Sun shines on Newport restaurant profits

Young Chang

NEWPORT BEACH -- With fewer travelers visiting the city this summer

and the restaurant business only just recovering from a spring slump,

business patterns show taste buds are affected most strongly by the sun.

Or lack thereof.

Though restaurant figures from last month show an increase in people

dining out, Newport Beach restaurants experienced a 15% to 20% decrease

in business during the spring months, said Richard Luehrs, president of

the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce.

“The spring was a little soft with cooler than normal temperatures,

overcast weather and general concerns about the economy,” Luehrs said.

“But since July, we’ve picked up dramatically and, at the moment, we’re

doing well.”

Restaurant revenue last month exceeded numbers from last July, he

said, which makes the culinary climate “very robust” at the moment.

“We are very dependent on weather at the beach,” Luehrs added. “People

frequently call us at the chamber and ask us whether the sun is out and

is it worth it to come to the beach. . . . If the sun comes up by morning

or noon, we’re in great shape.”

Clayton Shurley, president of the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn.,

agreed with Luehrs’ summary that a dismal spring cleared up with a

“brisk” summer.

But Dan Marcheano, owner of the Arches Restaurant in Newport Beach,

disagreed.

“I don’t believe there’s a restaurant in Newport Beach that can say

they did well,” he said of business this summer. “It’s a combination of

the weather and with the economy being soft, once your hotels are off,

then everything else follows suit. In this area, we have to have the

tourism.”

Tourism figures have remained consistently lower. This summer, Newport

Beach was visited often by intrastate travelers but less often by

international visitors or travelers from other states.

“People are doing more frequent trips and shorter trips,” said John

Cassady, president of the city’s Conference and Visitors Bureau. “The

demographics have sort of shifted for our people here in Newport Beach.”

The reasons include a slow economy and that corporations everywhere

seem to have cut back on business traveling.

“The hotel occupancy has been down a little bit year after year,”

Cassady said. “But it hasn’t been terrible.”

But as with restaurant businesses, tourism has slightly picked up over

the last couple of months.

“We went down as much as 10 points on percentages,” Cassady said. “But

we’re probably back near the 10 points.”

He attributes the rise to visitors rushing to squeeze in vacations

before the summer ends.

“You’ve got to do it before school starts,” Cassady said.

* Young Chang writes features. She may be reached at (949) 574-4268 or

by e-mail at o7 young.chang@latimes.comf7 .

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