LETTER TO THE EDITOR -- Michael A. Glueck

Our local newspaper is the Newport-Mesa Daily Pilot. The crossroads of

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are at the Westcliff Shopping Center on the

corner of 17th Street and Irvine Avenue. It should have been one of the

nicest shopping centers to meet your friends for a cup of coffee and a

schmooze. But now it really is.

The center had grown old, tired and was in bad repair. It had not been

remodeled since the grand opening in November 1963 -- the same day John

F. Kennedy was assassinated.

In the spring of 2000 -- after a few calls -- and to everyone’s

surprise a few days later, a cadre of six suits and four skirts arrived

en masse from the Irvine Co. to look around. A remodeling plan was

developed and began in August 2000. Now, about 16 months later, after a

series of delays, Three Stooges-like miscalculations and multiple parking

lot pavings, the center is complete. It is one-stop shopping, services

and boutique eateries at its best. New tables and chairs abound, and the

locals again meet to chat and nosh outdoors. The new Food Fare grocery,

which had its soft opening on Nov. 16 will challenge your eyes and

palate.

The Irvine Co. deserves kudos for being good neighbors and the

merchants for their endurance on this neighborhood-altering project.

So stop by -- y’all -- and say hello to your friends and neighbors at

the best little meeting place that joins the souls of Newport Beach and

Costa Mesa. I’ll have an icy raspberry chocolate frappacino please!

* Michael A. Glueck is a Newport Beach resident and occasional

contributor to the Pilot.