Vespas ride into town

Mathis Winkler

MARINER’S MILE -- The wasps are returning. The ones with two tires and

aerodynamically shaped steel, that is.

In Italian, a wasp is known as a vespa. And Newport Beach planning

commissioners approved a request Thursday to open a new store for the

famous motor scooters on West Coast Highway.

On Friday, the owner said he’d open up shop by the end of June.

“People in Newport Beach love toys,” said Mike Malamut, adding that

the city’s Ferrari, Mercedes and BMW car dealerships were an obvious sign

of that.

Malamut said he holds dealership rights to open Vespa stores in most

of California, Oregon, Arizona and Las Vegas. He already opened one in

Sherman Oaks in November and another one’s coming to Santa Monica in a

few weeks.

But Newport Beach apparently ranked No. 1 in Vespa sales before the

company pulled out of the American market as a result of tighter emission

standards 15 years ago, Malamut said. He added that he had great hopes

for a Vespa revival in town and planned to turn the 4,822-square-foot

shop into his flagship store.

Residents “seem to have the dispensable income to engage themselves,”

he said.

While the scooters are still within reach of many at $3,000 and $4,000

apiece, they’re no longer quite as affordable as earlier models, which

cost a few hundred dollars and hit Italian streets in 1946.

Since then, Vespas have starred in movies ranging from “Roman Holiday”

to “Austin Powers.” A few celebrities, such as Leonardo diCaprio, Jerry

Seinfeld, Sting and Steven Spielberg, have already snatched up the latest

models for themselves, company officials said.

But whether they knew that or not, it didn’t seem to impress the

city’s planning commissioners when they discussed the proposal. What

mattered to them was that the store would comply with new design

guidelines for Mariner’s Mile, among other things.

As a result, an attempt by Malamut’s architect to substitute a

required hedge with potted plants in front of the store didn’t get far.

“Nice try,” said Planning Commission Chairman Ed Selich, with a smile.