others continue to disappear? Ask 10 people downtown and you’ll get 10 different answers.

“What’s wrong with downtown? Gosh, you have a couple days?” asked restaurateur and habitual City Council candidate “Jersey” Joe Carchio.

City Hall doesn’t do enough to invest in Main Street, he said. Dirty streets and an abundance of surf shops and bars attract a younger, rowdier crowd -- not the older, more reserved bunch you would normally find at Carchio’s Italian restaurant.

“There’s kids overrunning the town and drinking until they can’t see anymore,” Carchio said. “Some guy from Iowa doesn’t want to hear the f-bombs and catcalls when he’s walking down the street with his wife. It’s deplorable.”

Brothers Carlos and Dennis Pizarro said they don’t want any loud cursing in their 301 Water Front restaurant, but the endeavor is an attempt to capture a portion of the drinking crowd that’s driving Carchio crazy.

The Pizarro brothers are replacing Inka Grill, a Peruvian restaurant that struggled to develop a regular customer base. Spiral sushi recently sold to new owners Sushi on Fire, while two other shops were bought out by similar outfits looking to expand. Leasing agent John Tillotson said the purchases were signs that the center was thriving and many of the old businesses were making a profit in the sales.

“We didn’t lose the tenant, one just bought out the other,” he said. “It shows there’s people wanting to be here. It’s very high-demand.”

But others say the third block continues to struggle. Rent on the 300 block runs about $2.50 per square foot, lower than the $3.50 to $5 per square foot many merchants pay on the first two blocks of Main Street. Dank Clothing owner Jason Hilbert said the difference in price translates into a difference in foot traffic.

“A lot of people stop at the second block and think Main Street is over,” he said. “We need to do more to let people know we’re down here.”

That hasn’t been the case for Shaw, who’s expanded his gift shop business on Main Street with a new store focusing on Huntington Beach products. His two gifts shops have grown by 30% each year, he said, because he doesn’t rely solely on tourist dollars.

“I think a lot of people don’t focus on the locals market,” he said. “We made our store for local people and market exclusively to local people.”

Shaw said the recently formed downtown business improvement district is catching on and revamping several programs like Tuesday Locals Night, in which dinners get a discount on their meal for living within city limits, or the proposal to offer free parking during the Christmas holiday.

The city should also include retail businesses with a broader appeal than beach clothing, said Councilman Keith Bohr, arguing that Huntington Beach is losing millions of sales tax dollars to places like South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. But downtown landlord Joe Dashion said it’s difficult to attract corporate merchants because the permitting process at the city takes months and can be a major headache. He also said that many business owners and downtown merchants often have a difficult time getting along with one another.

“It’s still missing a synergy,” he said. “It’s missing a common theme throughout. Look at the parking, that’s confusing: there’s three or four different structures with different rates and validation systems. The restaurant association exists, but how much power do they really have? They’re lacking the dollars and the direction.”